Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-09-05
A COURAGEOUS YANKEE.
How he Bluffed Some Chicken
Hearted Foreigners.

Having safely landed at St. Louis,
west coast of Africa, we soon bar
gained with the. owner of suitable
boat for trip up the Senegal river in
search of menagerie stock. For a GER
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 a
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 a new idea in animal hunting
Now, while 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 ma
val officers, with a 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 come 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
undetermined measures. can see now
why they should have felt contempt
for our vocation, albeit it was an hon
est one and one requiring courage, but
couldn't see it then. Therefore, GER
tain remarks let fall that night in nv
hearing nettled me, and aroused all nv
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
it 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 a
ior, while any coward could set a trap
for him. Now each one of US had not
only downed our lion in fair fight.
but our tiger as we'll, and we talked il
over before going to sleep, and deter
mined not to move on next day, as we
had at nrst intended. We needed NO
assurance from our b0atmen that we
were in the lion country. To the
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 a more broken
country grown up to bushes, and here,
asmOst Of the men were making ready