Zurich Herald, 1957-10-24, Page 7Cheating Death
In The Jungle
You roust not go to Africa
again - unless you want to drop
dead in the jungle!"
Cherry Kearton, jungle film
pioneer, listened to the heart
specialist's warning and smiled,
AU the other doctors had said
the same thing, If he wanted to
live he must give up his long
eareer of adventure hunting big
game with a camera, .and retire
to the country or some quiet
suburb.
Kearton's reaction was typical
of him. At sixty-five, he imme-
diately booked passage to Cen-
tral Africa!
Although a very sick man he
,set off again with even more
ambitious filming plans. Alto-
gether, he travelled 30,000 miles,
cheating death all the time as
he "hunted" with his beloved
camera.
And, when the great safari
ended, he breezed back to Bri-
tain, a changed man whom his
doctors scarcely recognized.
Amazingly his health had been
restored by the hazards he had
overcome! He said he found the
jungle, with all its terrors, more
peaceful than London with its
traffic!
His most heart -stopping ad-
venture occurred in the danger-
ous jungle country between Nai-
robi and Lake Victoria. His in-
stinct for good pictures led him
into a dried-up volcanic gorge.
Within half an hour of entering
it, he became aware of a sud-
den ominous silence. Birds stop-
ped chattering, baboons ceased
their throaty serenades. Then an
acrid smell reached Kearton's
nostrils. His worst fear was real-
ized. He and his native boys
were trapped by jungle fire.
Soon he saw an enormous bar-
rier of flame and smoke licking
forward through the 15 -foot high
,elephant grass behind him. The
gorge's entrance was obscured,
blocked by fire. He could not
drive forward, for to do so -
Ile was unarmed -would put him
at the mercy of the lions, ele-
phants and rhinos trapped like
himself, in the crackling death
gorge. Already, he could hear
their snorts of terror ahead of
him.
Snakes slithered by, too ter-
rified to notice him or his na-
live boys.
The fire roared on relentlessly
through the narrow pass. His
natives, their faces glowing red,
'their eyeballs smarting with
heat and whitening in terror,
crowded together, calling on
their gods for mercy. There
seemed no hope.
Kearton felt sure that his self -
prescribed health cure was about
to meet a blazing end, but he
tried one last trick. He got his
boys to surround the car with a
ring of fire, and coaxed it to
spread outwards, hoping --..to
create a burnt safety belt as the
inferno roared down on them.
Now a new hazard appeared.
Five hundred feet above them, at
the top of the gorge's unscalable
cliffs, baboons shrieked and
scampered, desperately trying
to escape the flames. 'In their
panic they dislodged heavy boul-
ders which began to rain down
perilously near Kearton and his
party.
For nine hours this ordeal by
fire and smoke and stones con-
tinued. Then a miracle happen-
ed. The wind veered slightly and
Kearton, peering into the smoke,
saw that the flames in the ele-
phant grass had lost their fury;
they now flickered barely a foot
high. It was nearly dark and the
car's headlamps, though still ser-
viceable, could not penetrate the
smoke curtain, But there was a
chance, a slender one, and he
knew he must take it instantly
while the wind held.
So, having loaded all aboard,
he drove slap -bang into the mid-
dle of that reeking hell. The car
hurtled forward, hitting and
Sliding off boltlders, and at last
carried its choking occupants
out of the death gorge and intfl
the welcome fresh air.
Kearton's knowledge of lions,
gained while photographing them:.
in their true haunts was tremen-
dous. Yet some aspects of thele
behaviour completely mystified
him. Why should a lion, a man-
eater, leave a white man it was
about to maul, and attack a na-
tive?
Lions, said Kearton, seem
guided at times by a peculiar
sense of unreason. You cannot
rely on them to take the easiest
course of action.
On one occasion a man-eater
began picking off a native rail-
way staff, carrying its members
away singly., night after night,
until no one dared work at the
station. Then three Europeans
volunteered to keep watch and
destroy the killer. A cabin was
drawn up for them on a siding.
It offered a good field of fire,
Two slept, while the third, rifle
in hand, kept watch.
But on this night, all being
quiet, the watcher decided to
turn in. He dozed off. Then the
man-eater arrived. It pushed
back the sliding door with its
paw, and steadily nosed into the
compartment -all three sleepers
were at its mercy.
