davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1927-04-03

darkness speedily followed. I contem-
plated climbing tree for the night,
but could not bring myself to leave
faithful old Bruce alone below. Ac-
cordingly I CROPPED about, gathered
some dry wood and started a fire.
Then / propped myself against a stout
tree, with my rifle across my knee,
and decided to make the best of 1t.
had been there for some time
when, in the distance. heard the
sound of tomtoms, and knew that a
native beer dance was in progress
somewhere. Rising to my feet. l start
ed off in the direction of the drums.
AS we drew near to the tomtoms /
thought once or twice that could de-
tect the sound of voices. Suddenly.
with a growl worthy of his ancestors,
Bruce sprang forward at something.
whereupon the something" rose up
from the earth in front of me, with
a terrific grunt and snort of fury, and
charged toward me like a huge Clydes-
dale. Presumably 1t was a resting
bull eland, but for the moment / had
visions of elephants!
My rife was struck out Of my grasp
and was sent sprawling. Pulling my
self together as best I could, hastily
groped round for my lost weapon.
The kick or butt I had received had
knocked what little breath had clean
out Of my body and I felt half dazed.
found the weapon. however, just as
Bruce came scurrying back to tell me
he had seen the Gland, or whatever 1t
was, Off the premises.
Heartily sick of all these mishaps,
stood still to listen for the tomtoms
once more. To my disrnay, they
seemed to be miles away! felt posi-
lively giddy with despair. Surely I
must have been walking in the wrong
direction. Then 1t dawned on me that
since my encounter with the unknown
beast had not walked at all. but had
Evening star., 1927-04-03

the sticks Of gelignite placed them in
a jam tin, packed sand around them.
and forced in my detonator with fuse
attached. Then / lit the fuse, cast
my bomb into the center OF the pool,
and we all retired some dozen yards
away to await the explosion.
Presently the center OF the pool
bulged upward and a column or water
rose Is feet high in the air, gaowering
spray all round US. The once placid
surface became a veritable Bay OF Bis
cal. alive with foaming wavelets. At
first. however, there was no sign OF
Mr.. Croc.
CUDDENLY one Of the natives called
~ attention to a long. dark-green-and-
yellow mass, turning lifelessly over
and over Just beneath the surface,
1 knew that in all probability the
creature was only stunned, ana the
truth of this soon became apparent
for, as we watched. the huge tall
began to move slowly from side to
side.
With the brute's body floating three
parts under water 1t was impossible
for me to get in a fatal shot.
Taking the remaining jam.tin, pre-
pared a second bomb for Mr.. Croc. It
the pool as before: 1t would have
sunk, thus rendering the explosion
practically harmless. for water acts
as a most effective cushion. there
fore took from my haversack about
four feet of thick string and. search
ing round, soon found a suitable piece
of dry branch to act as a float.
I calculated that il l attached the
charge to the branch. ignited the fuse,
and threw accurately, the bomb would
then float about four feet below the
reptile, and the concussion that ensued
would rid the pool Of this daring cat
tie killer.
When everything was ready cast
but the bomb fell at least three feet
short of the crocodile. Just then, to
my surprise, heard a sudden splash,
which made me start. and to my dis
may saw Bruce swimming gayly to-
ward the floating branch.
Every instant l expected to see him
blown to pieces. called to him franti-
cally, but he merely interpreted my
entreaties as cries of encouragement,
and swan faster toward his objective.
knew the dog would soon recover the
Evening star., 1927-04-03

