Editor's Note: The wild animals of Africa have been hunted with
firearms for many a year, and photographed by more than one
marksman of the lens. But here is the truly unique expedition
into the jungle. The idea that any one should seriously
contemplate a journey to Africa for the purpose of lassoing such
creatures as sportsmen either shoot or photograph at the longest
range possible, seems quite absurd. But an American frontiersman
has done it, with American cowboys, cow-ponies, and hunting-dogs,
and with wonderful moving pictures to prove it. It is a fine
evidence of the sporting qualities of both parties to the
undertaking that Colonel C. J. Jones, a Western plainsman, could
so completely interest Mr. Charles S. Bird, an Eastern
manufacturer, in the fantastic plan as to command his backing.
And if there is such a thing as the glow of adventure by proxy,
it must have been felt in the Nassau Street law office, where the
Buffalo Jones African Expedition had its headquarters, when the
cablegram from Nairobi announced that lion and rhino had been
lassoed, and that the moving pictures were a complete success.
IT was a special train--loaded to capacity with horses and dogs,
camp baggage, moving-picture cameras, cowboys, photographers, and
porters; and when it pulled out of the Nairobi station on the way
to the "up country" of British East Africa, the period of
preparation passed away and the time of action began. As the
faces of the people on the platform glided by the window of the
slowly moving carriage, there was good will written on all of
them; but also unbelief. There was no doubt as to what they
thought of Buffalo Jones's expedition that was setting out to
rope and tie and photograph the wild animals of the East African
Veldt.
"How are you going to hold a rhino that weighs two tons and a
half?"
"What are you going to do when the lion charges?"
Such were the questions asked us by the hunters of the country.
They further took pains to explain that a rhino charges like a
flash, and that a lion can catch a horse within a hundred yards.
These items of information, however, were well known to Buffalo
Jones before the expedition was organized in New York, and his
preparations to meet the difficulties had been made accordingly.
Colonel C. J. Jones is tall and spare, with a strong, rugged face
and keen blue eyes. During his sixty-five years of life, he has
roped and tied, often single-handed, every kind of wild animal of
consequence to be found in our western country, and his
experience with these has led him to believe implicitly that man
is the master of all wild beasts.
He has climbed trees after mountain lions, and with a lasso over
a branch has hauled grizzlies up into the air by one hind leg.
And once he set out alone to journey over a country that no white
man had ever traveled before, to reach the land of the musk-ox on
the border of the Arctic Circle. The story is told of how he met
a trapper on the way, and how these two, in the face of the
hostility of all the Indian tribes, the wolves, and the cold of
the northern winter, eventually came to the musk-ox and captured
five calves. Then, deserted by their Indian guide, they started
to return with their prizes, got lost in the wilderness, and
fought the wolves till their cartridges ran out. And when at last
they reached safety and fell asleep, exhausted, the Indians,
obeying the laws of their religion, stole upon them in the night
and killed the calves.
But the success he had achieved with the mountain lions of the
Southwest, the musk-ox of the North, and the grizzly bears of the
Rockies was not enough. For twenty years it had been the one
ambition of his life to take an outfit to British East Africa to
try his hand with the more ferocious big game of that country.
But in his Western experience Colonel Jones had learned something
else besides the mastery of man over beast. Precisely how an
American cowboy was going to hold a rhinoceros that weighed two
tons and a half was purely a matter of speculation. Yet of one
thing the Colonel was certain--the experiment would result in a
moving picture that would be well worth the taking. For this
reason, what afterward came to be known as the "picture
department" was added to the make-up of the expedition.
The preparations extended over a considerable length of time, and
were carried on in various places. Unquestionably, the most
important part of the outfit was the horses. It was absolutely
essential that they should be Western cow-ponies, fast, well
trained, and reliable in every way. The Colonel, who best of all
could foresee the nature of the work they would have to do,
selected them himself, ten in all, from the ranches of New
Mexico, and shipped them to New York. The American dogs to be
used for trailing were likewise chosen by the Colonel. Some of
them belonged to him personally, and had been thoroughly tried
out. The rest had reputations of their own. Of the two cowboys
who were to act as his assistants, Marshall Loveless had worked
with the Colonel before and knew his methods, and Ambrose Means
came highly recommended for skill and daring from one of the
largest ranch owners in the West.
When, at the last moment, the writer of these articles was
introduced to the expedition in the capacity of acting field
manager, the preparations were well under way. The horses and
dogs had been already shipped, en route to Africa, in charge of
the cowboys, and the date of our sailing for London had been
fixed for the following day.
The meeting was held at a luncheon in the Railroad Club, in New
York. There were present Colonel Jones, Mr. F. W. Bird, son of
Charles S. Bird[1] who financed the expedition, Mr. W. G. Sewall,
of the Boma Trading Company, of Nairobi, and myself. After
certain matters of business had been disposed of, the talk at the
luncheon table drifted to the probabilities and possibilities of
success; to lions, rhinos, elands, and cheetahs; to cowboys,
horses, and dogs. But the Colonel would hear of no possibilities,
or even probabilities, of failure. He was peculiarly insistent
upon this point. And when the hour of the business man's lunch
time came to an end, and the room began to empty, Mr. Sewall said
to me across the corner of the table:
"Of course, every one in Nairobi will think all of you either
fakers or crazy. I know you're no fakers. I don't know whether
you're crazy or not. But there is one thing in your favor: The
Colonel's unshaken belief that the thing can be done will
probably pull it through."
[1] EAST WALPOLE, MASS.,
July 8, 1910.
Mr. GUY H. SCULL.
MY DEAR SCULL
It has been asked by some what the object of the
Buffalo Jones African Expedition was. I will tell you.
You know my friend, Colonel C. J. Jones, broke his rifle a
generation or so ago and vowed he would never again kill game
save for food or in self-defense. Since taking that oath he has
subdued and captured all kinds of wild animals in North America,
including the musk-ox, buffalo, grizzly bear, and cougar.
I discovered that it was his dream to go to East Africa to prove
that with American cowboys, horses, and dogs he could lasso and
capture the savage animals of that country as readily as he has
the wild animals of our country. As a sporting proposition, it
seemed to me unique and fascinating, and so, as a small tribute
to Colonel Jones, I volunteered to finance the expedition.
I somewhat doubt whether there is another man in the world who
has the courage, skill, and determination to do what he has done
in the animal kingdom, and he well deserves to be called "The
Preserver of the American Bison."
I want to acknowledge our indebtedness to Mr. Arthur A. Fowler of
New York for his assistance in helping us outfit the expedition
in London and Nairobi, and to you and the others who have helped
to make the expedition a success.
Very truly,