New-York tribune., 1886-02-14
LONG ODDS.
HOW QUATERMAIN KILLED FOUR LIONS.
BY II. RIDER HAGGAHD, AUTHOR OF KING soL-
OMoN'S MlNESn

The story which !, narrated in the following
pages came to me ir0T me IPs oi my OIL Trend
used to call him in South Africa. tie told it 10
one evening when was stopping with him at the
place he bought in Yorkshire. shortly after that,
the death of his only son 80 unsettled MIN that he
Immediately left ENGLAND accompanied by two
companions who were Oil teliOw-vOyageTS OF his.
Sir Henry Gurus and Captain GooI anu has now
utterly vanished into the dark heart OF Africa. lie
persuaded that a white people. OF which he lidN
heard rumOrS all ms Eit, exists somewhere on tit
highlands in the vast, still uneXrolcl interior ana
his great ambition is to hud then before he DIES
This is the Wild quest upon which he and his com
panions have departed, and from which ShicNdiY
suspect they never VIII rcturn. One leiter oHP
have | recc yed from tie old gentleman. dated from
a mission station high IN tie rama, IlVef on t"e
east coast, abOut three. hundred miioN nUltu %
Zanzibar; in it he says they nave gone tulous5
many haulships and adventures. but are allNo 'l'
well, and have found traces winch 20 Ia! toward
making him hope that the result OF their wild quest
may he magnificent and une Nanpieu discovery,
greatly fear. however, that al nc mas UistoNeIc9
is death for this letter came long while ago. and
nobody has heard a single word Oh the party SINCE
They have totally vanished.
1t was ON tn last evening of my stay at his house
that he told the ensuing story to mo anu CaDtlln
Good. who was dining with him. lie had eaten lis
dinner aud drunk two or three glasses OF old port
lust to help Good and myself to the end OF the
second bottle 1t was unusual thing for him to
do for he was most abStcmous man. having con
ceved as he used TO say, great horror OF drink
from observing its effects upon the class ol men-
hunters transport riders, and Othefs-am0nG whom
he hai passed so MANY years of his life. COusc-
quenly the good wine took more effect on hlni than
flush into his wrnKled checks, and making him talk
more freely than usual
Dear old man! | can see him now. us he wont
lmping up and down the vestibule, with his gray
pair sticking up in scrubbing brush fashion, his
shrivelel yellow face ana hs large dark eyes that
were keen as any hawks, ana YET Soli as Il
bucks The whole room was hung with trophies oil
his numerous hunting expeditions, and he hai some
story about every one of them. if only You could
get him to tell them Generally he would not. Tor
he was not very fond of Harrating hs own adven
lures. but tonight the port wine made him more
aAh, you brute" he said, stopping beneath an
unusually large skull CT lion, which was hNed INST
over the mantelpiece beneath a long row OF guns,
It's jaws distcnded to their utmost width An,
YOU brute, YOU have given me lot of trouble for
the last dozen years, and WILL suppose 10 my
"Teli us the yarn. Quatermain," said Good
You have often promised to tell me- and You never
aYou had better not ask me to-" he answered,
- for it is longSh Onen
"An right" i said. the evening Is young, ana
there is some more port.
Thus adiured, he filed his pipe from jar of
coarse-cut Boer tobacco that was always standing
on the mantel-pece, and still walking up and down
II was | think IN the March of 90 that was mp
in SikukunlS country. 1t was just alter old
Sequatis time, and Sikukuni hid got into power-l
forget how ANYWAY Nv was tdeLg Gn nnG nraa
quantity of ivory from the Interior and so started
with wagon,load of GOODS, and came NtraiHht
away from Middelburg to try ana trade some oil H.