Go on. Bruce" commanded. but
he refused to stir. Thereupon I step
ped forward-into space! Clutching
wildly at the air, / embraced small
tree in my downward course, but my
rifle was jerked out of my hands. The
weapon was on the hair-trigger, ready
for immediate use, and as 1t landed
butt first, somewhere far below, the
tree to which / was clinging ratified
with the roar of the explosion.
A feeling Of faintness came over me
as I hung there in the darkness.
Above me could hear Bruce whim-
pering and rushing backwards and for
wards. Only too we'll I realized the
peril I was in. This part of Rhodesia
is honeycombed with pits, sometimes
40 or so feet deep-wide, gaping holes
in the ground left behind by the
ancient gold-seekers.
How long I remained there do not
know, for although Bruce was only q
few feet from me, his bark seemed to
fade away as IL he, too, had deserted
me. | knew, however, that he had
not really done SO, for he had
scratched the back of my hands
which he could just reach-almost to
the bone In his frantic endeavors to
tell me something. I wanted to say
harsh things to him when he did this,
for with his huge paws he sent great
showers of stones and earth down on
to my face. Every now and again he
would lick my bleeding hands, and his
tongue. which felt like a rough file, in
creased the agony was enduring.
At length / came to the conclusion
that I must risk fall. My gun lay
below, and IL I could only reach it I
could blaze away until I attracted at
tention, for l had plenty of ammu-
milton left.
A drop might end everything, for
some of these ancient workings go
down at first vertically and then off
Evening star., 1927-04-03

With my rife slung over my shoul-
der and feeling very miserable, pur-
sued my way back to the camp. On
arrival I sought out Mr.. Dardegan,
reported the death of the crocodile and
made my confession about the goat.
I was greeted with roars Of laughter,
which only added to my depression,
for / knew that the episode would be
the topic of hilarious conversation for
a long time to come. / begged the
manager to keep the matter to him
self, but he continued to laugh, though
he was gorT enough to remark that he
had done sAr worse himself. At that
moment herd boy appeared
"Oh. Boss" he said bresthlessly, ad-
dressing me. you have wounded that
leopard, if you have not killed it. The
bullet went through the goat into
him.
did not stop to hear more, but sent
the boy off to fetch my camera. Then,
accompanied by another native named
Dobi, / set off on the trail. Dobi was
an excellent tracker, and was ready to
follow the beast for miles.
AS we proceeded. it became apparent
that my bullet had penetrated the ami
mails lungs, for on crossing the Tas-
ami River we found clots of blood on
the soft white sand. From the spoor,
however, Dobi decided that the animal
was a large hyena and not a leopard
at all. This was very disappointing
but / determined / would have the
brute anyway. The tracks led through
Jungle grass, down dongas, and among
thorns, until at last we came to a
thick patch of low brush.
There's your hyena, Boss" Dobi
said, quietly. And there, sure enough,
he lay, gasping his last. We ap-
preached cautiously, for he was still
snarling and swapping, and l gave
him a final shot
Evening star., 1927-04-03

had not gone far when / heard
shrill cries and the banging of tins
and tomtoms farther down the river
| These noises usually betoken that
white man and gun are sorely need
ed. for they constitute the familiar sig
| nails of the herd boys that lions, leop-
ards or other enemies Of their fiocks
are lurking around.
Taking every precaution and with
my rifle at the ready, 1 drew nearer.
A yard or two to my right native,
| hidden in the bush. give a sudden un-
earthly yell and ratified a tin can with
stones in it. We caught sight of each
other simultaneously.
"Oh, Boss!" he cried. "Ingwee Geop-
ard) has taken one of the goats"'
These crafty animals, sinking round
the outskirts of the flock, often cause
great havoc, but they treat the herd
boys with utter contempt, knowing
from experience that their only weap-
ons are assegais and that, being young
and inexperienced, they are ineffective
throwers.
/ followed the boy to a rise and he
pointed out a dense thicket, where l
could see the spotted body of what
appeared to be a full-groWn leopard.
It was looking away from me, toward
a group of natives, Around the anil
NAL, still quivering in the ground, were
at least half dozen assegais that the
boys had thrown at him.
The hot blood surged through my
veins. Here was a chance to counter
the chaff dreaded when reached the
plantation!
With shaking hand lifted my rifle,
lowered 1t, and took a deep breath to
steady my nerves. Spots" was still
intent on the natives. He had been
playing with the goat he had captured
Just as cat plays with a mouse;
could see the terrified creatures head
between his cruel paws. The poor
beast was bleating pitifully.
With feet braced well apart, I took
aim once more and pulled the trigger.
The natives scattered in all directions,
huge body hurtled through the air,
there came a blood-curdling growl;
then, far in the distance. heard the
sound of swapping branches and
shrubs.
AS the noise died away the natives
and I hurried forward toward the
spot where the leopard had stood.
There on the ground lay the goat,
stone dead--shct through the heart!
Evening star., 1927-04-03

