

84 



HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 



there would be only the Boer hunter, in Khar- 

 toum the Soudanese, and in Stanleyville never 

 one. Just fancy a caravan of wild animals; in 

 and about Stanleyville. Mr. Shepstone's ignor- 

 ance is appalling. He is probably unaware that 

 Stanleyville is over one thousand mile away from 

 Stanley Pool, otherwise Leopoldville, from where 

 the railway runs down to Mataddi. No collec- 

 tion of wild beasts ever made would pay the 

 expenses of a caravan tour of a thousand miles. 



Then we are told that 



" No one has done more for the preserva- 

 tion of the wild fauna of the earth than the 

 i British, by the establishment of game re- 

 serves and by controlling the number of 

 creatures that may be shot. In the British 

 possessions of Africa alone there are now 33 

 game reserves, namely : British Sast Africa, 

 2; Uganda, 2; Somaliland, 2; Soudan, 2 

 Northern Nigeria, 1; Southern Nigeria, 4 

 Cape Colony, 2; Mashonaland, 1; Natal, 1 

 Zululand, 4; Nyasaland, 2; North-eastern 

 Rhodesia, 2; North-western Rhodesia, 5; 

 Swaziland, 2; and 1 in the Transvaal. These 

 reservations are to all intents and purposes 

 natural zoological gardens, affording a safe 

 retreat and natural refuge for the wild life of 

 the district. Some of them are of immense 

 size, a few beinglarger than the Principality 

 of Wales, while quite a number equal our 

 largest county, Yorkshire, Sb area. All 



these reserves have been created during the 

 last twenty years. Fifteen of them were 

 founded in 1910. 



"From whatever standpoint one views 

 the question, it must be conceded that the 

 catching, handling and disposing of wild ani- 

 mals is essentially a business that should be 

 in British hands. It is therefore gratifying 

 to learn that a syndicate, composed of an en- 

 thusiastic band of British sportsmen and 

 naturalists, all of whom are great lovers of 

 animals, has been formed, known as. the 

 World's Zoological Tradmg Company, Ltd., 

 for the sole purpose of supplying to the zoo- 

 logical societies and animal parks healthy liv. 

 ing specimens of the wild fauna of the* earth. 



"The promoter of the enterprise is Lt. 

 John A. Jordan, a well-known African hunter 

 and traveller, of whom a portrait is given 

 among "Men and Women of To-day." As- 

 sociated with Mr. Jordan is Mr. Robert Lead- 

 better, who, at Hazlemere Park, in Bucking- 

 hamshire, has earned notonetv for his suc- 

 cussful breeding of lions, tigers, various 

 species of deer, antelope, foreign birds and 

 reptiles. It is here where the Company pro- 

 pose to house their animals on arrival, and 

 more healthy quarters could hardly be se- 

 lected. It is a commendable improvement 



upon the practice hitherto of confining the 

 creatures in yards and stables in the centre 

 of busy cities." 

 Then follows the names of three well-known 

 Peers, and also a Scottish Shipowner. However 

 these four gentlemen were dragged into this con- 

 cern, I cannot understand. 



One of the first enquiries that the Official 

 Receiver should make would be, How did these 

 gentlemen become connected with such a concern? 

 Who introduced them to Jordan and his asso- 

 ciates? Are they aware that a very large number 

 of young officers have invested their wherewithal 

 in this Company on account of the several names 

 attached to the prospectus? These unfortunate 

 young men have been deluded into investing £500 

 or £1,000 with a view of becoming Big Game 

 Trappers. 



Even "Truth" wrote warning all and sundry 

 against this wild cat scheme, and then in "The 

 Times" the following week appeared advertise- 

 ments asking for demobilised officers to take part 

 in trapping expeditions when they know no more 

 about trapping than about milking. 



Great inducements were held out for every trapper 

 applicant to invest £500 at least in the concern. 

 Having done that he was bundled off anywhere : 

 Timbuctoo, Stanleyville, and I even heard of two 

 unfortunate so called trappers going to Loanda, 

 Portuguese Angola. The majority appealed for 

 funds to continue their so called trappery, but 

 were ultimately left stranded. 



The article then goes on to state 



" 'It is a specialised business,' said Mr. 

 Jordan, 'and for that reason I have not only 

 engaged several seasoned hunters who' are 

 already out in the African wilds collecting 

 animals, but am training some young men 

 for the work on my own grounds. In the 

 Congo I have secured a track of wild coun- 

 try, 55,000 acres in extent, upon which there 

 are many valuable beasts, including a herd 

 of wild elephants. 



'As you know, the African elephant is 



a much bigger, finer and -rarer beast than 



his Indian brother. He is taller, has a fine 



massive head, great tusks, and earsi like 



monster cabbage leaves. The Belgians have 



shown that he can be caught and turned 



like the Indian elephant. I am now making 



preparations to build a kheddah on the 



ground. Into the stockade we shall drive 



the wild elephants and then subdue them by 



sending in trained ones. ' " 



How Jordan can have the audacity to state he has 



already engaged several seasoned hunters and 



training young men for the work I cannot 



imag-ine. 



