CAPE-CAIRO EXPEDITION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1280, 4 August 1914, Page 4

CAPE-CAIRO EXPEDITION.

CAPTAIN KELSEY’S TRAGIC END. The untimely death of Captain Kelsey, who, with five companions, left in July of last year on a motor-car expedition from the Capo to Cairo, was recently recorded by cable in the “Standard.” Captain Kelsey was one of the world’s born adventurers, says the London Daily Telegraph. Unalterably tent upon his purpose, enthusiastic, persevering, hardy, resourceful, ha w'aa of the very temper of the great exexplorers of whom so many have added honour to the British name, and so many have gone to their account, as he has done, in the midst of the battle with danger and difficulty that they had freely sought. In July of last year his little expedition, bidden Godspeed by King George, at Buckingham Palace, loft England for Capetown, there to set forth upon the hitherto unimagmed enterprise of journeying the length of the Continent to Cairo by motor car. Ten months later he lay helpless at the missionary’s house near Serenjo, in North-Eastern Rhodesia, wounded to death by a leopard. By an irony of circumstances that is common enough m the experience of men, Captain Kelsey, who risked with a light heart so many foreseen dangers in his adventure, has lost his life through a. mishap quite unconnected with the special rusks of the journey. He was preceding the, c.n, which was being refitted for the advance into the wildest part of Central Africa, at the Chitambo Mission. One day. while hunting, he wounded a leopard, which escaped into long grass. Afterwards, understanding that the animal was dead, ho went to recover the carcase, only to find the leopard alive and dangerous. Even now it was only the jamming of the mechanism of his rifle that sealed his fate; he was unable to cheek the rush of the infuriated beast, and • was seriously injured beiore one of the native hunters, with admirable pluck, dragged it by main strength off Captain Kelsey’s body. Mr Gilliland (the Daily Telegraph’s special correspondent with the expedition.) arrived with the engineer in tno oar some time later to find their leader in a grave condition. It was decided to remove him southward to Broken Hill, a difficult journey of many days; but to get him to the hospital there seemed the one chance of saving his life. His condition grew worse, and the help of a doctor having a farm at a place on tho route, was called in. An operation was found to be immediately necessary; it was attempted, but the exhausted man collapsed under the anaesthetic administered. So died Captain Kelsey, after a long and indomitable struggle wnth difficulties and discouragements which the public can hardly realise