The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-08-25
MISCELLANEOUS.
A DAY WITH a d

MANY years ago, while residing at the
Cape, l became acquainted with several
of those eIterprising Traders who are en-
gagged in the lucrative but rather hazard.
Gus traffic with the natives north CT the
Orange river.
One Of the b0ldest and most successful
ofthese adventurous traders wss a 1ir
Hutton, ? respectable English colonist
who had accumulated q small fortune by
his excursions among the Namaquas anC
the Dammaras, and was talking of re.ir
ing from the business. | had heard o.
him not only as a lucky dealer and a dar
Ing hunter, but also as btipg one of the
most intelligent explorers of South Africa
and, having been able on one occasion 10
render HIM a slight service, l obtained
from him in return a good deal of infor-
nation concerning those parts of the in
terror with which he was familiar.
Some OF his " adventures, which he
occasionally rela.e &c IN illustration of the
fscLs thus communicated, seemed to me
TO be curious and interesting enough to
be worth preserving. One OF them | will
endeavor to repeat as nearly as possible
IN the words III which he told it:
i was on my way to Dammara Land,
with two wagons and about a dozen peo-
30 - WI 4lOLA 1 w
blacks, whom | had brought with me
from Cape Town, and The remainder were
HottentOts and Namaquas that / had
picked up on the way. Most of them l
get at CID Schmelen's Missionary Station.
on this SIDE of the Orange river. Tire
two negroes We're tOlerably good servants 4;
they had gained some knowledge of civil
lized habits ia Cape Town. The others
cO1Id Go little beside helping to drive the
wagons though sometimes they were of
service In following 'spoor-traces OF
game, you know. They knew the cOua-
try well, and, by keeping a pretty sharp
eye upon them, | was able to make thvm
useful.
"In tracking game, as I said, they some
times rendered good service; but they
We're great cOwaIus, and though some of
them could handle firearms tolerably well,
l never cOuld get them to face any dan
gerOus animal such as q buffalo or a rhi-
nocerOs, Z least OF ali a lion, with any
s~teadiness. | snot two or three rhinOcer-
oses with little support from any of them,
except Apollo, la young Hettentof, whom
MIR. Hutton hau picked up and BET tended
few years previous TO the incident re
lated who always stood by me like a
Trojan, though his teeth Sometimes chat
tered- and his eyes Became ige saucers
as we approached the enemy.
"OLe afternoon" continued Hutton, VI
out SPAWNED near pool, where many ami
mails OF different sorts came ct night 10
drink. We could see their tracks al
about he margin. The Namaquas knew
the place well, and urged me to encsnp al
a little distance of, saying that the lions
were al Il kw2ad,' or very angry, In that
region and tlat II we rested near the
water weshOuld be very likely to lose come
of our oxen, and might perhaps be our
selves attacked. For it is a curious fact
that when a Ion has once tasted human
flesh, he seemst to acquire a peculiar relish
for il, and will leave I'll other game I'M
touched if he has a nance OF seizing
upon a man. / did not wish to run any
REX, 50 tar as my people, or my oxen
either were concerned ; and so, after max
ing them drink heartily, l drove of to q
distance Of about two mlleS, and out
SPAWNED in a small valley, out OF sight
from the pool.
1--WE kiDdled a large FIRE 10 keep off any
wild beasts that might be providing ABOUT,
and then turned the oxen loose to PICK up
what little her0age they could find among
the rocks about us. For myself, L felt g
strong desire to have q shot az a lion. !
had not bagged one FOR more than three
years. In tact, l had been unlucky IN
two or thr, e long shots, and began TO fear
that | should get out Oh practice IL that
sort of sport. which requires good nerves
and experience more than anything else.
/ asked four or five of my best men, in
GLIDING apollo, ii they would watch with
me at the pool that nigh; FOX lions. Three
Of them consented, and we left the others
with the wagons, with strict injunctions
to keep the fire burning, and not to let
the oxen stray % q distance.
ave reached the water just at sunset,
and set to work AZ once with the spades
and hoes which we had brought with us,
10 Gig 8 hole in the sand three or four
feet deep, about twenty yards from the
pool.
ON about az hour we finished u hid
ing place, throwing up the earth about IL
so ss 10 conceal Us Sill better from the
sight Of the wild animals. We then set
tied ourselves comfortably in the trench,
and lay there With our guns IN readiness,
waiting for the lions.
1--WE stayed there all nlgnt TO no pur-
pose. A good many animals came down
10 drink, but nohons. There were spring
bOks, gemsbOss, zcbTas, quagEas, cad
some ether creatures, but we did not
waste our ammunition upon them, "a We
were in no want OF meat and, besides, a
single shot would have alarmed the lions.
ami prevented them from approaching
the water. However, SO it happened, we
Jared no better for keeping quiet and
soon after dawn we came ont of ON
grave, stiff, sleepy and sulky, without
having had q glimpse of y lion, though
We had heard them roaring In the dis
lance.
"They had probably been attracted by
our yagOns and oxen; tor they were
proving about them al night, as we al
ter WARD learned. The people whom we
had left with them were In mortal terror,
but had sense enough 70 keep up q good
blaze. The oxen, ia their fright, crowded
almost into the fire, and by good luck the
lions did not venture 10 attack them.
81 now gave up all hope OF meeting the
game [ had come ont for; but l was de
termined not To return to the wagons
without something to show for our nights
watching. We lad gone but a few rods
from the pool, when q email herd of spring
boks came bounding through a thicket of
thorn trees Just in front Of us. They ran
and leaped as though something had
frightened them but without waiting to
see what it was, | fired both barrels in
among them, and knocked over one OF
the largest. My men all blazed away at
the same time, but without the smallest
effect.
81 had just taken my gun from my
shoulder, when an enormous lion walked
out of the thicket and came slowly to-
ward US. He was not more thai 30 yards
off, and there was no time TO re load. |
was taken so completely by surprise that
for the first few seconds stood q-ite mo
~tionless and uncertain what to do. But I
then saw there was but one course for Us.
When a party of natives go out with
their assagAis and knives to attack q lion,
As they sometimes do, their custom Is,