Many a big game hunter has been killed by the swirling trunk or the trampling feet of a wounded elephant. If the Colonel had fired from the position from which Selous rescued him he would undoubtedly have been crushed to death when the brute charged.
Roosevelt’s exploits in Africa aroused the intense admiration of the natives, and as a compliment to his shooting ability they named him “Bwana Tumbo,” the Great Hunter.
Carl Akeley, head of the elephant hunting expedition in Africa for the American Museum of Natural History, met the Roosevelt expedition in Africa and spent several days hunting with the Colonel.
Mr. Akeley found that while the Colonel took a huge interest in the hunt for big game, he was yet so much of a naturalist that he showed a keen interest in even the most insignificant of wild creatures. A small rodent had been discovered on the North American Continent. The discovery was of small moment. Few men remembered it, yet the Colonel was found to know all about it. Akeley says:
“I found Colonel Roosevelt one of the most refreshing and delightful companions I ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was as ideal and keen a sportsman as ever lived. The least of his pleasure was in the killing of animals. He found infinite joy in studying wild animal life in its native haunts. His greatest pleasures lay in seeing and learning, thereby proving himself an ideal naturalist.”
XVI
“The River of Doubt”
At Gondokoro, Uganda, Roosevelt ended his African hunts. He came through his many perilous situations unharmed. Kermit was also in the best of health. The latter was praised by Scout Cunninghame as one of the best shots and most daring hunters he had ever seen.
The Colonel on his journey back to civilization, visited first the Congo Free State, where the Belgian officers in charge of that colony gave him a warm welcome.