The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-04-03

pretty straight again; but was full OF wrati
when thought OF all had gone through
at the hands, or rather noses, OF those fouI
ions. and Of tho fate OF my aftorox kap
tein. He was a splendid OK, and | was very
fond of him So wroJh was that Ike a fool
determined TO go Tor the whole family Of them
It was worthy Of groenhorn out on his first
hunting trip; but did 1t nevertheless. Ac
cordmgly, after breakfast, having rubbed some
oil upon my leg, which was very sore from
the cubs tongue, took the driver Tom, who
did not halg ike the job, and having armed
myself with an ordinary double No r. smooth
bore, the FIRST brooch loader l ever had,
started. took the smoothbore because il
shot bullet very well, and my experience
| had been that a round bullet from smooth
| bore is quito rs effective against hon as an
express bullet The lion Is soft and not diff
cult animal 10 finish if you hit him anywhere
in the body. a buck takes far more killing.
"Well, started, and the first thing | SGT
10 work 10 do was 10 try 10 make out where
abouts the brutes lay up for the day. About
300 yards from the wagon was the crest OF n
rise covered with single mimosa trees, dotted
about in park like fashion, and beyond this
was stretch of open plain running down to
O dry pan or water hole, which covered about
an acre Of ground and was den-tly clothed
with reeds, now in the serc and yellow leaf.
From the further edge of this pan the ground
sloped up again 10 n great cleft or nullah,
which had been cut out by the action Of the
water and was pretty thichy sprinkled with
bush, among which grew some large trees, 1
forget Of what sort.
at at once struck me that the dry pan
would I've a likely place 10 find my friends IN
as there is nothing that lion is fonder o.
than lying up in the reeds, through which he
can see things without being seen himself
Accordingly thither | went and prospcted
Now there was "A strong wind blowing from
the direction Of the wagon, across the reedy
pan toward the bush-clad kloof or donga, and
this first gave me the idea OF firing the reeds
which, as think told you, were pretty dry
Accordingly Tom took some matches and
began starting little fires to the left, and
did the same TO the right. But the reeds were
still green at the bottom, and we should never
have got them well alight had it not been for
the wind, which got stronger and stronger as
the sun got higher, and forced the fire into
them. At last after half an hours
trouble, the flames got "A hold and began To
spread out like fan, whereupon got round
to the further side Of the pan 10 wait for the
lions stand well out in the open. IL
was rather risky thing To do, but ! used
TO be 80 sure of my shooting in those days
that did not so much mind the risk Pres
emily, above the cracking Of the fire, beard
a startled roar, then another and another. SO
the lions were at home.
II was beginning to get excited now, for, rs
YOU fellows know, there is nothing in expert
once TO warm up your nerves like a lion at
close quarters unless it is wounded buffalo;
and got still more so when | made out
through the smoke that the lions were all
moving about on the extreme edge OF the
reeds Occasionally they would pop their
heads out like rabbits, from burrow,
and then, catching sight Of me standing
about fifty yards out, draw them back
again. know that il must be getting pretty
warm behind them, and that they could not
keep the game up for long, and was not
mistaken, for suddenly all four Of them broke
cover together. the old black NAMED lion
leading 10y few yards. never saw more
splendid sight in all my hunting experience
than those four lions bounding over the
yeldt, overshadowed by the dense pail OF
smoke aud backed by the fiery furnace Of the
burning reeds.
IL reckoned that they would pass, on Their
road 10 the bllshy kloof, within about five
and twenty yards of me, 50, taking long
breath, | got my gun well on the lions
shouder-the black named oue-so us to
allow for an inch or two of motion, and catch
him through the heart | was on, dead on,
and my finger was just beginning TO tighten
on the trigger, when suddenly went blind
IA bit of reod-sand had drifted into my right
eve glanced and rubbed, and got it more
or less clear just in time to see the tail of the
last lion vanishing round the bushes up the
kloof
az ever a man was mad | was that man.
1t was too bad; and such shot IN the open,
too! However, | was not going to be beaten,
so lust turned and marched To the kloof.
Tom, the driver, begged and implored mo
not TO go, but, though, as Il general rule |
never pretended to bc brave (which | am
not, | was determined that | would either
kill those lions, or they should kill me. so !
told Tom that ho need not come unless he
liked but was going and, being plucky
felow-a Swat by birth--he shrugged his
shoulders, muttGred that | was mad or be
witchcd and followed doggedly in my tracks
ave soon got to the l,loof, which was about
800 yards in length and but sparsely wooded,
and then the real fun began. There might
be lion behind every brush-thC cor
tainly were four lions somewhere; the delicate
question was, where, | pccped and poked
and looked in every possible direction, with
my heart in my mouth, and was at last re
warded by catching glimpse Of something
yellow moving behind bush. At the same
moment, from another bush opposite me out
burst one Of the cubs AMI ga1oped back
toward the burnt-out pan, | whipped round
and lot drive snap shot that tipped him
head over heels breaking his back within two
inches of the root Of the tail, and there he lay
helpless but glazing. Tom aftcrward killed
him with his a&cgai opened the breech Of
the gun and hurredly pulled out the old case,
which, to judge from what ensued, must, !
suppose, have burst and left portion OF It's
fabric sticking TO the barrel AT any rate,
when tried 10 get i'll a new case it would
only enter half way; and-would you believe
tl this was the moment that the lioneSs, at
tracted, no doubt, by the outcry of hev cub,
chose to put i'll an appearance. There she
stood twenty PAGES or 50 from me, lashing
her tail and looking just as wicked as IL is
possible to conceive. Slowly stepped back
ward trying TO push in the new case, and as
did so she moved on i'll little runs, dropping
down after each run The danger was
imminent, and the case would not 20 in. AT