Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-09-29
EVENING STAR,
AN ENCOUNTER WITH IIor

FROM " Lie and Adventures Of Jules &c.
Iard, the Lion Killer" We extract the follow.
ing. ihe hero is after the king OF beasts il
Soon after this I heard loud and baav,
steps on the leaves which covered the ground
and the rustliDgs of huge body through n.
trees bordering the glade. 1t was the lior
himself leaving his lair, and ascending toward
US without suspecting our presence.
Bonaziz and the spahi were already shoul
dering their guns. 1 then pointed out to them
with my foot lentise some PAGES behind me
end Of the drama, command which they did
not fail to obey. Indeed, must give these
worthy fellows much credit for persistins In
staying by me, Notwithstanding their extrems
terror for, Judge as you please, 1 for my part
tnink IL no mean courage, when you have
your doubts about the success Of an advcn.
ture to accept the passive part of the specta-
tor and 10 remain unmoved on the scene o!
| action.
"Ihe lion was still ascending; I could now
| measure the distance which separated me from
MIN. and could distinguish the regular, rumb-
ling sound of his heavy breathing. L then
advanced few PAGES nearer to the edge Of
the glade, where 1 expected him to appear, in
order TO have chance of shooting him closer
could hear him advancing at thirty PAGES,
fear. All 1 thought was, suppose he was 70
turn back , Suppose he does not come out
into the glade! And at each sound whi,h
showed him nearer to me, my heart beat
louder, In complete rapture of JOY and hone
- One anxious thought crossed my mind
what If my gun were to miss fire ~ said T.
gtancing down upon it But confidence again
prevailed, and my only anxiety was for the
long wlshed-for appearance Of my fee.
"The lion, after short pause, which seemed
to me an age, began 10 come forward again,
and presently could see before me, by the
starlight, at but few PAGES off the top of
small tree, which / could almost touch, ac-
tually shaken by the contact of the lion This
was his last pause There was now between
US but the thickness of that single tree, coy
cred with branches from the foot upwards.
4" was standing with my face to the wood,
and with my gun pointed, 80 as to be ready
to fire the moment the animal should enter
the glade; and having still an interval Of
about second took advantage OF il 10 make
sure that could regulate properly the aim
of my barrel. Thanks to glimmer of light
which came from the west to the clearness of
the sky filed with the shining stars, and to
tho whiteness of the glade, which was con-
spicuous against the dark-yreen Of the forest,
L could just see the end Of my barrels-that
was all-but it sufficed for 50 close an aim.
sit is scarcely necessary to say that L did
not waste much time in this investigation
L was beginning to fpd that the amin al was
rather slow in his motions, and to fear that,
instead Of advancing unsuspiciousIy, he be-
came aware Of my presence, and was about
to spring over the lentise which separated US
As if to justify this fear, the lion gave two Or
three deep growls, and then began to roar
furiOusy.
go, my fellow disciple Of S: Hubert; you
who can feel and understand, fancy yoursedF
at night in the open forest, leaning sgai3sta
small tree, out Of which rises a yolley of Toass
enough to drown tho noise of thunder ITSELF
imagine yourself with only ono single shot to
fire on this formidable animal, who only falls
by the merest chance under a single bail and
who kills his opponent without mercy if he is
not killed himself You can doubtless under
stand that had trusted to strength alone,
my heart would have failed me; in spite Of
my efforts nay sight would have become dim
and my hand unsteady.
Yes, L confess frankly, and without shame,
that terrible roar made me feel that man was
small indeed in the presence Of a lion; and
without firm will and that absolute conf
dence which derived from tho inexhsu stib be
Source Of all Power, / believe I should have
failed in that awful moment But this strength
enabled me to listen to the tremendous voice
of my enemy without trembling or emotion,
and 10 the end L retained perfect mastery
over the pulsation of heart, and full control
"When heard the lion make last step,
moved little aside, and no sooner did his
enormous head rise out of the wood at two
or three yards distance from me, he stopped
to stare al me with a look of wonder, than l
aimed betwe the ear and the eye, and slow
ly pressed the trigger.
From the instant touched this until L
heard the report of the gun, my heart ceased
to beat. After the shout could zee nothing;
but through the smoke which enveloped the
lion heard the most tremendous, agOnizing
and fearfully protracted roar.
My two men meantime, jumped up, but
without making 4 step forward, and unableto
see anything, stood with their guns shoulder.
ed ready to fire. For myself, L waited, dagger
in hand and one knee on the ground, until the
smoke should disperse, and / could see how
matters stood.
"As soon as all was clear, beheld, FIRST, a
paw, and heavens, what paw then one leg,
then shoulder, then the head, and at last
the whole body Of my enemy. He lay on his
side and gave not the smallest sign Of life 20