already bulky enough. To reduce the
fruit and vegetable allowance to make
way for oellulose or bran, which lack
the valuable food accessories present
In tha vegetables. is unwise.
It is also unwise to lose weight
faster than 2 pounds week. If
the foregoing diet produces a greater
loss than this, it should be supple
mented by enough extra calorie-carry-
ing food, such as bread and butter, to
check the too rapid loss Further
more, it Is well to let up for while
after every 10-pound loss and to hold
the weight constant for a. period of
two weeks by the addition to the diet
of enough extra food to accomplish
this.
A physician must decide when suf-
ficient reduction has been accom-
plished. It is probably unwise for any
Evening star., 1927-04-03

piece OK WOOD ana hurry pack 10 place
It at my feet.
The two natives were absolutely ter
ror-stricken. / told them to bolt, and
promptly followed suit. AS I ran l
caught my foot on a fallen tree-trunk,
did a double somersault, and landed
fat on my back. Springing up, /
dashed madly forward again. looking
for some suitable tree up which to
climb
A hasty backward glance showed
me that Bruce had now LEFT the water
and was careerfng gayly after me, the
branch in his mouth, and that deadly
fuse kissing and sputtering, dragging
behind him. He was so close that /
could hear his deep breathing.
darted to q tree.
How / climbed it will ever be a
mystery to me, and why I selected a
mere sapling, with so many other
stouter trees to choose from, I shall
never know. AS climbed. the slender
tree bent beneath my weight, and
presently / found myself hanging
from a branch that threatened to
break at any moment.
A deep-throated bark Of delight
caused me to glance hurriedly earth.
ward and there, at the foot OF the
tree, stood Bruce, his tail wagging ex-
the trung, the branch in his mouth,
and the string that held my funeral
at its other end dangling down into
the grass.
During the terrible seconds that fol-
lowed neither cursed nor prayed, but
braced myself for what I knew must
come. I could almost see my mangled
form lying where, a few seconds
before, a dog and tree once stood.
X X
THERE came a terrific noise; the
tree shook, I shook; then relaxed
my hold on the branch and fell heavily
to the ground. Stones, earth and
leaves rained down on me and every
thing became dark. Suddenly l felt
something warm and sticky passing
over my face. Half stunned, I put out
my hand--and grasped my old dog 6
shaggy head. He was busily licking
my face. apparently delighted at the
fun we had had!
sat up, still feeling dazed and stu
pid, and presently the two natives
appeared from somewhere or other,
They explained that the tin of gelig-
mite had become lodged in the trunk
of the very tree I had cursed at for
tripping me up. Bruce had tugged at
the string until it had broken. leaving
the bomb and fuse behind. 1t was the
explosion, apparently, that had shaken
me out of my tree.
Rising somewhat shakily, very
thankful for the little accident that
had saved both Bruce and myself,
returned to the pool, to find that the
crocodile had turned over on its back
once more, apparently killed by the
shock of the original explosion.
Evening star., 1927-04-03

~ and see If there were any
sick cattle to attend to. After
that the day was my own. Socrates
Dardegan, the brother of the manager
of the Inyoka Tobacco Estates, where
was employed, had told me he was
going shooting that morning with his
.45O Express, and we had arranged to
meet. when my tour of inspection was
over.
Carrying my .375 Westley- Richards
Express rifle and SO rounds. l went to
grail and woke the herd boys. While
/ was waiting for the arrival of Soc
rates, the chief herd boy reported that
a young calf was missing. Either a
prowling leopard had seized it the
previous evening or---what he believed
was more probable--7a crocodile had
found it's way into the watering pool.
On arriving at the pool-part of the
Tasami River, and some hundreds of
feet long-I quickly discovered the
spoor of a huge crocodile, and con-
cluded that the reptile must be some 1S
to is feet in length.
On reporting the crocodile's presence
/ was, as / expected, told off to put
him out of existence. Breakfast over,
Mr.. Dardegan handed me IL sticks Of
gelignite, or 10 feet of fuse, and some
detonators. Searching round, I un-
earthed two empty jam tins, and, ac-
companied by two natives and my.
faithful old dog Bruce--a cross be-
tween an English setter and Russian
wolfhound-I set forth on my mission
of destruction.
Arriving at the pool, I found the
water dark and placid. Taking six of
Evening star., 1927-04-03
ue of Balanced Diet Under Physicians Direction Is Shown

