Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-05-06

wards. 1 could now see unac the gor1iIa
was severely wounded on the head and
side, and that the lion had fearful cash
in his side, for surely his ribs could never
have withstood those two tremendous
blows.
AS soon as he regained his feet he
charged at the gorilla again and again,
but was eluded every time, it being al
most impossible to follow their rapid
movements in the half light of the clear
ing. At last the lion paused and as he
did so the ape dashed at hiE and, strik-
him a stunning blow on the side OF the
head, completely rolled him over. Again
and again the charges were renewed, and
at every pause the gorilla returned the
charge and knocked the hon sidewise.
These blows seemed to daze the great cat,
and as he rose he more than once stag
gered and fell, the gorilla meanwhile
dancing with peculiar bobbing move
ment around and in front Of him.
The lion now began to make feints to
draw his adversary within range. At
last, stopping in mad rush, the gorilla
struck short, the lion rushed in, turned
upon his back and received the gorilla
with teeth and claws. Growls, snarls and
roars pealed forth from a whirling mass
of leaves and duet; limbs and bodies
strangely mingled were dimly seen
through it, as though twenty beasts in
stead of two were engaged in one con-
glomerate death struggle. At last there
WAS q sickening crash, horrible crunch
ing of bones, a demoniacal yell of pain,
faster and faster whirled the mass, then
followed a pause, and l saw the lion was
upperInost with the left arm of the gor-
lila in his powerful jaws; his claws were
fixed in the apes shoulder and he himself
was one mass of gashes and rents. The
right hand of the gorilla was fixed in the
lions side, and both his hinder hands
were drawn up and seemingly imbedded
in the lions ribs.
There was a moments pause, as if for
breath, and then the gorilla suddenly
twisted his head under the lions throat,
the hinder hands Strengthened out with a
nauseating sound of rending flesh, as with
one swift stroke he completely disembow-
eled the lion There arose a terrible cry
of anguish, sudden swirl around, several
strokes of brown paws and dark, hairy
arms through the cloud of dust, and then
all was over. The whirling leaves set
tied, and there in a death grip lay the
two mighty monarchs of the wilds. The
lion was utterly disemboweled, his en-
trails having been seized by the prehen-
sile hinder hands and literally dragged
out by the very roots; while the lion, by a
last dying effort, had succeeded in getting
his throat freed from the gorilla's teeth
and with one powerful blow had smashed
the apes head, as hammer does hick-
DRY nut. There they lay, motionless, and
and there we lay, too, fascinated, en-
thralled at the strange spectacle we had
just witnessed
Presently figure moving on the edge
Of the clearing attracted our notice, and
we saw the female gorilla peering out be-
tween the bushes, with an agoniZingly
human look upon her face that was dread
full to see. Slowly and cautiously she adj
vanced across the open space until she
reached the bodies; then she touched first
5ne and then the other, uttering plaintive
cries of grief that were touching in the ex-
creme At last she managed to olsen
tangle the body of her mate, looked into
the eyes, examined the wounds and, still
crying, took it in her arms, and, labor
iousIy dragging it across the open space,
disappeared in the forest beyond, She
was safe from my rife l would not have
shot her for 81, 900, 900, and it was with a
strange feeling Of depression that turned
my back upon the clearing, and following
my guide left behind the scene of one of
the most interesting and vivid experiences
of my not uneventful life.-W. p. Pond
in New York Star.