The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-05-17

=
in hunting lions:
On coming in sight of the natives,
who had been left to watch the animal,
at once saw that it would be case of
close quarters, as the men only made
signs and would not speak and on our
quietly asking where our expected foe
was hanging out, they pointed to large
tree certainly not more than forty
yards distant from us. Taking good
look at the caps Of my rifle, and feeling
with the rod that both balls were close
down, took up position in front of
the tree just in the line of road the
natives said the beast was in the habit
of taking when going abroad, and
placed a native with my second gun
close behind me; the rest Of our party
and the native hunters distributing
themselves in circle round the tree,
so as to be ready for whichever side she
broke cover. All being ready, signal
was made to q number of natives sta
toned in the adjacent trees, and they
began to shout at the top of their
voices; and in an instant we heard a
noise like the growing of mastiff, in
creasing in sound and intensity. My
readers must not fancy that the noise
they hear from the kingly beast in cap
tivity is anything like that which he
makes when in his native walks.
Placing his mouth near the ground, the
monster gives prolonged growl which
reverberates around in volume of
sound which can be heard for miles,
striking every living thing with terror.
Such was the sound which now broke
the stiffness of the air. The native be-
hind me pressed my arm, and told me
she was very angry. Immediately after
this she got up, and we saw her for the
first time as she began walking up and
down under the tree, as you see the
animals in the Zoo do in their cages,
lashing her sides with her tail and some
times throwing it right over her back.
All at once she saw me, rather stopped
the fore part of her body, put back her
ears, opened her mouth, gave three or
four heavy growls, and showed the
whitest teeth | ever saw in my life. AT
that moment | fired my righthand
barrel direct at the dent between her
eyes, and no sooner had done so than,
with frightful roar Of agony and rage,
down she came full upon me.
Thank God, am steady and cool,
and let her have the second barrel full
in the chest but it failed to stop her.
had Just time to seize my second gun
| from the native, who fortunately, stood
! like a rock and not being able TO get
! il to my shoulder, fired both barrels
from hip straight into her chest but
that did not stop the Infatuated beast,
| Co Ia ,Nl, oh Hef N
nay back and lay on me, with one paw
on each side of my chest. She then put
! her head down with that kind of growl-
ing noise with which bull terrier wor-
ries any kind of varmint, right over my
throat and chest. To attempt to de-
scribe the horrors of the situation | was
in would be simply an impossibility
Ny friends and the natives were trans.
fixed with fear, utterly unable TO render
me the slightest assistance.
But one little accidental circumstance
saved my life. In being thrown down,
| had providentially kept hold of my
second gun, and on the brute stopping
to worry me thrust it up in involun
tary self-defense. Laying hold OF it in
her massive teeth she took it out of my
hands like straw, and for some mo
ments contented herself with venting
her rage upon it, and broke it all &c
pieces. During all this time my friends
though but few yards from me, feared
to fire upon her lest their shots should
strike me. Presently she seized me by
the shoulder and shook me as puppy
does a bali of cotton, fearfully mangling
and crushing the arm and then for a
time lay perfectly still, keeping her
teeth in my shoulder. Suddenly she
let 20, rose slowly to her feet. staggered
away few yards, and fell dead. My
friends, on coming to lift up what they
fully believed to be my dead body,
could hardly credit their senses at find
ing me still alive, and, with the excep-
ton of a badly mangled shoulder and
arm, comparatively unhurt, the more
so as | was perfectly drenched with the
animals blood.
1t had long been the wish of my
heart to have hand.to-hand encounter
with the "l.rd of the forest" and |
certainly had it gratified with ven
geance. have SHOT others since, but
have never had so near shave; and
frequently, when | wrap myself up in
her skin, now doing duty as a rug,
think 10 myself, with a shudder, how
near death | was in obtaining it.