one whose body build inclines to the
obese type to reduce below the aver
age weight for persons of their sex,
height and age. To attempt further
reduction than this in order to con-
form to style is to defeat the purpose
of treatment. Obesity is unhealthy
ard its control is desirable. but under
nutrition is probably equally injurious.
In Summarizing, my suggestion
comes to this. A pound Of very lean
meat or lean f1sa alcalories 400 to 5000,
aSpound and one-ha,f of green vege-
tables and fruits (calor4es- about 2O0)
and one-hall pint glass ef whole
milk Q70 calories) day. The ene-
half pint of whole milk Is essential:
This represents the lowest calorie diet
on which health can be maintained:
1t will be too low for many people.
A physician should be consulted be-
fore 1T is attempted and the weight
noted every week. A loss of moro
than 2 pounds a week demands ex-
ira calories Of food, which may be
supplied in any form desired. After
each 10 pounds of loss a two-week
rest is needed, and enough calories
should be added to keep the weight
stationary for this time. In the pres
ence of high blood pressure or kidney
disease some other food arrangement,
particularly one providing less protein,
should be obtained from a doctor.
Evening star., 1927-04-03
ng and Cornering of Wild Beast

been cropping along on hands and
knees.
A MOMENT later the tomtoms
n broke the silence again. this time
sounding quite close. My senses had
evidently been dulied by the blow l
had received. for realized now that
the distant drumming was accounted
for by the fact that one kraal was sig
mailing to another. Lighting a cigar
ette, I pulled myself together and
pressed on.
Suddenly Bruce stopped dead, and
stopped with him. We listened in
tently. but only the moaning OF the
tree tops and the occasional screech
of a bird broke the utter silence.
Evening star., 1927-04-03

their health as well as their weight.
The physicians object In planning
such diets is TO reduce the number
Of calories (by cutting down the
amount OF hsat.producing foods with
out at the same time leaving out the
proper proportion of proteina. vita
Minis, minerals and bulky foods. A
deficiency Of the first three may bring
on disorders which later cannot be
cured: not TO eat enough bulky food
may lead to persistent constipation.
In most cases 1t Is helpful to plan
for a diet rather rich in protein--that
is, one including a liberal amount
about a pound daily of lean meats,
lean fish or lean fowl. This not only
insures a sufficient supply of protein,
but increases the heat production to
a certain extent. Furthermore. 1t
gives a sense OF fullness to the stom.
ach and well being which makes the
other restrictions easier to bear. Such
Evening star., 1927-04-03

| high. Indeed a half pint Of whole
milk (unskimmed) Is q necessary part
OF such restricted diets. 1t should be
whole milk, because the butter fat is
desirable.
The green vegetables, such as let
tuce, spinach. asparagus, endive,
sauerkraut, cabbage, green's, chard,
celery, mato, caulif1wer, eggplant and
string beans. besides being rich pur-
veyors Of vitamins and minerals, are
bulky and Of low caloric value. They
fill the stomach. help to satisfy the
appetite and leave a residue in the
bowels to prevent constipation. They
may be used fresh or cooked. The mod
ern commercial methods of canning
provide them in a form that Is at once
palatable and rich In vitam1n.
An amount of these low caloric foods
OF not less than one pound a day
shuld form the basis of all reducing
diets. To this should be added not less
than one.half pound of such fruits as
oranges, grapefruit, strawberries.
blackberries, peaches, pineapple or
watermelon. It should be understood
that no sugar, -four, eggs, butter or
other trimming can be added to these
vegetables or fruits in preparation.
The fruits may be obtained canned
without sugar, provided the water
PnChO0 CdA IS Sp6ClIeQ. FlHSSdT,
salt and pepper are without food
value. A mayonnaise dressing with
little or no food value. may be made
with mineral oil as a base. Coffee and
tea, taken clear, are without food
value.
H. n II
THE combination of these goups of
foods-meats. milk, greens and
fruit--comes as close to an ideal re-
duction diet as Is possible. The cal
ories will be low about 1000 calories
a day.. the dynamic action will be
high and the vitamins, minerals and
bulk adequate. Nearly all other foods
are SO rich In calories that the use of
them is prohibitive In low reducing
diet. This applies to all sweets, ce-
reals, -four and breadstuffs made
therefrom. eggs, most cheeses, cream
and butter, fat meats, lard, olive oil
and other oil, except, of course, min
eral oil, which passes out of the body
without being assimilated.
The many people who flnd II difficult
to 60 without bread may find satisfac-
ton in the bread substitutes which are
now available. These are made from
cellulose or washed bran and therefore
have no fuel value. An objection to
them Is that they add bulk to the diet,
whereas the Aset I have suggested is
Evening star., 1927-04-03

