''AFRICAN GAME TRAILS" 



961 



tage of every patch of cover, I crawled 

 toward it on all-fours, my rifle too hot 

 for me to touch the barrel, while the 

 blistering heat of the baked ground hurt 

 my hands. At a little over a hundred 

 yards I knelt and aimed at the noble 

 beast. I could now plainly see his huge 

 bulk and great, massive horns, as he stood 

 under a tree." The first shot brought 

 him down. "Meanwhile Kermit had 

 killed two eland — a cow on the first day, 

 and on the second a bull even better 

 than, although not quite so old as, mine. 

 Kermit could see game and follow tracks 

 almost as well as his gun-bearers, and 

 in a long chase could outrun them." 



But to save the three big skins in that 

 climate was even harder work than the 

 many hours of hunting had been, but they 

 did it, though it took till midnight to get 

 the skins in proper condition for trans- 

 portation. 



The buffaloes, and particularly the 

 very rare square-nosed or "white" rhino, 

 demanded even greater exertions of the 

 party. Of the square-nosed rhino (see 

 pages 958, 959) only two specimens, and 

 both very poor ones, had been previously 

 secured for any museum, one being at 

 Berlin and the other at London. Mr 

 Roosevelt shot five splendid specimens 

 in the Lado and Kermit four, and all 

 nine animals were saved for the U. S. 

 National Museum. 



No one can read the volume without 

 being impressed by the serious purpose 

 of the leader and of every member of his 

 staff. This was in no sense a hunting 

 party for the collection of record heads 

 and horns, but an expedition organized, 

 equipped, and directed by some of the 

 ablest naturalists in the world, all of 

 whom were animated with the sole am- 

 bition to bring back some contribution to 

 science. 



While the leader and his son were 

 toiling strenuously for the big - game 

 specimens, Major Mearns, Dr Loring, 

 and Mr Heller were collecting and trap- 

 ping (they took hundreds of traps with 

 them) long series of rats, mice, squirrels, 

 monkeys, shrews, bats, lizards, reptiles, 

 birds, fishes, and plants. Every man had 



his particular field of work and did it 

 well, with the result that our National 

 Museum will possess the finest and most 

 valuable collection of African fauna in 

 any museum. 



Mr Roosevelt during the trip shot 

 with the rifle 296 big game and Kermit 

 216 — a grand total of 512. "Kermit and 

 I kept about a dozen trophies for our- 

 selves ; otherwise we shot nothing that 

 was not used either as a museum speci- 

 men or for meat — usually for both pur- 

 poses. We were in hunting grounds 

 practically as good as any that have ever 

 existed ; but we did not kill a tenth nor 

 a hundredth part of what we might have 

 killed had we been willing. The mere 

 size of the bag indicates little as to a 

 man's prowess as a hunter, and almost 

 nothing as to the interest or value of his 

 achievement." 



To the writer of this review, "African 

 Game Trails" appeals as the strongest 

 and best work of literature Mr Roosevelt 

 has yet written. The word pictures are 

 extraordinarily vivid and reahstic. He 

 who seeks stories of adventure will be 

 entranced by the many strange situations, 

 and will rejoice in such descriptions as 

 that of the hunt of a lion by the naked 

 Xandi warriors armed only with shields 

 and spears. 



"One b}^ one the spearmen came up, 

 at a run, and gradually began to form 

 a ring round him. Each, when he came 

 near enough, crouched behind his shield, 

 his spear in his right hand, his fierce, 

 eager face peering over the shield rim. 

 As man followed man, the lion rose to 

 his feet. His mane bristled, his tail 

 lashed, he held his head low, the upper 

 lip now drooping over the jaws, now 

 drawn up so as to show the gleam of the 

 long fangs. He faced first one way and 

 then another, and never ceased to utter 

 his murderous grunting roars. It was a 

 wild sight — the ring of spearmen, intent, 

 silent, bent on blood, and in the center 

 the great man-killing beast, his thunder- 

 ous wrath growing ever more dangerous. 



"At last the tense ring was complete, 

 and the spearmen rose and closed in. 

 The lion looked quickly from side to 