But the lion did not snatch,
the man sleeping on the floor
nearest the door - the obvious
victim. Instead, he dragged down
the fellow from the berth above,
shook him ferociously and
bounded off with him.
Kearton himself once tricked
a lion which barred his way.
He switched on 'his car head-,
lamps, illuminating some bushes
Seeing the light, the man-eater
investigated, giving Kearton the
chance to escape.
He had another narrow es-
cape while photographing a
rhino and her waddling baby.
Suddenly, he realized that an-
other great beast, the three -ton
m a 1 e- rhino, was stalking him
from behind.
Kearton raced for the near-
est tree. A second or so later
the great beast charged. Al-
though hampered by his slip-
pery leather leggings, Kearton.
just managed to shin up the tree,
leaving the rhino snorting and
baffled below. Not bad acrobatics
for a chap of sixty-five!
A rhino out for blood thunders
forward as fast as a galloping
horse for about three-quarters of
its mile -after that he's winded.
Anyone caught by a rbino is
either trampled to pulp, or gored
to' shreds by its murderous horns.
On an earlier safari, Kearton
was photographing rhino at night
when his camera's flashlight dis-
turbed one of them. The beast
charged straight at him. Kear-
ton again scrambled up a tree,
but had no time to worry about
his apparatus.
The rhino wreaked its . ven-
geance on the expensive camera,
trampling it into the ground.
'Kearton was glad he had learned
to climb trees as a boy.
BRIDGE OF SIGHS
-AND REGRETS
The mayor of Huyeapan de
Campo, in Mexico, is -in the bad
books of the people of his town.
He not only offered to sell the
town's main bridge to a visiting
American -but sold it and then
began to tear it down so that
the buyer could take delivery.
The mayor, Primitivo Rios, now
stands charged with the theft
of the bridge.
_ 7. hazardous 30. Quite a few
OSYs enterprise 31. rain., 'ear
' 8. Meadow 9. Exist 32. Wine rusk
ar 10. Kind of syrup 23 - Disprove
PLB� . 11, Hymn 24. ti ash
'' Z 14.lJntrttth 85. Smarr, nod le
18. Twilight 27. N.d1(1IU.
20. (\lotion 811 Tk'Ion,;in0 l0
21. Electric US
particle 90.11un away
22. rut hay 92. Exclamation
20. Way Carer of pleas at e
24. Parson bird 41. Achievement
211. Forbid 94. Completion
27. Anger 94 Note or 1h4
21' Seed seri*
eon tat rear 9;. Not nn%
Al;ltrr1S
1. Of that r.irl
4 Ancient
Asiatic rend()()
It Porta/do light
12 Mimic
1 Religions
festival
10 ns•tioet
17 n wav of
12.Pnpa
10 Shelf erect
nook
20 i'eamste'r's
eomrnnnd
21, Pool l'
22 Ttonst of
'horde()
2:r rage
2.4 ("n n i i,,, 11 ion
In ter1P
2: t 1a^'ltlenl of
rood
211 1''nrtified
place
211. Von and T
29 Crazing field
30 therefore
32. haircut
33 tort of
rnlnetanre
114. Shirt button
33. Prior In tlmn
37. Ctnrtoi t+nnw
33. Open vessel
39, tan i i v
40, fTI3h•pttrhed
onto
41. TTIgher
42. Embrace
48 T"aselnate
48Allustnn
48. MYakeleather
49. 14't nr
84). tt•'petitlon
GL Old ((p8
(poet.)
TOWN
1. ()woo 1
2. (80111.11( 1
:1.8astir •radon
4. Land measure
6, ltoeler t
1. At home
1
2
3'`'';:4
5
6
7
7.M78
h':
4
10
11
12
---'I3
IS
Ib
20`w
1
_`x.:21:
}19
•.
22`23
25
;
26
27
33
•
34
35
.�,�.�
3b
♦.y'�
37
10
43
44
49
14ei
_.
Answer elsewhere
on this page,,
LIFT FOR HANDICAPPED -This unusual school bus with a built-in elevator, believed to bo
the first of its kind ever constructed, has been placed in service in San Lorenzo, Calif., to
transport handicapped children from their homes to their own special school. At left, Tommy
Stokes, who has driven handicapped children for 10 years, wheels one of his small charges
onto the bus' elevator for a quick trip to the floor level. At right, the short ride into the
bus bring a smile to the face of the youngster. The new bus k fitted with floor attach-
ments where the wheel chairs can be anchored.
