MYTHS EXPLODED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 August 1938, Page 6

MYTHS EXPLODED

* ALLEGED THRILLS OF LION HUNTING. SHOOTING FROM A CAR. Americans for decades have been regaled with tall stories of the daring adventures of American big game hunters, who have penetrated the depths of darkest Africa and have, at extreme peril, succeeded in killing untamable lions, and other ferocious beasts. These Yankee adventurers and their alluring tales have inspired cinema producers to place on the screen for the edification of the world- terrorising spectacles where these brave (?) hunters have beaten off .the furious attacks of the beasts of the jungle and brought back heads of the maneating animals. Carveth Wells has explored more countries than Alexander- ever dreamed about. From the Malay Peninsula to Lapland, from Russia to the Caribbean, and from' Africa to Northern Canada, he has learned things most people don’t know and written books which bring far corners of the earth into our studies. He can run through the ■ initials after his name to impress college presidents, and has held important postswith universities, yet he could make a . first-class humorist if he had time, while he is flitting around the world delivering lectures. He described the thrills of big game hunting to a California audience when he referred to the African jungle and its supposed terrors. “I hired a great hunter at £250 a month. When we got into the jungle, he said: ‘What’s your programme for today?’ .‘Let’s get some giraffes,’ I said. So we got in the car and bowled along at 40 miles per hour until we came to some giraffes. Their necks sticking up looked like telephone poles, and they were about as active. We got what giraffes we wanted and went home. Next day I wanted some lions, so we got in the car and bowled along at 40 miles per hour until we came to 18 lions. They were lying down and didn’t get up. We walked around them and decided they wouldn’t do because they were short on manes, f We drove on until we found some lions with fine manes. That is all there is to lion hunting. No beast of the jungles wants to hurt you until you' hurt it. If you wound a lion he doesn’t like it and misbehaves. The reason some big game hunters have a lot of thrills is that they are such poor shots they tnerely wound their lions instead of killing them."