74 
HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
in his magazine he says there is no West Africa r 
game reserve in existence. There is not a hippo- 
potamus, rhinoceros, or giraffe within hundreds of 
miles of the Congo property. 
THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET. 
Here is the challenge issued by Mr. Hamlyn : 
" For every live and fully-trained African elephant 
they (the Zoological Co.) land in Great Britain 
within the next two years, I will be willing to 
give to any public charity they like to name the 
sum of £10, for every rhinoceros £1', for every 
hippopotamus and giraffe .£5. Finally, if they 
ever sell a python for £100 within the two years, 
£5 to such charity. " 
Mr. Jordan, in accepting the challenge, 
through the "Star," says, "We have got reserves 
in French, British, and Belgian territories. At 
the present moment expeditions are hunting in 
East Africa, Nyassaland, the Sudan, and West 
Africa. The hunters are men of experience and 
knowledge of the ways of wild creatures, and 
they are after the giraffe, rhinoceros, eland, and 
the roan and the sable antelope (which are the 
rare species). 
"Last week we interviewed 250 men anxious 
to enter the service of the company. They are 
all demobilised officers. Out of that number we 
selected about 10 men, all of whom have invested 
in the company, and all of them know the wild- 
game lands of Africa, and naturally their busi- 
ness. 
" Mr. Hamlyn denies the existence of our 
game reserves. We have the capturing rights over 
55,000 acres, or 87 square miles. On that prop- 
erty there are about 1,000 elephant, about the 
same number of red buffalo, herds of roan and 
sable antelope, eland, waerbuck, and crowds of 
smaller creatures. Their estimated worth of 
£45,000 does not actually represent one-quarter 
of their value. We are erecting kraals for the 
capture and training of adult elephants. This has 
never been done before. 
" All my life I have been hunting in Africa. I 
speak most of the Native dialects, and I am as 
well known in Africa as any man living. I have 
shot 1,000 elephants — we are not out to slaughter 
now, but to capture. We want to train them for 
transport in the deadly fly country, and we are 
trying the eland and zebra for the same work. I 
sail for Africa next month. And I may say my 
wife was the first white woman to journey right 
across Africa from east to west. The journey 
lasted 12 months. You may be interested to know 
our hunters use the motor-bicycle to pursue the 
big game." 
A BiG-GAME HUNTER'S VIEWS. 
There is no great future for a scheme which 
aims at exporting from West Africa big game, 
according to a big-game hunter, who arrived re- 
cently from the Coast. " In the first place railway 
freight would make the scheme prohibitive," he 
explained to a representative of "West Africa." 
"Travelling on the Coast is an expensive affair 
for human beings, so you may imagine what it 
would cost to bring a herd of elephants from the 
interior to the ports. 
"Then there would be the question of embar- 
kation. Animals could not be shipped either at 
Seccondee or Sierra Leone. The vessels lie out 
two miles from the shore, and all the cargo, etc., 
is taken to them on surf-boats. It would be im- 
possible to convey elephants in this way. 
"With regard to big game there is no great 
quantity on the West Coast. Bongo, a rare type 
of antelope, has been found on the Gold Coast. It 
is one of the prettiest speecies in the world, and 
is called Tunkwa by the Fantis. Few have been 
killed by Europeans. There is a fair amount of 
big game in the Belgian Congo. There are hippo- 
potami on the Gold Coast, but no rhinoceroses 
and no giraffes, to my knowledge."/ 
GAME RESERVES ON THE COAST. 
There is plenty of big game in the Cameroons, 
particularly elephants, and a fair amount in 
Northern Nigeria, on the borders of Lake Chad, 
where the lake runs to the Cameroons. 
"In addition, health conditions are antagon- 
istic to such a scheme as that proposed by the 
World's Trading Co. The climate on the West 
Coast of Africa would preclude hunters from mak- 
ing a long stay in the bush. It would be danger- 
ous for the European to live a sufficient number 
of months in the bush to capture elephants." 
Referring to Mr. Hamlyn 's statement that 
there is no West African game reserve in exist- 
ence, the big-game hunter pointed out that there 
is one in Ashanti — the Afram plain. Another 
big-game reserve, a combined British, French, 
and German one, is at Lake Chad. It extends 30 
miles round the shores of the lake. 
My challenges do not seem to be clearly un- 
derstood. Here they are once more : — 
For every trained African Elephant they land 
in this country and sell for £800 — £10; 
For every Hippopotamus sold for £700 — £5; 
For every Rhinoceros sold for £750 — £10; 
For every Giraffe sold for £750 — £5; 
