BIG GAME HUNT IN AFRICA.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20101, 3 December 1930, Page 13

BIG GAME HUNT IN AFRICA.

thrilling sport. NEW ZEALANDER WOUNDED BY BUFFALO. HIPPOPOTAMUS ATTACKS CANOE. [THE PSESS Special Service.J

I AUCKLAND, December 2. Thrills sufficient to last most people » lifetime fell to the lot of Mr H. Tiomaß, of Auckland, on his first big game expedition in Africa. Ho had i a miraculous escape from death, in an I, eroounter with a wounded buffalo, and fiera, on his way back to the coast from * tie Mission station, where he had been Kcnperating, he had an encounter at to quarters with a ferocious bull hiptptamus. lb Thomas returned to Auckland by Marama, with Mr J. Holmes, leadJtf tlfe party of threo sportsmen, who ■totiß trip. The third member of •Jijartj, Mr A. Mackinnon, or' AuckW, returned through Wellington. Jfr Ihomas's encounter with tho iJWiled "buffalo was an unenviable exhad just" entered tho Mwamba one of the finest game districts atoirlole of Africa," Mr Thomas .«i "One morning Mackinnon. and •Jttlf.left camp together, to follow ...h hail of an elephant. For a while tramped through typical African JP country fairly open, with our ■||lwy» and native trackers, and sud■wW eame upon two buffalo bulls. *we fine animals, and the oppor■pßjrwas too good to miss. One shot one.boll; but the other was only Mfßaided, and we started to track him Hpliusit Mm off. ■ t ' Attacked by Buffalo. HL followed his tracks for about !H • lours. Traces of blood here and Ds he hud been hit; ■|® the Afriean buffalo is a fierce aniMjPrVith a considerable amount of

fj &Md this particular fellow was to the rule. He deliberambushed us. had branched off to I look at the country from the c a &t hill, and I happened to atii <ateS ' trackers. Suddenly, a PProaehed a fallen tree, the 'ilwa ®?y an S n P> an d came at us at y, W«ts, The trackers had almost •111 if. °? him. They dashed in iiW , ons ; hut their presence in « i* 8 de]ayed mo a bit > and 1 Nfofl v , ono shot at the infur(Jjj (v 33 " discovered afterwards Mm 011 the tO P of tho '■' set on 'j' to make him more ''ttfn 611 hnffalo made for me. '•Ot nn'i 3 ree » hut he was wonderfcim «L ' he bustled me away Hjj, „Z c ? T . er f °i" which I made. He' 1 ibnpm T tl° US ' an ß°) struck me on° on ° sidc > ripping dear \! v then, before I could liv« , •n to hi, >, ne §• I managed to hang '•kek Ttfo'?? 8 ' ut I was on of VfH* non not shoot for [S®ak wn Dle " Finally, the beast Pound I(k ?? d as I lay on the £■«. nJ; f 8 b "g e chest pin me - i^ card » rifle bark, and *?' r °m the beast's shouldtort to" 11 ** a d take careful S® ® »t' T ° a3e the bnffal ° (Jai Pj and I was able to crawl a § a * n > hitting the to *- a i 6 ' By this timc . I had w ¥e of„w B P °y rifle, and with « shots I finished him off „

Wtmnd ***«&• ttaflo® 6 ! emov ed, an inspec--2"-it -w a » t r Thomas's injur- ■ Korptt • >Dn '' at been Sftt! Great ifw. Af * n rounds and Mr Mackin<l?es to tho T v lVe bearer s took him Tk.Z 801 <TOif« Wa Mission station. >S i now," Mr tkj °» 6 for Ver ything possible 6a^ bttt I have tp the Mission sta " >W . th » rm i aßon bo thankto^ kia npu'» th y f da - vs for tl,at friend ' ■wV^'-Vay^!??® ll • left New ZeaS!>t' e Beleiaj, r° m l- )ur ha?i travelof ? n S°- During the > they were acifr m, homa s and Mrs H. om aa's sister. JVlien

the women were left behind, the arduous travelling commenced, whole days being spent in the navigation of rivers in native canoes. They spent some time on tho Chambezi river, in Northern Rhodesia, obtaining good hunting all the way, and shooting a variety of game, including buck of several species, warthog, and python.

Then the canoes were left behind, and the three hunters organised what is known in the district as a "ulendo," which is tantamount to the "safari" in other parts of Africa. From different villages, they recruited their 52 bearers and gun-boys. No trouble was experienced, the natives being only too willing to accompany white hunters for 10s a month each, and tho prospect of obtaining plenty of moat, which they could dry and take back to the villages. "No one need have any qualms about shooting gamo in Africa," Mr Thomas said. "After a beast is killed, the natives see that only the bones are left." The party travelled through the bush to the Mwamba Valley, which is second only to the Luangua Valley as a district for big game. The latter district, however, was closed owing to sleeping sickness. Mr Thomas had his encounter with the buffalo comparatively early in their stay in the valley; but after he had been taken to Lubwa his two companions stayed on for about four weeks, enjoying exceptionally good hunting. Escape from Elephants. Mr Mackinnon obtained two fine elephants, and Mr Holmes had a few exciting minutes when he fired at and wounded a bull elephant, and was' attacked by five cows. The promptness of his gun-boys enabled him to escape. "One of my most interesting trophies was a three-horned rhinoceros," Mr Holmes said. "The rhinoceros generally has only two horns, and I know of only two other three-horned heads in existence, both in England.

"Lions abound in the Mwamba districtj but owing to the good cover afforded by the tall grass they are very hard to kill. We spent several days after lions; but I am afraid the lions had all the fun. One night Mackinnon and I sot a couple of buck carcases as bait, and took up .our position in a tree. During the night we heard several lions moving about, and fired several shots.

In the morning we climbed down cramped and tired, but found t,hat we had placed the bait too far away. We had expected to see two or three lions lying dead, but we were sadly disappointed.'' Hippopotamus Charges Canoe. After his period of convalescence at the Mission station, Mr Thomas had to travel back down the Chambezi river on hia way to tho coast. Ono day as the canoe was travelling along a peaceful stretch of river a hippopotamus charged the canoe from beneath. "Tho natives were nearly off their heads," Mr Thomas said. "'Mfuva bwana wfuva,' they shouted, thinking that I had not seen the beast coming lor us. We managed to steer the canoe clear, and I was able to put a bullet into him.'' Both Mr Holmes and Mr Thomas are enthusiastic over the results of their trip. Altogether they obtained 21 distinct varieties of game, and Mr Holmes obtained the few specimens needed to complete what is probably the finest collection of big-game trophies in New Zealand.