The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1854-02-01
MORAL AND RELIGIOUS
ONDEHeFUE ESCAPE
FROM A LION.

A MISSIONARY in South Africa re
]atcs the following remarkable occur
renee -
81 visited poor Hottentot, who re-
Gently experienced one of the most re-
markable and providcntial delivcranccs
that ever heard of or read of. found
him in great pain from the shocking
wounds he had received on the occa-
sion; and in the course Of conversation,
he furnished me with the following par
ticuIars Of his escape from the jaws of
lion, which he ascribes wholly to the
gracious interposition of the Father of
Mercics; and which are. thcrcforc,
worthy OF being recorded to his glory.
"AbOut three weeks or Il month ago,
he went out on hunting excursion.
accompanied by several other natives
Arriving on an extensive plain where
there was abundance Of game, they
discovered number of lions also,
which appeared to be disturbed by their
approach. ~ prodigiously large male
immediately separated himself from
the troop. and began slowly 10 advance
towards the party, the majority #
whom were young, and uaccllstumcd
to rencoltrcs of SO formidable Il nature.
When druvcs of tiinid nnlrlnpcS or
spring bucks only, came il their way,
they made Il great boast "i their c'u-
rage, but the Very appearance u III"
forest king made thcn treIlblu.
"N hile the animal was yet at a lis
tanco. they all dismorn,c'i, 70 prepare
tor firing, nid. according - c,:*tr!n on
such occasions. hcgalt !yir2 'ilrir :n!>'a
together by .ne..,.S OF tsvir brides,
wiki i view Of hecring the latter be
tween them :tnL :ht i;uu. as AZ object
20 attract his attention umtii they wrgc
able to take tioir deliberate aim. lis
movements. however. W"r" 1t lcu%i!.
too swi!t for them. Before l:!r horses
the monster made IA rcnrniJuS bound
or two. and suddenly puunccd up
the hinder parts of one of them, which,
i'll its fright. plunged forwards and
knocked down the man in question.
who was holding the reins in his hand.
His comrades instantly took fright, and
ran o!fwi,h all speed; and he of course
rose rs quickly as possible, in order TO
follow them. But no sooner had he
regaincd his feet than the majestic beast
With seeming consciousness of his
superior might: stretched forth his paw,
and striking him just>,bchnd the neck,
Immediately brought him to the ground
again. lie then rolled on his back,
when the lion set his foot upon his
breast, and lay down upon him. The
poor man became almost brcathlcss,
partly from fear, but principally from
the intolerable pressure Of his terrific
load. He endcavorcd to move little
on one side, in order to breathe; but
feeling this, the creature seized his left
arm close to the elbow; and after once
laying hold with his teeth, he continued
to amuse himself with the limb for
some time, biting it in smdry places
down to the hand, the thick part of
which seemed to have been pierced
entirely through.
Gall this time, the lion did not ap.
pear angry, but he merely caught at
his prey, like cat sporting with Il
mouse that is not quito dead; SO that
there was notn single bone fractured,
as would in all probability have been
the casc had tho creature been hungry
or iritatod. While writhing in agony,
gasping for breath, and expecting cv-
cry moment to be torn limb from limb,
thc sufferer cried to his companions for
assistance, but cried in vain. On rails
ing his head little, the beast opened
his dreadful jaws to receive it; but
provilentially, the hat, which saw in
its rent state, slipped of, so that the
points Of the teeth only just grazcd the
surface of the skull. The Hon now set
his feat upon the arn, from which the
blood was freely flowing; his fearful
paw was soon covered herewith, and
he again aud again licked it clean.-
The itlea verify makes me shudder
while write. But this WAS not the
worst, fur the animal thon fixed his
flaming eyos upon those Of the man
smelt on ono sido, and then on the 9th
er of his face, aud having tasted Of the
blond, he appeared to have been in
oIined to devour HIS helpless victim.
SAT this critical moment, said the
poor man, ] recollcoted having hcard
That there is God in the heavons, who
is able to deliver to tho vory last cx
tremity, aud began to pray that he
would save me, and not allow the liol
to eat my flesh and drink my blood