Evening star., 1928-12-13
WOMAN, 70, PLANS
HUNT IN AFRICA
Mrs. Oscar StrauS to Make
Wild Life Pictures and
Collect Birds.
BY ALLENE TALMEY.

Written exclusively for The Star and the
North American Newspaper Alliance.
NEW YORK, December 13.-At 70,
white haired, active. Mrs. oscar Straus
will be of next month to hunt big
game In Africa with camera, to col
lect birds of beauty for stufing.
After a lifetime of excitement, Mrs.
Straus desires to top of with the thrill
of watching bull elephants, shaggy lions
and great tigers.
Tall, impressive, still carrying with
her that distinction and charm which
made her friends in her youth refer TO
her beauty as that of Sargent por-
trait, Mrs. Straus will leave her New
York apartment to sail January on an
expedition for the American Museum OF
Natural History.
Like the two sons of Theodore Roose-
welt, in whose cabinet her husband
served as Secretary of Commerce and
Labor, Mrs. Straus has the exploring
fever For long time she has been IN
terested In the foreign field work OF the
museum, an interest now so intenslfled
all its expenses.
Collecting Wardrobe.
At present Mrs. Straus is busy with
her wardrobe for Africa, clothes vastly
different from those which she hiss
worn in her past two African visits
when she travelled as tourist, dressed
In pretty, delicate frocks with a para
sol over her head. This time her trunks
will hold substantial dark dresses and
all her parasols will be left at home.
I'VE will arrive in Cairo about Feb
ruary 4 and from there We expect to
sail up the Nile until we land at the
headwaters," said Mrs. Straus. II sup
pose we will take a car next to go from
Uganda to Jinga where Rudyard Boul-
ton of the Carnegie Museum, who Is
accompanying us. will collect birds.
You won't misunderstood. This Is
not a hunting trip. It Is a collecting
trip. While Mr.. Boulton searches for his
birds Mrs Boulton and will go of on
q side trip to Fort Portal, near the base
Of Mount Ruwenzori, and later on
when the party is reunited, we VIII
enter Nairobi, in British East Africa,
where for II days we will go into the
big game country"
When she sails she will leave
on the docks her three children, Roger
william Straus, Mrs. Leonard Hook
stader and Mrs. Edward Schaefer, as
well as her six grandchildren.
So many times has Mrs. Straus seen
the skyline of New York recede down
the bay that she has lost count. For
it is many years since Sarah Laven-
burg, at 10, married the young Oscar
Straus, and after three years. OF living
at her parents home, moved with him
to ConStantinople, where she took up
residence as the wife Of the American
Minister to Turkey.
Those were exciting days for her. She
was young, beautiful. with masses OF
dark hair piled high in a pompadour. |
One of her most amusing "reminiscences |
of that period in her life has the Kaiser |
william as the center. The Sultan gave |
a gala banquet at the palace for the |
Kaiser Mistaking Mrs. StrauS for the |
wife of a European diplomat, the Em- |
porer said to her that he knew her |
queen very well.
II presume your majesty refers to |
AIRS. Mckinley" answered Mrs. Straus.
Mr.. StrauS, who. served three times
as Minister to Turkey, died May 3,
1926. at the age OF IS. Six months later
his intimate friend, Carl Akeley, Sculp-
tor and big game hunter, died in the
Belgian Congo and now lies buried on /
Mount Kikeno, Uganda.
It was through Carl Akeley that Mrs.
Straus first became fascinated with the
thought of trip into the interior of /
Africa. With her children busy with /
their own children, with her philan- i
thropic work all advancing nicely, and |
with herself free from all home duties, |
she Is at last indulging herself.
Copyright. 1925. By North American News
paper Alliance.l