Evening star., 1926-10-26
DR.. MANN ARRIVES IN CAPITAL
WITH BIG ANIMAL COLLECTION
CONTINUED from First Page.)

| Continued from First Page.)
| for $4,000 No effort was made to
| place valuation on the whole cargo,
but 1t would cost close to $4,000 to
duplicate it.
Giraifes i'm Good Health.
The pair of giraffes were described
by Mr.. Blackburn as exceptionally
! healthy. The first sign Of illness In a
giraffe can be detected in the eyes
and the eyes Of these two were very
clear. With their arrival there are
| now exactly 13 giraffes in the United
States, about half of them born in
captivity. The animals breed we'll
in captivity, once they become ac-
climated, and DIR. Mann expects a
| considerable increase in the stock
here.
Some Of the creatures, particularly
! the birds, are rather weak from their
long confinement and must be fat
tened up before they can be given the
run of exhibition cages. When they
are released from their crates, Mr.
Blackburn said. they will feel much
like human beings getting out of bed
after a long illness. They will be in
clined to over.exercise and are apt to
collapse.
The expedition, as described by Dr.
Mann last night, appeared like a small
army as 1t turned off the roads into
the untracked country of the big game.
1t had on it's pay roll as many as 500
natives at one time, In addition to the
five white men in charge. These ma.
tives-hunters, packbearers, runners,
cooks and mechanics--received IL
cents day each, which was about the
best wage ever paid in Tanganytka
Province. The workers were changed
in each sultanate, being supplied by
the native rulers.
pay, but the opportunity to dine on
we'll cooked fresh meat. Otherwise
the rationS Of the army were only
water and a dish similar to cornmeal
mush. They had one meal day.
They were the only means of trans
port. For his IL cents the native car.
ries 60 pounds on his back for about
IL hours The method Of hunting Is
to form these natives in great circle,
one segment holding a net. Then
they close in, whooping and yelling,
driving all the animals in the area
surrounded into the net. If 1t hap
pens to be a giraffe or rhinoceros. the
net trick does not work, because they
will go right through.
Baby RhinO Died.
The expedition had it's disappoint-
menrs, one of the chief Of these was
the inability to bring home a rhino.
One was captured after the mother
had been killed, but 1t died and Is IN
cluded among the specimens to be
stuffed for exhibition at the National
Museum.
The party also was unable to get a
lion cub. A pair of man-eating lions
was reported and the Tanganyika
government sent out professional
hunters to kill them. They had in
vaded native villages and plucked on
about a half dozen negroes. Finally
the hunters succeeded and at the
same time reported that the dead
lioness had left cubs which might be
driven into the net The den, con-
tanning a collection of gnaWed human
bones, was found, but evidently the
cubs had escaped, because several
hours effort to encircle them produced
no result.
DIR. Mann also made an effort to
catch a pure white giraffe which was
reported to exist with young. This
would have been invaluable, but
numerous efforts failed to encircle 1t.
The baby giraffe, which the native
boys captured by chasing and throw
ing after tussle, became very tame
and appeared to be taking captivity
well. He was a pet of the boys. They,
as well as the children of Washing
ton, were seeking an appropriate
name for him and finally hit on the
native words which meant: Our
King, who will be our ambassador to
n foreign land" They were heart
broken when the little fellow dropped
dead without a moments warning.
presumably from a slight touch or
pneumonia.
Diet Carefully Planned.
DR.. Mann still must deal with the
problem of feeding the girafes. The
diet of nearly all these animals must
be prescribed as vigorously as that OF
a baby and an apparently insignif1.
cant oversight in their ratiOnS VIII
nroduce fatal anemia. 1t was some di-
etary oversight which caused the two
zebra to die on board ship, after they
had passed through a grueling neat
wave on the Red Sea, during Whlcn
DR.. Mann opened the crates as TAR
as possible to give the creatures more
air.
on shipboard DIR. Mann had ton
or more Of Tanganyikan hay. like ex.
ceptionally fine clover, upon which the
sirafYes are accustomed to feed. 1t
cannot be duplicated in this country
and the bales which remained could
not he brought In because OF the rigid
plant quarantine. The richest clover
obtainable in Washington will be SUP.
stituted. In addition, veterinaries Will
be kept in constant watch until the
pair Is acclimated.
AS soon as the birds reach the Zoo
Mr.. Blackburn plans to give them a
BANQUET of meal worms, which will
supply the necessary vitamins for
their diet. A great many OF these. 1t
Ia believed, will thrive in outdoor
cages next Summer.
The preservation Of many OF these
birds is due to the unsung heroism
of Stephen Haweis, noted artist, who
accompanied the expedition. Mr..
Hawe!s lived almost continually in the
| fetid hold with the birds. feeding them
by hand and cleaning their cages
even on days when he was SO seasick
that he could hardly stand. DIR. Mann
himself attended TO the larger mann.
mails and reptiles.
First Giraffe Escaped.
An interesting aneedote is told by
Or. Mann in connection with the 81.
raffe capture.
The first giraffe. captured q few
days after the expedition landed,
ttscapee. The native baya dsst rum