Morning journal and courier., 1880-02-13
The Terror of The Jungle.


 H. SHEPARD. The Terror of The Jungle. PerfIs of Lion Hunting fn Africa. GFrom the Boston Commercial Bulletin.l l At the close of fine breezy day in June. A party of three Englishmen, with Hottentot attendants, an OK team, horses and dogs, were | bivouacked, after an exciting day of hunting, on 8 small plain near the banks of the Sun | day, tributary of the Buffalo river, situated | between Fort Lucas and Quagga Krael, in that part of British Cafraria known as Natal, which, as most readers are aware, forms an i'm portant portion of South Africa.
 | The day had been replete with adventure, and the spells of the chase were varied; but
 although the prime object of the sportsman | was to bring down tawny lion or two, they | did not disdain to have crack at any wild l animal unlucky enough to come within range
 of misunderstanding 'Mantons', consequent ly their ''bags" comprised springboks, gnus, | wild sheep, Cape rabbits a few birds, etc With the monarch of the forest, however, they | were not successful. They had sighted a l number-single and in pairs-but in every
 case their majesties kept at respectful dis tance and any attempt to close acquaintance
 was frustrated by their immediately turning tail l and sneaking of sn the most unroyal manner, 1 thus refuting the long cherished idea that the lion is the most courageous of beasts. There | are many opinions on this subject, for and l against, but, although lions are known at | times to display wondrous audacity and bravery, our hunters this time were certainly | disgusted, and voted Leo to be both a roaring ! braggart and coward.
 l It was not with the most satisfied air there | fore, that they returned to the bivouac which l they had quilted in the morning, l and after securing the stock and picketing the horses, sat down to partake of the evening meal prepared by the Hottentot
 cook. But, after six or seven hours of sharp riding, the savory odor of springbok Ca species of antelope) steaks, stewed rabbit fapjscks and aromatic oolong, had wonder | fully soothing effect on the hunters; and, | when these good things had been done ample | justice to, and pipes charged and lighted, the l wearied Nimrods cast themselves down | with perfect abandon around the fire for quiet chat before turning in, their black at ! tendants meanwhile applying themselves with
 much address to the disposal of the remains of the feast.
 Although the day was fast declining, the | sun had not yet gone down, but was as it were, amusing itself with the tree tops and
 mountains, lighting up valleys and plains with occasional bursts of golden glory before talk ing it's final dip. The cattle were munching | their grair and isicy grass, 1ad, with the ex- esi..iJE4 q tEeseS AGsA of fh;s2essi5 ereasaIy- ment and the occasional chirp of the field cricket all nature was hushed when sudden ly the echoes were awakened by sharp roar, l reverberating through the valley below, and bringing the hunters to their feet at bound. The roar was repeated, followed by yells of men and screams of women, and it did not | take our friends long to ascertain the direction
 from whence the sudden alarm came. They had remarked, when selecting their camping ground. couple of Caffre huts- probably Fingoes or Gelakas-about quarter of mile distant, on the verge of the first mentioned stream, and concluded that the | noise came from that quarter, and without nlor the fhrAA whjta m ur1t their arms and departed for the scene. | On arriving they found that the occupants of the little kraal had fled with the exception | of youth of about seventeen, who was en- gagged in desperately hurling assegais at a large | lion standing over prostrate body, and a | short distance beyond they perceived lion | ess holding down second human form, while other lions and cubs were leisurely devouring | couple of Caffre COWS.
 l Taking in this situation at a glance our friends did not hesitate as to their course so, | riding boldly forward, they in turn delivered | their fire at the first lion as they dashed past, l and wheeling in circle, gave the ioness a similar dose. Both beasts being wounded | and becoming furious the hunters had to ob- serve great caution, for the animals left their prey, and roaring and flashing their Hanks with their tails, prepared to attack their as- sailants; accordingly Hardy, the leader, dis | mounted, supported closely by his friends Ferguson and Overton, and approaching to within forty yards of the lion, knelt, took l aim, fired straight at the breast, stretched it dead with bullet through his heart. They then quickly turned their attention to | it's mate, and none too soon, for she had crept forward to within springing distance; but it 1 was luck that Hardy's weapon was double
 barreled, as he had just time to cock his piece | and take aim when she, too bounded up- | ward. He fired the same as before, but with | the advantage that his two mounted friends fired also; consequently she, like her lord, was placed beyond all further harm-doing. l The other lions and cubs made off.
 They now turned their attention to the hu- | man victims of the raid, and found the prey | of the lioness to be a male Caffre, badly man. 1 gled and quite dead; that of the lion proved l to beta woman stunned and bruised but other | wise unhurt. The Caffre youth, now coming up, threw himself prostrate beside the woman, l evincing the most intense grief mingled with l the deepest affection as he patted her, and in | language uninteligible to his delivers at | tempted to rouse her. Overton soon changed | his grief to joy by placing his brandy flask to | her lips, with almost magical result and the youth, seeing her restored, hurried of to the
 other body, but upon finding life extinct was | once more in despair.
 However, savage as he was, he was phi
 losopher in his way; his father was dead be- | yond doubt, but his mother was alive; there fore he cast aside his grief for his male parent and indulged in joy at the safety of his moth | CT, alternating his caresses of her with grate-
 full demonstrations toward our friends, partic-
 ularly Hardy.
 One of the Hottentots now coming up, he
 acted as interpreter and soon the hunters were in possession of the facts attending this
 evenings adventure. It appeared that the
 lions had raided their herd of cattle, and on
 their flying to their rescue, the savage ani-
 malls had turned on them with the above re-
 suit; their Caffre friends, instead of aiding
 them, incontinently fled, and had not since
 returned. Such being the case, and seeing
 now the utter destitution, the hunters offered
 them the shelter of their bivouac which they
 gladly accepted, first burying the husband and
 father under a large pile of stones and while
 they were thus engaged the hunters secured
 the skins of the lions, and then they all re-
 turned to the bivouac. On the way back
 they learned that the woman's name was
 Sozemi, and that of the youth Kallula; that
 they were of the Griqua tribe, and that the dead warrior had been a distinguished chief.
 Something about Wood.