56 HOW COOK STARTED 



In the meantime Bradley, the backer, was waiting anxiously at home for 

 news of the great dash. He had taken a long chance on Cook, as the popular 

 phrase has it, and success or failure meant much to him. 



But Bradley was accustomed to taking long chances. All his life he had 

 been a hunter of big game ; a tempter of fate. His career as a hunter probably 

 has not been surpassed by an American. He has been called "the greatest 

 amateur big game hunter in the world." To scour the African jungles it 

 cost him the sum of $20,000. In his caravan were one hundred and thirty 

 natives. 



Photographs of this expedition show a caravan, each man carrying from 

 eighty to 100 pounds on his head. The men were picked from various 

 tribes and were under the guidance of native experts from the country of 

 the Mad Mullah. By playing one faction against another, Bradley was able 

 to preserve peace and order. 



Of this African hunt Bradley has written as follows : 

 *T have been a sportsman all my life, not a hunter. A hunter is a pro- 

 fessional who goes into the jungle for ivory and skins for the market. The 

 sportsman hunts for the trophies only. I selected Africa, near the equator, 

 to hunt and bury myself — becoming practically dead to the world. 



"When I left New York I took along a friend who had shot with me 

 in the Rocky mountains, a man who was equal to any emergency. In making 

 up a hunting expedition it is best to have men of several tribes. I had a 

 hundred porters, ten policemen carrying Snider rifles, and eight gunbearers, 

 with personal servants. 



'T had thirty tents, accommodating five men each. We carried 10,000 

 rounds of ammunition with guns, revolvers, knives, and everything necessary 

 for a complete African hunting expedition. 



"We hunted from 6 in the morning until 10 o'clock, the hour for luncheon 

 and rest. From 10 to 4 we staid in camp, then shot again from 4 until 6. 

 The days were intensely hot under the equator, but among the highlands 

 the nights were cool. 



"It is curious that I never found a native who really knew how to hunt 

 game. The Massi tribe knows nothing of stalking wild animals which roam 

 in thousands around their villages. Many natives are killed by lions, leopards 

 and especially by the rhinoceros. I consider this animal the most dangerous 

 of all. 



"There are about eighteen varieties of horned game in eastern Africa. 

 You find bunches of from one thousand to two thousand or three thousand 



