The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-05-18

a plunge. Nnen L dSheu oAe VI "a
workmen why the elephant grew SO
large after coming out Of the water
he at once replied that there was
medicine in the water
The celebration Of midnight mass
on Christmas eve, 1913, in the depths
of the African forests, was announcer
experience Of Mr.. Chaplin. This was
The church, not yet Completed was
rOofless.
THE deep blue Of the star
studded Sky above the wall or the
church." said the young explorer,
sbroucht to mind the Paulist Church
in this city. The church was decor
ated with palm fronds and Gamma lilies
and the Illumination was by candles
and rude oil lamps. 1t was most I'M
pressive and beautiful. The only
trouble was that We were nearly
frozen. The nights are very cold there
at times. After the mass we were
glad to sit by a roaring log fire at the
PADRES house and warm ourselves
up"
Interesting detail Of the hunting Of
the okapi, which is found in the
Uele district and the Haute 1turi, were
given by Mr.. Chaplin.
How to Get The Okapi.
sThe beast SIS either shot or
trapped" he said. "In the first meth
Cd the work is done by one man who
must be a skilful hunter. Armed
with his old mu~zzle-loading musket,
the native will ream through the
forests until he picks up an okapi
trail.
Sometimes the man will follow the
trail for days before he gets within
gunshot Of the shy beast. There are
a few hunters, but they are rare. Some
of our specimens were obtained this
way. The common way, however, is
to trap them, either by dead falls by
pits or by means of nOOses which
catch their legs. Sometimes they are
alive when found. and for a short time
Mr.. Lang kept a young n captive,
but it died at last.
Returned With Six Okapi.
W obtained our okapi from the
native hunters by Barter. Brass cur
tain rings, salt, copper wire, cloth
and galvanized iron wire were our
mediums Of exchange. We saw the
snares, and also saw pits, but never
were able to see a pit prepared for
the animal. Most of our aniInals were
obtained through the native hunters.
We were not there to do all the hunt
ing ourselves, for we had much other
; work to do, SO we depended on the
1 natives for much of the hunting. They
knew Mr.. Lang wanted specimens, so
whenever they got anything they
would bring it in"
e Just how man. olkapi the expedi-
ton got Mr.. Chapin would not say,
nor, in fact, would he give the exact
y number of any Of the groups, de-
= claring that the museum would an
nOunce the details at the proper time.
The writer was able to ascertain from
other sources, however, that the okapi
= group, which will be the best group Of
\ the animal in any museum, will con-
+ tain six fine specimens.
e The Curious TrOgon.
h The most curious, perhaps, Of the
" many strange birds that Chaplin Sc
e cured in his exploration work is the
trogon, the tropical bird whose plum.
age falls out when it is handled. The
African variety known in scientific
o mon in the Kongo basin, but because
Of the great difficulty in preserving
n and mounting the skin and plumage
a not a single specimen has ever beer
l. brought unframed to his country be.
fore.
Several trogons were obtained b,
Chaplin, but despite his skill as ar
mount one, which will be one Of thu
n museums most valued exhibits.
l. The plumage of the trogon is mos
le brilliant. Ranging in color from
~ steel blue to yellow, some varietie,
It. are barred with stripes of white. Tn,
KS trogon's coloring stands out agains
1e the jungle. foliage with dazzling bril-
liancy.
st The contour feathers, which furnish
or the coloring, are ~so~Ioosely attache,
is to the skin that unless handled wit
In the greatest care they fall out in tufts
1t was only by din Of the most skill
d. full handling that Chaplin managed t.
t. Obtain a perfect skin.
he Enormous Horn of White Rhino.
by Mr.. Chaplin also said that they ho,
obtained a fine group of souar
m mouthed rh1noceros and Of gian
er. Gland. A huge white bull rhinoceros
go from the vicinity of the Lado Enclave
ne was obtained in the Uele district, an
re is, he says, a magnificent snecimar
ne The front horn measures 1ne $500
as meters, or a little more than a yarf
me white rhine is protected b