Results of the first year's test
under the Record of Perform-
ance for Beef Cattle have just
been announced by the Canada
Department of Agriculture, Ot-
tawa. In a few weeks about 3,000
calves, or ten times the number
recorded in the first test, will be
weighed and graded to obtain.
the initial information required
for the second year's records.
Weighing and grading will be
done by officials delegated by
the provincial departments of
Agriculture who carry on the
project in their respective pro-
vinces in co-operation with the
federal department, and the
livestock breeders.
*
In the recent test, 341 calves
were entered -248 Herefords, 50
Angus and 43 Shorthorns. Of
these, 176 were males • and 165
were females. The male calves
made an average daily gain from
birth to weaning of 1.86 lb. Per
day, the females 1.68 lb.
4. At *
Comparison of these results
was limited to six Hereford
herds, all that had sufficient
calves entered and reared under
conditions suitable to permit ef-
fective comparison within the
herd. The six herds with a to-
tal of 191 calves (94 males and
97 females) indicate the aver-
age daily rate of gain that can
be expected in beef cattle, first
from date of birth to weaning
and second from weaning to the
end of the winter feeding per-
iod.
Average daily gain made by
the 94 bull calves was 1.85
pounds per day, from birth to
weaning, and by the 97 heifers
1.69 pounds. Thus the bull calves
gained on the average 1/5 of a
pound more per day than the
heifers. But of greater signifi-
cance is the difference in aver-
age performance, or daily gain,
2.11 lb. for the top third and
1.49 ib. for the bottom third of
the calves tested. Average dif-
ference between these two
groups both in the males and
females amounted to about ?;r
of a pound per day. In terms of
beef production, at prices pre-
vailing when these calves were
weaned last fall, this would
have meant $22.80 per calf to a
commercial cattleman.
re s. 0
The variation in rate of gain.
between individuals within some
of these herds was much greater
than the average figures indi-
cate. In one herd the top calf
gained one and one half pounds
more than the bottom calf. The
two calves had the sante treat-
ment under ranch conditions.
The slow gaining calf was al-
most two months older than the
best calf but actually weighed
nearly 200 pounds less at wean-
ing.
* a '1
During the • winter feeding
period that followed the birth
to weaning test, differences be-,
twee() the performance of male
and female calves in these same
Hereford herds, made it neces-
sary
ece -
sary to consider them separate-
ly. The low average daily gains
in the heifers would indicate the
possibility that they were main-
tained on a considerably lower
feeding level than the bulls. The
bulls had an average daily gain
for this period of 3.07 pounds
per day. The heifers gained
only 7.37 pounds.
4. * *
In the bull calves records for
this second period showed there
was again a difference of 2y of
a pound per day between the
average rate of gain for the tel,
third and the bottom third of
the calves. For the full feeding
period, approximately 168 days,
the difference in the average
weight gained was 112 pounds,
or $20.15 in value on the basis
of $18.00 per cwt. for commer-
cial cattle.
u*
Combining the records for
both periods, calves that were
within the top third at weaning
and also in the top third at the
end of the feeding period were
worth just over $40.00 more per
head than those in the bottom
third for both periods. Results
indicate that there were a con-
siderable number of calves
among those making rapid gains
at both these stages in their
growth. These fast gaining year-
lings were worth 25 per cent
more than the slower gaining
yearlings on a commercial basis.
,heir value as potential breed -
4 ng stock would be greater in
pure bred breeders' herds.
r n *
Research has shown that this
valuable trait of rapid gains is
inherited and can be transmit-
ted to future generations. Simi-
larly, studies on rate and cost
per pound of gain indicate that
these two factors are closely
related. Calves with a high rate
of gain, in most instances, re-
quire less feed to make a pound
of gain than those with a low
rate of gain. Recognition of the
top performing cows, bulls and
calves within a herd and devel-
opment of a breeding program
around these animals is the aim
. of Record of Performance.
Freed i, oesnvt
Come First
We listened to a philosopher
the other day.
He said we are putting too much
emphasis on freedom. To him,
the most important thing is fra-
ternity. Christians use the word
brotherhood.
Freedom, of course, is still de-
sirable, but we must acknow-
ledge that our society is semi -
free. And it must remain so.
About 15 years ago, we were
SINGING NELSON - Ricky Nel-
son, 21 -year-old son of radio
and TV's "Ozzie and Harriet",
continues his recently started
singing career at the Ohio
State Fair. Nelson, whose "I'm
Welkin" record sold a million
copies, is a new teen-age fad.
