Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-11
Thrills Of Taking Morton Pictures Min the
King of Beasts in the LeadIng RoAe-A
Desperate Moment When Pasha, the
Killer, Broke From the KruaI-Dlaruud-
ing Vintory at Night.

hired were old and rickety. I repaired them
well possible before 1 started.
Our trek to Kabulamwanda was memorable
In many ways. We started in January shortly
after the rains had commenced. The season
turned out to be freak one. Usually lull
in the rains occurs about the middle Of jan
uary and lasts a month. But we ran into the
heaviest continuous rains of the season At
the end Of trek the weather cleared and
held dry and fine for so long that crops were
in danger.
Trekking is grueling work and a strain on
tempers which it Is hard to overcome. The
first day was nightmare. The oxen tried to
bolt with the lions Many of the drivers were
new to their spans Of oxen. They did not
know their names and had difficuIty in control
ling them and making them pun In unison.
Wagons stuck hub deep and required SO and
So oxen to pull them out. Trek chains broke
under the strains with cracks like pistol shots.
Drivers ran amok, slashing at the oxen and
their leader boys Unfortunately. We covered
three miles the first day But it was something
to have gotten the wagons under way and the
oxen broken in. At night the lions roared and
called, the dogs barked derisiye answers and
the oxen stirred and pulled at their chains
reStlesSly.
Twenty-Five days to travel a hundred milesI
Less than four miles day. Wagons went to
pieces under the strain and rebuilt them.
Bolts snapped and we made new ones, blowing
up our forge in the middle of the weld. The
rain came down in torrents. was never dry.
The lion cages were nearly waterproof, but
we covered them with thick tarpaulins. Pasha
clawed his one night, and pulling it into his
cage tore the huge canvas to ribbons. The cubs
had a 35-foot canoe over their crates They
were well protected.
WATER covered the weld in every direction.
Mosquitoes came out in clouds and at
tackled us day and night. In one spot We were
forced to hitch four spans, 70 oxen to. q wagon
The water was so deep for SO yards that the
oxen were forced to swim. BY inSpanning so
many those in front could swim while those
behind pulled and then reversing pulled while
their brothers swan.
Throughout that month Of work and sweat
unloading and reloading, cursng, driving, Shiv-
ering wading, the lions were never unloaded
No matter how deep the mud and water, how
churned or steep the trail, the lions had to go
through.
Entire villages turned out to watch us, to see
the crazy white man carrying lions into the
heart of the weld. We became q travelling
circus and reports of our doings were the gossip
of the countryside. BY report Big Pasha
escaped at least once, and. according TO rumor,
and my natives surrounded and captured
him, three or four Of us dying in the attempt
We finally arrived at Kabulamwanda after q
terrific bout with a stretch Of seven miles, COW
cred the entire length with water foot to four
feet in depth After day two of rest we
picked out a camp site and hauled our precious
lions and freight there, unloaded and began
building.
It was large camp, nine whites, permanent
staff of $50 natives with many wives and chill
dren, a trading store, horses, dogs cattle,
donkeys, lions and as time passed, trucks and
wild animals. At one time between four and
five hundred natives arrived in war paint and
feathers for a great game drive and even
greater dance.
Every evening at about PaSha commenced
to roar. Soon after the first blasts had rum
bled away among the trees the honesSes would
sound OF. It always thrilled me to hear them.
There is some quality in the roar Of a lion that
is more majestic, more awesome than the
scream of an elephant, the whistle of rhi-
nocerous or the honk-honk of a bull hippo. To
me it is not SO terrifying as many other noises
which 1 have heard at night on the weld. In
civilization have often lOnged and ached TO
hear it come booming and rolling out of the
night. The zoo lions and even the degraded
noises made in sound pictures give me thrill.
Sitting in the open air at dinner, the roaring
of our lions sounding about US, we often heard
wild lions answering. Sometimes they came
close, but more often the roars and calls came
from a mile or two away Absent from the
camp myself one night, distinctly heard Big
Pasha roaring seven miles distant. It was
quiet night with rain hanging close. when
sound travels far.
one evening Wnen we were at olnner the
houseboy left to guard the children rushed up
to me with his eyes popping out of bis head.
"I'nkos," he blurted, "the lions have arrived"
We leaped up. Frank rushed to his hut for
a rife and big electric searchlight. grabbed
my rife and shooting vest, which hung a
pole behind me. Noble made for his hut.
Together with the ladies behind, we advanced
on the house, flashing the lamp ahead OF us.
Natives assembled as II by magic and appeared
grfi1hfng out or the DARKNESS. The gunbedrers
and crackers armed with spears fell LII behind