WILD LIFE ACROSS THE WORLD 



suddenly loom into view, and you think they are going 

 to topple over and roll down on you, Cecil Rhodes, 

 Dr. Jameson, Major Wilson and his gallant band are 

 all lying within a few hundred yards of each other, 

 and I found myself unconsciously comparing this with 

 a London cemetery. (Bury me in the wilds) 



On the way through Rhodesia I chatted with a 

 stranger on the train. He left me at Brokenhill, but 

 returned five minutes afterwards to ask me to come 

 and see a wonderful skull which had just been found 

 under a vein of lead ore sixty feet below ground. The 

 doctor of the mine showed it to me, and a discussion 

 arose as to whether it was that of an ape or a man, as the 

 lower jaw was missing. Having seen hundreds of native 

 skulls in Central Africa and many of apes, I gave my 

 opinion that it was that of a human being. The place 

 had apparently been a cave before the upheaval, as other 

 bones were there, including some like those of elephants. 



When I got back to England I found my opinion 

 was right, and that it was over three thousand years 

 old. I have often found queer bones and skulls in 

 caves in Africa, but my interest has been mainly in 

 the living. In my early days with my brother Richard 

 we unearthed some interesting things at St. Kilda, 

 including a spear one thousand years old. As recent 

 events have proved in Egypt, Africa is the country of 

 wonders and mysteries. I know a lonely place in 

 Central Africa where the Romans undoubtedly cut 



250 