He's slated for an appearance
on the Perry Como television
show.
tpy,7NUffSCfI10i
LESSJ1N
using two terms - free com-
petition and private enterprise.
Then the National Association
of Manufacturers picked out one
word from each of these expres-
sions and gave us "free enter-
prise". The members of N.A.M.
spent millions in advertising free
enterprise, and they have just
about succeeded in making the
American people think that free
enterprise and democracy are
synonymous. They are not.
Years ago, we had more eco-
nomic freedom than we do now.
Anyone could start a bank -even
if it was doomed to failure.
Secret rebates were given by
railroads and insiders by the
thousands got free passes, leav-
ing the public to make up the
difference. A giant oil company
used to erect a filling station
next door to small competitors
and cut prices until the com-
petitor went out of 'business.
Ent e r p r i s i n g pharmaceutical
houses sold harmful nostrums
with false claims. Fruit cover-
ed with arsenic (applied for in-
sects) was marketed. Life insur-
ance companies preyed on the
public.
Grandpa - in your history
book - could tell you about the
good old days of free enterprise.
Now, we have only as much
freedom as can be used without
stepping on thenext fellow's
toes. There are regulatory bodies
to watch for your interest in
communications, transportation,
public health, aviation, utility
rates, automobile traffic, and
scores of other fields.
All of the regulatory agencies
are cutting in on someone's free-
dom. Yet, which of these agen-
cies would you suggest giving
up?
The only area 3n which it is
not necessary to place a curb is
the freedom of expression and
religion.
It is clear, then, that we live
in a semi -free society. Our phil-
osopher friend is probably right
in his emphasis on fraternity.
For the Brotherhood of Man
crosses racial, religious, and na-
tional lines. It is the highest
concept that man has ever held,
and if we remember rightly it
was Jesus who first shook the
world with such an idealistic
notion.
-Littleton (Colo.) Independent
By Rev. R. t3arciay Warren
B.A., B.D.
The Problem of Christian
Freedom
1 Corinthians, chapter 8
Memory Selection: There hath. no
temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: but God Is
faithful, who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that ye aro
able; but will with the tempta-
tion also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13.
How free are we, in this land
of freedom? Laws, municipal,
provincial and federal, govern
our behaviour. If we belong to
an organization of those of simi-
lar occupation there are more
laws. Membership in a club or
church add more laws. Most
people are uncomplaining about
these laws because they feel that
they are made for the a elfare
of the group and society in gen-
eral. The man who roars his car
down the wrong side of a street
to assert his freedom ignores the
rights of others and endangers
his own life.
How free is a Christian? Hes
loves his neighbour as himself.
he will, therefore, abide by the
laws of the land unless he be-
lieves them to be in direct con-
flict with the laws of God. This
situation arises in countries where
God is openly denied as under
Communism.
A Christian is free from the
bondage of sin. When he repent-
ed of his sins and believed on
Jesus Christ a new power came
into his life. He is no longer a
slave of evil habits. He is free. "11
the Son therefore shall make you
free, ye shall be free indeed."
(John 8:36.) A married man who
ovet a period of years had been
committing adultery with another
woman asked in tears, "Can I
find strength to live right?" We
reminded him of the woman
whom Jesus forgave and to
whom He said, "Go, and sin no
more." (John 8:11.) Jesus didn't
command the impossible. "If any
man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are be-
come new." (2 Corinthians 5:17.)
' "He breaks the power of can-
celled sin,
He sets the prisoner free."
The Christian is free to
right. He abhors the evil. He 3e
sensitive to the interests
others. He will set an example
worthy of imitation. He has the
spirit of Paul: "If meat make my
brother to offend, I will eat no
flesh while the world standeth,
lest I make my brother to of-
fend."
Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking
0 $`00
"i
v
3
3
A
3
n
3
3
a
0
N
3
td
3
S
3
ISSUE 43 - 1957
te..
GETS HIS GOAT -Deputy Sheriff Bill Soileau solves a mystmeouls
rash of broken glass doors in the St. Landry Parish, near
Opelousas, La. investigating the fifth such incident in recent
weeks, Soileau noticed a few short white hairs at the scenes
and rater apprehended this goat. it seems the animal's re..
flection in the glass v:oul, cause him to charge the door. Thos
case is closed.