"UNSPOTTED" GAME

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 23 July 1929, Page 3

"UNSPOTTED" GAME

The trip across Africa, Major Stewart snifl, was made entirely without previous preparation, the) object being to prove that it was possible for a motorcar 10 cross Africa with the same ease as ii was possible to go for a- long drive in England or across Europe, buying petrol and other necessaries on the \yu,y. The. adventurous journey of 5500 miles, completed in 38 days, had twtn made possible first by the. sterling qualities ii the car. secondly by the excellence 'of the colonial administration on the purt of Great Britain, France and Belgium, vhich enabled the journey to be' carried out without interference, and thirdly by the energy, skill and determination of Captain Crofton, Mr Owen Tweedy, and the coloured mechanic. Captain Ciofton, the. toast of whose health was enthusiastically honoured, expressed regret at the reason f«>r the absence of Mr Owen Tweedy, who 1 ad helped him, he said, through much of the real hard work. The journey from Rejaf, on liie Upper Mile, to Lake Chad, lie described as comparatively easy going, along good '-oads, and with an abundance of supplies. At Lake Chad the party took a few days off for boat, ing and hunting. Came of all sorts, except elephants, was found in abundance, most of il so unspoiled as to be unafraid of man or gun. TRAVELLING IN LOOSE SAND In order that the wheels might obtain a better grip on the 'oose sand, said Captain Crofton, they had provided themselves wiln rabbit netting, but were induced to jettison this on the advice of a local "sportsman," who assured them that the going was good right through to Algiers, with the resultthat the car was badly "sandbogged," and for several days averaged only some 25 miles in 24 hours. "It was a most interesting trip," added Captain Crofton. "because it proved to us that the journey was abrolutely feasible for anybody in any rort of car as far as Kano, in Northern Nigeria. But from there onward across the Sahara I would not tackle again unless in a car provided with condensers oi: the intliiitor and with large wheels.'*