Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-04-29

when ABOUT nan way 70 the cToSSfreeS we
paused to watch the further actions OF the
rhinoceros. The lions and panthers were
raising an awful racket, and the confusion
was deafening The big beast cleared his
horn of e portion Of the cage hanging to it,
and then struck that containing the pan
Tiers The beasts were liberated in mo-
nent, and as they ran about the deck the
lions roared and raved until we had to stop
our ears One of the panthers ran aft and
leaped into the yawl boat at the davits and
crouched under the thwart, and the other
hid under the bedding Wa had brought up 70
air andspreed at the heel OF the bowsprit
The borele was now thoroughly enragej,
and, without deigning glance st the pan
Tiers, he smashed into the pen Of liens and
made kindlngs Of it. The largest Of the
three lions sprang on the borele's back as he
came out OF the pen. and perhaps his sharp
claws inflicted some damage. he had no
sooner leaped to the deck than the big beast
chased him aft TO the cabin, but had 10 stop
there. One OF the other lions disappeared
down the forecastie, while the third crOuched
down by the water butt and kept up a fear
ful growing. No ships crew ever found
themselves IN a stranger situation II was
pretty hard TO say what should be done, and
it WAS a full hour before we got any word
from the captain. During this time the
borele drove the other lion eft, smashed tho
water butt, drove the panther cut from I'M
der the bedding into the forecastle with the
third lion, and then destroyed our bedding
and everything else which would yield TO his
terrible hcTns. just before the captain
called out to us one of our men pulled him.
self across to the foremost by the triangle
stay, slipped down the lee shrouds, and,
waiting until the borele was headed aft he
dropped 10 the deck and slid the cover over
the forecastle companion. That act inn
prisoned lion, a panther and one of the ser
penis, and was display of Judgment and
nerve which the captain well rewarded
The men shut UP in the cabin finally hailed
us to know the situation. The other two
lions were crouched Down at the wheel, and
the panther in the boat had no idea of leav-
ing it. The three beasts kept up q low
growing and snarling, and would have
picked fight but for the presence of q COM
mon enemy 1t was the rhinocerus which
must be taken care of first BY order Of the
captain another man crossed TO the foremost,
and then the two descended the shrouds and
shouted and geStured defiance at the borele
until he was brought 10 the bows. Then
three men, armed with guns and revolvers,
slipped out of the cabin and into the Shrouds
Of the mainmast, and it began to look as If
we had the advantage. While we were try
ing to draw the borele aft again. that they
might make target of him, one of the lions
leaped into the yawl, while the other ran
for the bows of the brig. The one had
scarcely entered the yawl when the panther
tackled him, and for a minute the two
bounded over the thwarts and tunbled
about in the fercest confusion, The yawl
rocked about as if 1t would upset, and the
screams and roars Of the beasts were some
thing awful CHANGING for an instant from
the combatants to the water below. | saw
the sharks gathering astern 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 Inc on the shrouds moved
down little, thinking to carry out the idea,
but just then the fighting beasts reared up
over the thwart amidships, seized each other
with q fresh grip, and as they tugged and
tJIssled, the rocking of the boat dumped them
out, and the sharks snapped them up IN a
second.
The fight drew the attention Of the rhi-
noceros. On his way aft he came across the
lion, who was skulking under the bulwarks,
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 bulwarks, but now, seeming to
be madden than ever, he saw q new route be
fore him. The roof of the cabin was about
two feet above the deck, with heavy glass
skylight in the center After a few terrific
snorts tho 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 maddest rhinoceros on earth. While
he was struggling there the men began firing
upon the hon. 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 We heard something of a
struggle, followed by heavy splash in the
water, and that was the last known Of
either All of us now clambered down 20
attack the rhinoceros He was helpless TO
defend 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, a panther, and a
serpent in the forecastle, and we proposed to
let 'em fight it out. II was long after dinner
before we cleared the deck, and we had not
yet washed out the blood when a breeze
spraug up. and we held our course Had II
come an hour sooner we should have been in
a bad fix, as nobody could have touched tho
sails. Such bedding as could be spared from
the cabin was passed up, ard il was arranged
for US to sleep on deck during the rest Of the
voyage. Not a sound had been heard from
the forecastlo during the day, but just b.
fore dark there was an awful runpus. We
could hear the hiss of the serpent, the
screams Of the panther, and the grOwls OF
the lion, and the row coEtinued for a quar-
ter of an hour. Then il died away. ard
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 4
cover was slid back There was an awfui I
smell, but nothing moved. After a whiie 4
one Of the men Descended the ladder part 4
way, and il was presently discovered that ali 4
BUR enemies were dead There had been a
triangular fight between 'enl, and q bad con /
timed until all were destroyed The two !.
beasts were bitten and scratched in the most
terrible manner, and the serpent bad been
bitten through and through dozen times
II took rs a whole day - get I'd 81 toe
stencil and clean up. and our captain wonli
not have taken another cage aboard the hrlg
Tor its weight IL gold New York Sun.
A Running Water, Eeb., debating society,
after three hours discussion q tie question.
. Resolved, That bazzards ara more te1sfs-
.ial than lawysrsi7 decided il the slarraa-
ave.
fhlorsforfr,inx VILE AsIsep.