AS Il was now o'clock and / was
impatient to return. decided to go
on ahead. as there was a Kaffir path
leading from this kraal to the planta-
ton, so that could not lose my way.
I had gone perhaps a mile from the
kraal when noticed a large bull Gland
shambling along. These animals are
much larger than a ull-grown OK.
/ lifted my rife, took aim and fred
breaking his foreleg. AS he fed. limp
ing, Bruce began worrying him, and
I hurried in pursuit. 1t Is surprising
the distance one can cover when on
the trail of a wounded animal, but at
last 1 got In my second shot and
brought him down stone dead.
Dusk set in without warning, and
Evening star., 1927-04-03
2,OOO-Calory Diet AS Foundation for Diets of
Hi0hey CGIOyv VdLues


20
non Of foods desired is recommended however that the foods
of oOcalory portions Of
Suggested 2,50O-Caory Diet for Adults
2OOOCory Diets H. ILL., Nv be substituted for Diet
Suggestions
n
ME ped oue' u sn' W may be
be
n
Tvbe Meals Which Could Be Prepared From the AboUe Diet
rREAkFAsr BREAKFAST
ne bacon scanb,d
sevin
cup
Potato soup paso
IHng 1 ona na so
A'eAuHA
aaSRs
L MOI nksh ! Il Gun indian % toD
Evening star., 1927-04-03

that there are three ways to reduce
weight: First, to raise the heat pro
duction OF the body by taking extract
of thyroid as q medicine; second, to
raise the heat production by taking
more exercise; third, TO reduce the
supply of food fuel to a point below
the energy needs Of the body-in other
words, dieting.
The first Of these methods. taking
thyroid extract. is regarded by many
as the quick and easy route to SLIM
ness. The large majority OF effective
weight.reducing remedies contain thy
roid, and the dangers attending their
use are horrifying. My personal ex-
perience leads me to the conviction
that thyroid medication Is unneces-
sary for purposes of weight reduction
and I practically never use 1t.
Exercise, while helpful II resorted
to in moderation. can be overdone and
lead to unhealthful results. A fur.
ther objection to much exercising is
that the appetite IL tremendously
stimulated thereby, so that restricting
the diet becomes an exquisite torture.
Excessive exercising Is tedious or
deal for most persons and sooner or
later is neglected. In the meanwhile
I the habit Of eating q great deal has
been formed, and this habit. as well
as the appetite. continues long after
the exercising has been given up, thus
pound after pound is added TO the
weight, and any reduction that has
resulted from the exercise Is overbal'
anced.
To diet by reducing the food supply
below the full requirement OF the
body will always reduce weight II per-
sisted In for long enough time. Tenn
porarily an actual gain in weight may
occur, due to the retention Of water
by the tissues.
A weight loss Of more than one or
two pounds week should not be ex.
pected or desired. since to lose flesh
too rapidly is likely to be injurious
to looks as well as health. The daily
changes in weight during the reducing
are largely Jue TO water in the tbs.
sues and mean nothing; the weekly
and the monthly changes are the ones
that count.
Some persons imag gine that they can
reduce by drinking less water. Re-
suits gained by this method amount
TO nothing; they do not last.