The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-06-03
miscellaneous.
BATTLING WITH LIONS.
Exciting Encounter with Lions in the Jungl0l
Of Africa.

"
Exciting Encounter with Lions in the Jungles
Of Africa.
Mr.. F. Falkner Carter, in charge of the
elephants attached to the Royal Belgian
expedition into Africa, gives the follow
ing exciting account of a sudden eucoun-
ter which he had with lions at Kerima,
Central Africa, at which place he and his
Caravan of 1870 men had arrived. In a
letter received from him by the last mail,
dated from that station, he mentions the
difficulties he had experienced in pro-
curing animal food for his men. "Our
only food" he says, Consists OF Indian
corn, pounded between two stones, with
a good share ofsand, and only salt with
it. 1t is we'll to have even this, but still,
men accustomed all their lives to good
animal food can not live on such poor
fare, and so l go out every second or
third day with my gun and kill a zebra,
Gland, water buck, &c. One of any of
these enables us to live in clover for a
single day. A recent expedition of this
kind, however, nearly cost me my life.
1 felt that l must go in search of food, as
there was not at the tia.e a morsel in
u camp, and 80, forth l sailed. My
first shot was at a giraffe, into whom 1
put two bullets, and then followed him
wei hill and dale until noon, when heat,
thirst, and want of food obliged me to
give up the chase. After smoking a pipe
and taking a rest 1 was off again got a
shot at a zebra, but missed him. The
zebra, l should mention, is the best meat
in Africa. Rather disheartened, and
grieving for the poor hollow.eyed fell
lows | should meet on my return, for
whom l had nothing in the shape of
food. | turned toward camp, and just at
$3.50 p. ms fine boar dashed past me. l
sent a bullet through him at once, but on
he went. l knew, howe, er, we should
find him dead a few hundred yards
ahead, by the quantity of blood in the
long grass; so l followed, but just then
sighted three zebras-so dropped pig
gie's trail and went off to try and stalk
the zebras. In about ten minutes after
l heard a fearful row, and my two gum
bearers said it was a rhinoceros. l laid
hold of my No, 10 bore, handing my 'ex-
press to my bearer, telling him and the
man carrying the smooth. bore to keep
close to me. l glided silently through
the grass. over six feet high, until close
to the spot; then l knew that if it were
a rhinoceros he was lying down, as l
could not see a sign of him; 80 l decided
it must be two wild bears fighting.
Something told me they could not make
such a horrible noise, which actually
seemed to shake the ground and rend
the very air around me. Strange to say,
it never struck me that the noise might
have proceeded from lions, although the
place is full of them, so l advanced
boldly, dividing the grass with my rifle.
then discovered three lions d~evouring
the pig had shot. and in that short
time had finished half of it. The two
nearest were within two feet of me, and
the furtherst three and a half feet. The
brutes' boards, chests and claws were
covered with blood. Though startled at
first, l was perfectly cool, and yet felt
perfectly certain that l must be killed,
az even a tame lion is savage when eat
ing his food. The lion opposite caught
sight Of me at once, curled his lips, LASH
ed his sides with his tail, but what the
others we're doing I cannot say, as my
friend was in the act OF springing, and l
dare not take my eye off him for a sec.
ond. At last he crouched for the spring
and l let drive in his face, retreatiDg a
step to give me q chance with the other
barrel at one of the remaining two, de-
termined to sell my life dearly, but to
my great delight these two spraug over
the grass in opposite directions. | gave
a sort Of sigh of relief, looked around for
my gun bearers. and there they were,
fifty yards of, trembling with fear, and
blue with fright. The rasCals had run
away, and l had no gun to fall back up,
en-. l returned to pick up my dead lion,
but found he had crept away with a bull
let through him. l followed his trail un.
til the jungle got too thick, and it being
nearly dark"