ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO
Michael Hughes-Halls, Salisbury, Southern Rho-
desia, in the company of Miss Tudor-Williams
and another companion, made a foray into the
Sudan looking for Basenjis. They covered most
of Equatorial Province and then went into the
swamps of Bahrel Ghazel. Here they found the
Zande tribe—known as the "Smiling Cannibals",
and their constant companions, the Basenjis.
Having found what they sought, they had con-
siderable difficulty in procuring any from the
natives. Apparently the bush telegraph had told
the tribe that the white men planned to shoot the
dogs, and they refused to sell. After several dis-
appointing days, and hours of haggling with Chief
Zumgunbia, Miss Tudor-Williams obtained a
lovely little bitch, now registered in England as
Fula of the Congo, and Mr. Hughes-Hall bought
a male puppy, now registered in England and
also with the South African Kennel Union as
South African and Rhodesian Ch. Binza of
Laughing Brook.
All of this was brought to my attention this fall,
and I thought it would be of extreme interest to
Basenji enthusiasts here because Binza's coloring
is a real tiger-striped brindle. This coloring is not
to be confused with the undesirable random in-
termingling of red and black hairs which Basenj-
ists in America refer to as brindle. Binza's color-
ing is an all-over pattern of black tiger stripes, on
a background of red-gold or chestnut. It is the
same rich brindle color found in Boxers. Mr.
Hughes-Halls also owns South African and
Rhodesian champion, Carmen of the Congo, a
top of page | red-and-white daughter of the well-known Ch.
Carnival of the Congo. On Aug. 13, 1960,
Carmen produced a litter by Binza of one red-
and-white bitch puppy and a tiger-striped brindle
dog puppy. Until then Binza was believed to be
the only tiger-striped brindle Basenji outside of
the Sudan.
Photographs of Binza show him to be a very
attractive typey Basenji. His coloring is very
pretty, and he is well marked with a wide white
collar, white stockings and white tail-tip. Sheila
Anderson saw him while in England last year. She
describes him as "a charmer and a very good
Basenji. He had a thousand good things about
him. Such a lovely, thoroughly honest dog, with
very short back, high set tail, deep brisket, lovely
little ears, pretty feet, and unbelievably sound. I
really loved him, and Hughes-Halls seems to find
him absolutely delightful in every way."
I had never heard of this tiger-striped brindle
in Basenjis before, and was fascinated by it, and
pleased to see how attractive it was. The
Kodachrome I saw of the brindle puppy dog,
Mahmoud Bin, was simply enchanting. He was
seven weeks old at the time, and as promising a
puppy as I ever saw, nice head, wrinkle, and
expression, good bone and excellent feet, well-
angulated quarters, and an incredibly short back
and tail set. Very evenly and flashily marked with
white, and the body color is a rich uniform tiger-
striped brindle.
Binza finished out at almost 17 inches at the
shoulder, and weighs 23 lbs. He is now back with
Mr. Hughes-Halls in Southern Rhodesia after a
stay in England, including the six months' quar-
antine. From all reports and photographs he
seems to be a very desirable type of Basenji in
conformation, movement, and disposition.
—Damara Bolte. |
