ARNST IN AFRICA.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 964, 3 November 1910, Page 5

ARNST IN AFRICA.

AFTER LIONS. SCULLING HONOURS FOR JACK ARNST. By Tuesday's mail, a letter was received, in Wellington from Mr. Hairy Floyd, trainer of Dick Arnst, ; champion sculler of the world, written on their return to Johannesburg after a hunting • expedition in the heart of Central Africa. The letter runs as follows: — "When last I wrote you about the race, we were going off on a shooting expedition with Dreyer, the ' trader, who came down to clear the course of hippos. He said we could come up as far as his place, and then Ho would give us a team of bullocks to get into the back country, and 'niggers' to take us out hunting. The Monday after the race saw us away from livingstone. .We started along sandy tracks, then crossed some rocky country, which, in my humble opinion, carries gold and copper, or I have never seen gold-bearing country. I cannot understand why the company is so slow in opening up the country for mining. I passed over as good-looking a country for minerals as ever I saw." Then we crossed over black soil . plains—such soil as would make the New Zealand dairy farmers turn green with envy. Wherever it has not been burnt there is a coarse grass up to eight feet "in height, which in the.distance resemble fields of wheat. It is now the dry season, but the growth that exists makes one think what a country it would be if it only got a little rain now and again. There is such .jnormous extent of it,' and nothing but a few 'niggers' here and there along the banks of the rivers.. The country,-with the'exception of the plains, is covered with timber of stunted growth. The only tree of any size is the cream of tartar tree, which, grows to great heights, tapering at the top like a bottle. I have seen some of the trees which measure 50ft. round. The natives make a drink out'of the seed —natives always find something to make 'booze' out of. We got little shooting on the trip to Dreyer's, which we reached on Friday. The next day we loaded •up the team and, leaving the' Zambesi behind, struck into the country.

The Bullocks Bolt. "The bullocks, being, a bit fresh at the word 'go,' took it into their heads to bolt, which caused a bit of excitement. Dick chased them for his' life and managed to.catch them up and put the screw on at the back of the cart, , and so saved. the. situation with little damage done. It is the custom here to have a nigger in front pulling the bullocks. In one case-we'had a great six-footer with a nose like General Booth, armed with a'whip or a, piece of hide about 30ft. in length. He had no more idea of using a whip than- an old woman, but his frantic shrieks and yells were enough to shatter the nerves of everybody for miles round. Dreyer did not accompany us—said he' would catch us up in a few days.' We took with us the three nigger boys we had whilst training, and as our. cook boy could speak a bit of English we depended on him to do any interpreting that may be necessary, but we found him lacking, and had,to pay for.it. In travelling you have to study where you will get your next supply of water. One evening wo started pretty late, thinking we would reach water in time to camp for the night, but found that it was 18 to 20 miles away, so there was nothing for it but.to go on until we reached it. . . ,

Lions! . ' "Wβ reached , 'the'/Kasia'River late that night' and camped ' there until Dreyer caught us up. Wβ'had now got into good shooting country, where lions may bo mot with. In tie middle of the second night our two dogs.began to howl with fright and roused us all into action. , We were on the open plain with a few small bushes here and there. At the first alarm S jumped up, with his hair on end and his rifle in his hand. He could: see lions all round, and was prepared to swear that all , the bushes were moving. His imagination had got the better of him. When we looked next morning the only spoor we cojuld see.was that of'a jackal or some such smaller animal. We had some pretty fair shooting there, but as soon as Dreyer showed up we struck out for the ' Machela River. Here we began shooting properly, moving on every two.or three:days'. These rivers (?) you could cross without knowing you had crossed them. The water in the dry season only lies in holes, and it is not too good. We had to boil it before drinking. All along the banks of the Machela are- kraals ■ ever? few miles, so we had plenty of niggers.out after the meat we shot. They won't leave a'scrap of it behind, and it fairly astonished us what loads they will carry for long distances. The country is alive with pheasants and game fowl, so' we hid no trouble in getting all the food we required."

Paraffin Bread. "We had one bad mishap. Among our chattels we took a hurricane lamp, aud two tins of paraffin to feed it, tut through carelessness, one tin was upset all over our flour bag, so you can guess what sort of bread we had at every meal. I can still taste paraffin. "We followed the river up for some distance until we came up. to an . cient iron mine, from which the natives got the ore for their weapons—spears, axes, etc. It might have been one of King Solomon's for all' .I'know, but there was no sign-post to say so: The natives did. not strike me as good with their spears, but they were excellent at tracking, and their eyesight is so keen that no matter how far it is away, they can tell you what the beast is. They have no idea of distance or time. Their sole means of judging the time is by the sun, and all they can tell you is that you will arrive at a place when the sun is at a certain place' in the heavens. To keep their cattle the niggers build a. yard near their huts.hy putting 10ft saplings into the ground. This is to keep off the lions, but Mr. Lion comes along occasionally, and makes a charge at the fence, the cattle stampede and break down the fence, and the lion gets' what he wants. Hβ springs on to the back of a beast, and ' extending a powerful paw claws its nose, and draws its head back until it stumbles and falls, in which act its neck is usually broken by the fall. The lion does not leave the beast while there is a move in him, and old'hunters tell me that you can go right lip to him and shoot, or, if dark, you can approach him with a light, and he will shut his eyes from the glare of the light.

Lions All Around. "One night, on the Machela, we had lions all round us. Next morning the natives showed us where' one had crouched down ready for a spring, if chance served, only twelve yards from where we lay—the tracks woro all round the camp. "S said ho saw two and fired at and hit one. I saw two one day in open country .ma-king" for the bush, and tried to cut thorn off, but they must have turned off in another direction. Lions axe not so plentiful as one is given to suppose, and some people have been years in the country without seeing one, still there are a good many about, but they are very cunning, and lio .pretty. close. They killed'four head of cattle just opposite to where wo , woro camped ono night. Tho next morning a whole regiment of niggers turned out to scour the country, but finally lost their tracks. When four weeks out we liad shot all that we .with lie

exception of lions and buffalo, bo decided to reum. It took us'a good four days to get back to Droyer's—42 miles the last day. When we got back to Livingston© it was 104 degrees in the shade. Dick and S went on the next day, but I stopped on to fix thing's, and picked them up at Buluwayo. Jack' Arnst a Champion. "Dick,got a good reception here.(at, Johannesburg). Jack had come down as soon as the race was over, and had rowed a,.match with a chap here for the championship of South Africa. He won easily over two distances, but no doubt you have had .this news. Dick is to give an exhibition on a small lake a few miles out. He may go on to other places before leaving for. home, but there is not much', to stop here for unless you want to spend money."