The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-03-06

butt. drove tho panther out from under the
bedding into thc forecastle with tie third lion
and then destroyed our bedding and everything
else which would yield to Lis terrible hons.
Just b fore the captain called ont to us one Of
our men pulled himself ACROSS to the foremas
by the tiantic stay, slipped down tine lee
shioads. and waiting until the borele was
headed Aft, he dropped to the deck and slid the
cover over the foTecaatle companion. That act
imprisoned a lion, a panther and one of the
Seipents, and was display OF judgment and
nerve which the captain well rewarded.
The mon shut up in the cabin finally hailed
US to know the situation. The other two lions
were croucEed down 1T tie wheel, and tie
panther in the boat had 10 idea of leaving it.
The three beasts kept up low growing and
snarling, and would have picked a fight but for
the presence Of a common enemy. 1t was the
rhinoceros which must De taken care % first.
By order Of the captain, another man crossed
u the foremast, and then the two descended
the shrouds and shouted ana gcsCured defiance
at the borele until he was LIOught TO the bows.
Then thrco men, armed with guns and reyo-
vcrs, slipped out OF the cabin and into the
shronds Of the nainmast, and it began to look
as If we had the advantage. While we were
trying to draw the borele aft again, that they
might make target OF him, one OF
the Lions leaTed into the yaWl, while
the other ran for the bows of the
brig. The ono had scarcely entered the yawl
when the panther tackled him, and for a min
ute the two bounded over the thwarts and
tumblcd about in the iercest confusion. The
yawl rocked about as il it would upset, and
the screams and roars Of the beasts were some
thing aWlGl CHANGING for an instant from the
combatants TO the water below, saw the
sharks gathering astem OF us almost as thick
as they could pack. Could one of us reach the
tackle and lower away, we would be rid of two
more of our enemies. The man below me on
the shrouds moved down little, thinking to
carry out this idea, but just then the fighting
beasts reared up over the thwart amidships,
seized each other with fresh grip, and as they
tagged and tugsled, the rocking of the boat
dumped them out, and the sharks snapped
them up III a second.
The fight drew the attention of the rhinoce-
ros. On his way aft he came across the lion,
who was skulking under the buiWarks and
drove him back to his former position at the
wheel. AS told you before, the big beast
could not crowd in between the cabin roof and
the hulwarks, but now, seeming to be madder
than ever, he saw new route before him.
The roof OF the cabin was about two feet above
the deck, with heavy glass skylight in the
center. After few terrific snorts the borele
started to walk over the cabin roof. He got
his full weight upon it, when his fore feet went
through with crash, and he rolled sideways
into the narrow passage and was stuck fast,
feet in the air, and the lnaddest rhinoceros on
earth. While he was struggling there
the men began firing upon the lion. After
being hit three times he bounded over the
cabin and ran forward out Of sight. [ think
he attempted to 90 out on the bowsprit and
was attacked by the serpent. Weheard some
thing OF a struggle, followed by heavy splash
in the water, and that was the last known of
either. All of us now clambered down to at
tack the rhinoceros. He was helpless to de-
fend himself, and we used axes and bullets to
rid him of life. Indeed, we chopped him in
pieces in order to handle the body and get it
overheard
There were now lion, panther, and a SER
pent III the forecastle, and we proposed to let
'eIn light il ont. 1t was long after dinner be-
fore we cleared the deck, and we had not yet
washed out the blood when a breeze sprang
up, and we held our course. Had it come an
hour sooner we should have been in a bad fix,
as nobody could have touched the sails. Such
bedding rs could be spared from the cabin was
passed up and it was arranged for us to sleep
on deck during the rest of the voyage. Not a
sound had been heard from the forecastle dur
ing I he day, but Just before day there was an
awful rumpus. We could hear the hiss of the
serpeuts the screams of the panther, and the
grow!s of the lion, and the row continued for
quarter Of an hour. Then it died away, and
nothing further disturbed us during the
night. After breakfast next morning we
armed ourselves with cutlasses and capstan
bars, and stood about the hatch while the
cover was slid back. There was an awful
SMELL but nothing moved. After awhile one
of the men descended the ladder part way. and
it was presently discovered that all our
enemies were dead. There had been a tri-
angular fight between them, and it had con-
thnued until all were destroyed. The two
beasts were bitten and scratched in the most
terrible manner, and the serpent had been bit
ten through and throug a dozen times. 1t took
us . whole day to get rid OF the stencil and
clean up, and our captain would not have
taken another cage aboard the brig for its
weight i'll gold.