, 1923-07-25
WILL RICHARD KILLS
II FOOT GIRAFFE IN
W|LDS OF AFRICA

Will Richard, who has been on a
big game hunt in the wilds Of Central
Africa for the past four and one-half
months, tells Of a most wonderful and
successful hunt in a letter to Mrs.
Richard dated May 21st, and written
in camp on the banks of the Sarilemon
River:
Dear Hilda:
I've got a chance to send in a line
by a Nasal boy who is going in to a
trading post with some other papers.
The rainy season is about over, and
I am trying for buffalo, rhino and
lions, which won't take much longer.
Been very lucky so far and have
gotten most everything, except water
buck, bush-buck and aryx and will get
them on my way in. Am feeling fine
and everything is going along fine
as can be; have been doing good
shooting too, as so far have gotten
five (5) wildebeetse (gnu), four az
heartebeetse, three (3) topi,. five (5)
Thompsons gazelle, three (3) Grants
gazelle, three (3) Roberts gazelle,
two (2) zebra, one (1) wild hog livery
rare), five (5) hyena, one ny jackal,
two (2) fine Gland (which are larger
tina nan ox), four az impalla, two
(2) dik?dik, several wart hogs, and
nj ~ giraffe, which was a fine old
bull, stood IT feet high to top of
head, and must have weighed 80
hundred, they are an immense animal.
Everything about the trip and pack
train is interesting, as l have 25
porters of Wakambi, KuKuyu,
Nasal and K%avarundo and just now
We are near the Tanganyika border,
south of Marobi.
There are big herds of game in
sight all the time, and the three
kinds that l still lack are very rare,
lions roar every night but / have not
been lucky in getting them, have
seer three so far, but they were run
ming in tall grass and | could not get
u shot at them.
Shot a leopard in the back with
shotgun while hunting s~parfowl, but
did not get him.
Tell Shorty that the cattle business
here is no good, the Nasal niggers
raise them by the hundreds, herd
them afoot, keep them in thorn cor
rails at night on account of the lions
and leopards, and then sell them for
between twenty and thirty dollars a
head.
The rivers are very high on ac-
count of the heavy rains, as it has
rained here every day for about three
hours in the afternoon, since l landed
in Marobi until the last three days
which have been clear, so l think that
the rainy season is about over.
viii be laying out nights now, near
a salt lick, to try for buffalo, which
only come out of the thick thorn bush
Curing the dark nights.
Expect to start back about July
first so will land in Cody about the
first of September. Suppose the dude
season is on by this time, and l will
get your letters when ! reach Marobi,
which will be about the 18th of June,
unless / am lucky and get the rest of
my game before that time.
Am getting lonesome for home and
you folks, but can't say that / am
lonesome for the shop and its work,
for this outdoor life suits me fine if
i could afford to do nothing else.
See lots of monkeys along the riv-
ers and in the dense jungles, and saw
n tietse fly yesterday on the giraffe
skin, but the horses and mules have
not been bothered so far with them.
1t is high up here, about 1000 feet in
the mountains, and the heat is not
oppressive.
Yours Always, Will.