70 
HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
authority being- obtained, the "boy" justified him- 
self by killing on foot in tlhe course ofl his first 
three seasons no fewer than 78 elephants. A 
Hottentot hunter named "Cigar" initiated him 
in the perils of elephant-hunting, and seems to 
have been a reliable and considerate companion. 
The outfit which satisfied young Selous would 
scarcely be deemed adequate by modern hunters 
of big game. He was accompanied by a solitary 
Kaffir "boy," who carried his blankets and spare 
ammunition, Selous himself taking along a four- 
bore muzzle-loading rifle, a bag of powder, and 
20 bullets of 4oz. each. For food he and Cigar 
depended on their rifles and what Kaffir corn they 
could procure., These so-called rifles were in 
•reality smooth-bore duck-guns of the cheapest 
description, carrying round bullets, but although 
they "kicked" terribly Selous found them as well 
suited for killing- elephants as the best express 
rifles. 
Selous made a trip home in 187S 1 , but the 
spring of the following- year found him once again 
hunting in Matabeleland. Later on he crossed the 
Zambesi into- the Batonga country. An expedi- 
tion to Mashonaland followed, and during it 
Selous experienced one of the narrowest of his 
many escapes from dangerous big game. He was 
hunting elephants on horseback, had wounded 
one, and the somewhat sluggish horse he rode 
was chased and caught by the infuriated animal. 
Selous was dashed heavily to the ground. When 
he recovered his senses the first objects that met 
his eyes were the pillar-like hind legs of the ele- 
phant. He was actually underneath the enraged 
beast, which was kneeling- and searching for its 
enemy. Needless to say, Selous lost no time in 
escaping from such a dangerous proximity and, 
wonderful to relate, neither he nor the horse was 
much the worse. Durig this trip he nearly lost 
oxen, horses, and everything he possessed from 
thirst, no water being obtainable for a period of 
about four days. Selous's "bag" of big game 
from 1877 to 1880 inclusive consisted 1 of 548 head, 
among them being 20 1 elephants, two white and 
10 black rhinoceroses, 100 buffaloes, 13' lions, and 
18 giraffes. In the spring of 1881 he went home. 
His fame as a hunter and naturalist was now well 
established, and papers on different species of 
African mammals which he read before the Zoo- 
logical and other scientific societies attracted much 
attention. Selous was recognised as an ebcep- 
tionally careful and reliable observer — a faculty 
in which some of the greatest African hunters 
have been singularly deficient — and his investi- 
gations set at rest sundry disputed points regard- 
ing the species and habits of certain of the African 
big game. 
About this time Selous entertained thoughts 
of settling to more peaceful avocations, but the 
call of the wild was too strong, and for many 
years after 1882! his life as hnuter and explorer 
was only varied by occasional visits to the old 
country. During an expedition undertaken in 
1888 he was treacherously attacked by natives of 
the Mashukulumbwi tribe. From his safari of 
twenty-five only seven escaped unhurt; twelve 
were killed outright, and Selous found himself 
stranded with only the clothes he wore, a rifle, 
and four cartridges. It was indeed a terrible 
situation in which he was then placed — alone in 
the heart of savage Africa, surrounded by hostile 
natives, and separated by a wide expanse of diffu, 
cult country from friendly ones. For three weeks 
he struggled pluckily along, sleeping on the bare 
ground without blankets, enduring all kinds of 
privation and hardship. He was providentially 
saved to reach the country of Sikahenga, a Baton- 
ga chief who protected him. 
When Mashonaland was occupied by the 
British Selous rendered valuable services as guide 
and in connection with the advanced guard. The 
road which so greatly facilitated operations was 
constructed under his supervision, and his per- 
sonal influence with the neighbouring warlike 
tribes was largely responsible for their quiescence. 
At this time Selous's reputation stood deservedly 
high. Cecil Rhodes had a great opinion of him, 
and there is no doubt that had he wished it Selous 
might have occupied an important post in the new 
Administration. But he did not wish it; possibly 
the habits of mind acquired during so many years 
of solitary life had unfitted him to co-operate with 
others. 
In January, 1910, Selous undertook an ex- 
pedition to the Bahr-el-Ghazal province of the 
Sudan with the object of procuring complete 
specimens of the Sudanese eland for the Natural 
History Museum at South Kensington. The trip 
however, proved unsuccessful. 
Although his name is associated more es- 
pecially with Africa, Selous's hunting- expeditions 
were by no means confined to the Dark Continent 
He was keen to explore any country in which rare 
trophies might be obtained. Twice (1897-98) he 
visited the Rocky Mountains and secured really 
good heads of mule-deer and as good specimens 
of wapiti as are to be had in those regions now-a- 
days. Some ears previously he was in Asia Minor, 
where he shot several of the handsome wild goats, 
animals which are exceedingly shy and not very 
numerous. 
B0ST0CK AND WOMBWELL'S 
MENAGERIE IN LEEDS. 
CHRISTMAS, 1916—17. 
The publicity given in "The Yorkshire Post" 
yesterday to the circumstances in which a plot 
of land in the centre of Leeds has been let to 
