Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1888-03-30

the open, and stood, his head erect,
his name bristling like the hair on a
cat, the very personification of brute
strength and courage.
As his eyes lighted on the gorilla his
tail began to wave TO and fro. Wider
and wider grew its sweep, until at last
it struck his ribs. first one side and
then the other, with resounding blows
while roar upon roar gave token oil
his increasing rage and anger. The
gorilla placed his upper hands upon
the ground and bounded into the air
fully six feet, alighting on his four
hands and bounding up again and
again, seemingly for the purpose Of
enraging the lion TO the greatest pos
sible degree. He then rose TO his full
height on his hinder hands, uttering
tremendous roars and beating his
breast with his great fist, producing
sounds like those made by heavy blows
upon bass drum. Then he dropped
upon all fours again, remaining per
fectly motionless with the exception
of his eyebrows, which worked up and
down with lightning speed, giving an
expression of ferocity TO his face that
is indescribable.
Fascinated at the sight, my rife
dropped from my shoulder and my
guide and lay fiat upon the ground,
mute witnesses of the tragedy about
to be enacted. Suddenly the lion ut
tered another ear-splitting roar and
bounded forward. A few short steps,
u tremendous leap, two or three sharp.
short growls, and both combatants
were in the air together, the gorilla
having leaped high and straight as
the lion charged. In mid-air the lion
turned and struck apparently vainly
at the gorilla, who, as the lion fell
on his side upon the ground, alighted
on him, struck him two terrific blows
and bounded away with a siding run
TO a distance of several yards. could
now see that the gorilla 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 had regained his feet
he charged at the gorilla again and
again, but was eluded every time, it
being almost impossible to follow their
rapid movements in the half light Of
the clearing At last the lion paused
and as he did so the ape dashed at him
and, striking him stunning blow on
the side of the head, completely rolled
him over. Again and again the char
ges were renewed, and at every pause
the gorilla returned the charge and
knocked the lion 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 a peculiar bobbing mo
ton around and in front of him.
The lion now began to make feints
to draw his adversary within range.
AT last, stopping i'll 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 whirling mass Of leaves and
dust limbs and bodies strangely min
gled were dimly seen through it, as
though twenty beasts instead Of Two
were engaged in one conglomerate
death struggle. At last there was
sickening crash, horrible crunching
of bones, a dsmoniacal yell of pain,
faster and faster whirled the mass,
then followed a pause, and / saw the
lion was uppermost with the left arm
of the gorilla in his powerful jaws :;
his claws were fixed in the apes shoul-
der and he himself was one mass of
gashes and rents The right hand of
the gorilla was fixed III 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 un-
der the lions throat, the hinder legs
m
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 settled, and there in q
death grip lay the two mighty mon
archs Of the wilds. The lion was ut
terly disemboweled, his entrails hav-
ing been seized by the prehensile hind
er hands and literally dragged out by
the very roots while the lion, by a
last dying effort, had succeeded in get
ting his throat freed from the gorilla's s
teeth, and with one powerful blow had
smashed the apes head, as the ham
mer does the hickory nut. There they
lay, motionless, and there we lay, too,
fascinated, enthralled at the strange
spectacle we had just witnessed.
Presently a figure moving on the
edge Of the clearing attracted our no
tice, and we saw the female gorilla
peering out between the bushes with
an agonizingly human look upon her
face that was dreadful TO see. Slowly
and cautiously she advanced across
the open space until she reached the
bodies then she touched first one and
then the other, uttering plaintive cries
of grief that were touching in the eI-
treme. At last she managed TO Olsen