The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-11-05
The Lion.

Advertiser sends 10 That Jonrnal tine I
experience of an old African soldier
whn speaks of nothing he has not him
self seen and who modestly withholds
only such episodes as would place him /.
in conspicuous position. The nara
tor is as brave as lion and has thought I
no more of hunting this roval game
thar Sir George Cummings himself"
In letter TO a friend the soldier says:
Yon wish me to initiate you into
the secrets of the trne Arab lion hunt,
which you must begin by knowing that
it little resembles the fantastic tales told
by certain European travellers and diIat- I
ed upon by newspapers and novel-writ- !
ers until there is no possibility Of sep
arating truth from fiction or drawing to
any satisfactory degree conclusion re-
garding the lion and panther. which are
in fact our only dangerous African
carnivorons animals. Lions are quite |
numerous in certain parts of the province
of Constantine. rare in those of Algiers !
and Gran Panthers. on the contrary,
are seldom seen in the last two provinces, /
but are numerous in Algiers. The hab- |
its of these two carnivora differ essen /
TALLY. As a general rule, neither the
one nor the other attacks man. 1t some
times happens. however. that panther, |
surprised while eating, springs fnriously |
upon the man whose imprrdent foot ha4
troubled the silence Of his repast, and in
this case there is nothing to hope, as
before the bravest man can have got
possession of his arms he is a bruised |
and broken mass. The panther tear-
and mutilates the. body even after all |
life has fed, hnt does not devour il. In |
general he kills for the pleasure Of kill |
ing, and even when attacking flock or
herd he ven his savage fury on many
before deciding TO eat one.
NThe lion, on the contrary, springs
upon his victim and at once devonrs it,
or, dragging it 10 a preferred dining
spot, quietly makes his repast, nor thinks
of trembling the rest of the flock until
renewed appetite leads him to satisfy |
hunger in the same way. II, during the
repast, he sees a man approach. and il
not ravenous. he gets up and walks away
slowly, one may say sOlemnly- or some
times. not even deigning this, he raises
his majestic head, looks at the intruder
and by halffriendly growl warns him
that he will not stand being troubled
when at dinner. A pedestrian finding
himself in this position does we'll TO
Withdraw slowly, for should he become
frightened and run the lion is quite cap
able of feeling a desire to Overtake him
and in that case will; even to that case,
if the man has presence Of mind snfi-
eient to understand the danger and do
the only thing remaining TO be done, he
may still escape safe and sound. For the
lion seems oftenest actuated by half
playful, friendly sentiment, and SO he
does not lose his respect for man-sel
dom troubles him. OGtentimes he joins
and passes the pedestrian, and when al a
good distance crouches across his path,
watching him approach. If the man has
the un sortunoie idea Of turning to run
away he is lost; but if he comes on
quietly, neither faster nor slower than
his usual pace, looking his enemy stead
lily in the face and showing no signs Of
fear, he has every chance to escape. The
lion will growl, wag his tail in rather
terrifying way, but allowing the man
to pass before him, get mp, and. as
though admitting to himself that he had
honestly lost his game, go quietly back
to his lair.
"a lion rarely attacks women, and
once witnessed scene which will go
further than the longest explanation to-
ward illustrating this. 1t was a hot,
sultry day in July. The sirocco made
the atmosphere dense with sand and
glare; the very earth seemed on fire. !
was returning from an expedition on the
frontiers of Tuni-, and. as ] had some
matters to settle with tribes in the en-
virons of Ia Guile, left nv troops to re-
turn TO Constantine. and. followed only
by two spdhis, turned my steps toward
Ia CdlIe. Having started just before day,
we arrived at about four o'clock in the
afternoon at the ford Of the little river
eLa Mqfcdg. Our horses, as well as we
ourselves, were sadly in want of food
and drink; and we stopped to refresh
ourselves at little inn kept by a Eu-
ropean, and situated on low mound
two or three hnnHred yards from the
ford-i-WhilSt waiting for my frugal re-
pistols, and. stretched ont comfortably
in the shade, idly watched a band of
] Arab women washing clothes in the
river. All at once / was startled bv
cries proceeding from the opposite side
of sand heap bordering the river, and
half dozen women came rushing into
the midst Of their peaceahle companions
dragging them into the shallow water.
and behind them magnificent lion, his
tail proudly in cir and his great brown
ewes looking caressingly from one to the
other Paying nO attention 10 their re-
]
treat into the river, he followed them
there, rubbing himself mp against them,
not seeming to mind in the least their
cries or terrified ge-ticulations, and
when he had enongh Of it he took long
drink Of fhe running water, and, turn
ing, maiestirally walked awav into the
mountains from whence he had come.
This lion was stranger in that part of
the country. and when on the following
day went in search of him he had dis
appeared"
CAPoNIzING.-Ca Caponizing fowls is
practiced to some extent in Pennsyl lvania
and New Jersey. It's effect upon the
fowls is, that they grow one third be-
yond their otherwise natural size, fatten
r