The Russellville Democrat., 1888-08-30
A COURAGEOUS YANKEE.
He Bluffed Some Chicken Hearted Foreigners.

cD1SE OI AITlttt, Wb SOcu 'Ooi
 d with the owner of a suitable
 for trip up the Senegal river in earch of menagerie stock. For cer- tain sum he was to obey our orders for thirty days. besides furnishing all articles of food and drink. There were three white men of us, and each of us had two servants, while there were seven or eight men belonging to the boat. We had no cargo except the goods and cages belonging to the me- nagerie expedition, and the boat was a craft somewhat resembling an American canal boat, but very light, and propelled by three oarsmen on side. What we wanted was to capture some of the big lions of the great Sa- hara desert, and we had been shipped away from Gibralta very quietly to try new idea in animal hunting.
 Now, while l had long been in the employ of German house. and could rattle of the language faster than any native born. was still Yankee from top to toe, and it did not take more than two words against my country to set me on edge. When we made our fourth camp up the river we were a good fifty miles above salt water and in the lion coun- try What was my disgust to find a large party ahead of us--not animal catchers, but animal killers. There were five or six English army and na- val officers, with large retinue of servants. two French officers and three or four French civilians. All the officers were on leave of absence and out for grand lion hunt. When they found we were only menagerie men their welcome grew cold very fast. They had csme to meet the king of beasts in the open and give him a chance for his life. We had come to effect his capture and degradation by underhanded measures can see now why they should have felt contempt for our vocation. albeit 1t was an hon. est one and one requiring courage, but I couldn't see it then. Therefore. cer- tain remarks let fall that night in my hearing nettled me. and aroused all my Yankee pride. My companions were likewise indignant, and as we turned in for the night. our boat at the bank in front of their camp, it would not have taken much more to bring about an open rupture
 Two of the hunting party were par ticularly offensive-an English pay master and French civilian. The latter had title of some sort, and was looked up to on account of it. The paymaster talked because he saw that 1t displeased us; the Frenchman be- cause he was both ignorant and con ceited. The point they aimed to make was that it took brave man to hunt q lion, while any coward could set a traI for him. Now each one of us had not only downed our lion in fair fight, but our tiger as well. and we talked il over before going to sleep, and deter mined not to move on next day, as we had at first intended. We needed nc assurance from our boatmen that we
 
 north of us stretched the great desert of sand and shrub, and before ten o'clock the voices of several lions had been heard on the still night air. Next morning we all moved about three miles up the stream to more broken country grown up to bushes, and here as most of the men were making ready to go out on hunt, the FrenchmaI took occasion Co express his surprise to me that we had guns along. He supposed. he said, that we hid our. selves in trees and lassoed the lions as they passed beneath, or that we se steel traps in his path and gave him nc show to escape. It was meant for ar insult, and was at white heat, but choked down my wrath and waited.
 We knew from the lay of the ground that no lion would be found within fiv, miles of the stream, as the cover wal not of the right sort. and none of u' went out with the party Of the five or six who did go all came back foot sore, but full of brag. Like the bo, who had ''almost seen bear," they had discovered the spoors of lions, anC were greatly excited and encouraged A general hunt would be made on thu MOTION.
 While the lion generally shakes of sleep at sundown, and indulges in roar, he seldom leaves his cover unti an hour and half later. On thi night we had a full moon early in th evening, and we knew that the lion would be heard from hy nine o'clock The three ofns had left the boat, an' were under shelter on the bank below