early, on account of the fever; but knew that
| determined to have Try tor ~ ana TAX my
chance of fever. had got 80 tough from contlnu3l
knocking about that did not set IT down AT lhucn
Well | got on all right for while. 1t Is wonder
fully beautiful piece OF bush voldt, Win great
ranges of mountains runnnI through IT, and round
granite koppes starting up here and there, looking
out like Sentinels over the rolling waste OF bnsh
But it is very hOt-hot a. stew-pan- and when
was there that March, which, of course. is autumn
in that part of Africa the whole place reeked of
fever. Every morning; as trekhed along down 10y ny
the Olphant River ! used to creep out OF the
at
looked like the finest cotton wool tossed IN lightly
with a pitchfork. 1t was the fever mist
Ont flOm among the scrub too came little spirals OF
vapOr as though there were hundreds OF tiny lres
allght in it t-reck rising from thousands 0 tons Ol
rotting vegetation 1t was a beautiful place. but
the beauty was the beauty of death; and all those
lines and blots of vapOr wrote great word across
!fS fsveT surface OF the country anu 'H"' NO'O ""
at was a dreadful year of illness. that. I came
remember TO one little kraal of knobnoses. and
went up to to see if could get some mas curded
buttermilkl and few mealieS As got near was
struck with the silence OF the place. No cndlrGi3 ndih
began TO chatter, and no dogs barkcd: Nor could
i see any native sheep or cattle Inc pace thouEn
it had evidently been recently inhabited was ~
still as the bush round it, and some guinea iowl
got mp ont of the prickly pear bushes rg4t at thr
kraal gate. ! remember that heNtalSu a l.itIo
before going in, there was such an air of deSoaton
about the spot. Nature never looks deSolli" "hGn
man has not yet laid his hand upon her breast .hr
is only lonely. But when man has BEEN and has
passed away, then she looks dcs0Iatc.
Well | passed into the kraal. and went mp TO the
prncipal hut. In front of the hut was something
yitb an old sbecp-skin Iqr,s, rug thrown over 1T.
I stooueI down and drew oil the rug. and then
shrauk back amazed, for under it was the body OF
Young woman recently dead For moment
thought OF turning back, but my curiosity oyertame
me; 80 going past the woman. went down on NY
hands and knees and cTept INTO the hut IL Wa 30
dark that could not see any hing. though c"uli
sTand,ticIor' match. and burned slowly and dmly,
and a. the light gradually increased mdd' oul
what i9ogE was eo lot o. peGR " GnincI wIgp gp
brightly and saw that they ZOO five OF them al'o,
gcthcr. quite dead. One was baby.
dropped the match IN hurry ana was mdh.hE my
way out of the hut a. hard a. l could 90, "'n
caught sight Of two bright eyes staring out OF
corner. Thinking II was a wildcat, or some Such
animal redOubled my haste" when suddenly
voice near the eyes began first to muttcr ana thcn
10 send up a succession Ofawiul yclls. Hastily lii
another match. and perceived that the eyes belonged
TO an old woman, wrapped up III greasy r4tlcr
garment. Taking her by the arm, dragged her
out, for she cOufd not, OF wOnd not. como bS hrI-
self aud the stencil was OyeIpOwering me such
sight a. she was-a bag Of bones, covered over with
black SlIrvelled parchment Ihc only White thlhg
alOut her her wool AMI she seemed 10 be plcltY
well dead except for her eyes ana her voice. she
thought that was devil come 10 take her. ana
that is why she yelled So Wei, got her down TO
the wagon and gave her a tot Of Cane smoke ana
then, soon as 1t was ready, poured ABOUT a PIht
OF beef-'ea down her throat maze from .hc Ilosh o
blue Vilderhceste had killed the day before ana
after that she Enlightened mp wonder ully. She
could talk Xulu-ndeed. it turned out that she had
run away from Zululand in I'Chaka's timc-3nd
she told me that all the people that had seen had
Iabtans of the kraal had taken the cattle and
away. leaving the poor old WON who was help
le.s from age and inirmlty, to perish Of starvation
or disease as the case might he. She had been SIT
ting there for three DAYS among the bodies when
found her. ! took her on to the next kIaaL ana
gave .tbe hcadman blanket to look after her,
promising him another if found her well when
came back ] remen Der that he was lnuch
aston: n:shed at my parting with two blankets Tor ihS
sake of such worthless old creature. Why dd
nor leave her in the bush" he asked. Those people
the doctrine OF tie survival OF the httcst TO
It's extreme, yOn see. -, >,
Ii was the night after had got rid Of the old