A STROKE OF FORTUNE. 331 



cupinc, secretary-bird, baboon, and the young rhinoceros and hippopotamus. 

 These of themselves formed a goodly menagerie, and my friends could count them* 

 selves fortunate if they succeeded in reaching Port Natal without the loss of more 

 than three or four. 



Mr. Godkin's experience in the business fitted him better than any man that 

 could have been selected for the delicate and difficult work. There seemed no 

 possible contingency of which he did not think and for which he did not provide. 



But he assured me that of all the tasks he ever undertook, that of conducting the 

 train and the animals through the long stretch of desert and mountainous co utry 

 irom a point west of the center of Southern Africa to Port Natal, was the hardest. 

 He suffered three attacks from wild men in which Valmur and Gooboo were killed, 

 And Orak was again wounded, this time so severely that he will never fully re- 

 cover from it. In the second fight Pongo distinguished himself by instantly killing 

 one of the assailants with a boomerang, decapitating him as neatly as it could have 

 been done by the sword of a Crusader. 



Govozy, another native, fell sick when in the Orange Free State, and, despite 

 everything that could be done, died and was buried in one of the wildest glees in 

 the mountains. 



Both Bob Marshall and Dick Brownell became ill with some fever peculiar to 

 the country, but fortunately they pulled through, and expressed themselves as being 

 stronger than ever. 



It was about this time that the baboon managed to break his way out of the 

 cage in which he was confined, but, before he was fairly started on the highway to 

 freedom, Jack Harvey's lasso yanked him back again. 



The rhinoceros and hippopotamus developed such amazing appetites that they 

 threatened to raise a famine in the expedition. Three of the oxen, two of the goats 

 and one of the horses perished on the way, but when, at last, the far-off destination 

 was reached, and the wearied party looked out on the flashing waters of the Indian 

 Ocean, not a single one of the captives was missing, and all were in excellent 

 condition. 



It was an exploit of which any person might feel proud, and the handsome gold 

 watch and chain which Mr. Carl Godkin now wears was sent to him as a token oi 

 the appreciation of his employers for his skill and devotion. 



At Port Natal, the remaining natives were paid liberally for their services, with 

 the promise that when my agents went that way again, they would be sought out 

 and re-engaged, for they had rendered most excellent service, and Pongo and 

 Diedrick especially had proven themselves beyond value. I have met other 

 travelers in South Africa who have employed them, and they all speak in the highest 

 terms of their faithfulness and skill. 



When I add that the captive birds and animals, which were shipped from Port 

 Natal to England, and thence to America, made the long voyage in safety, with the 

 exception of one of the leopard kittens and an oryx, you will agree with me that the 

 expedition which I sent into South Africa was brilliantly successful in every respect 



