The Dickinson press., 1889-04-27
LION HUNTING.

terra incognita to the al and file of the
great army of modern travellers, Quaint
notions still prevail as to the fauna of that
vast cHransc of country stretching north
ward from the Sahara to the shores of the
Mediterranean
At the risk of being regarded as prosaic,
We will bc truthful and cschew all LECTION.
We have encountered no wild elephants, the
giraffe and rhinoreros are strangers to us,
beyond seeing them i'll captivity The larger
beasts of pray met by us with anything like
frequency were only hyenus and j%acsals,
The hyena. so called by the Greeks from Its
swine like appearances. is that briStly named,
dog like animal frequently seen in menas-
cries. of winch we once heard the show
man say This is the savage hycna.
lie prowls about gruveyards at night. lie
digs up the corpScs and eats them alive AS
to the jac!ial, he is hut a Wild. grcgarious
sort of dog When sen at menaSelies. half
mad with hunger. or stirred up by the long
pole Of the keeper into fits OF lmpotcnt
ferocity. growing and snarlinS at you and
at each other over the scanty meal of bones
flung to thcm-tlcsc "oXiouS creatures may
have produced in some OF us the pleasant
sensation of being terrified in perfect safety
No doubt many Il visitor hisrorleAway IRON
such shows firmly convinced that hycnas and
jackals are animals OF the most dangerous
description. ugly customers to meet outside
their iron cages Such notions will be
quickly dispcllcl 10y Il holiday tour through
Algeria. Moors OF Arabs mind them no
more than we do rats flyenas and ~jacials
are to the uhorigincs of North Africa mere
vermin. and as such not objects of fear, but
only of loathing and contempt. No kabyle
,ro,,ll I,op,,nn hinnS,lf law Stolljpu thn EEn
His long gun, cimcter or yalaghan is much
too good for them. They are fit only for his
cudgel, and with it he Stays them indiscriml-
inatcly whenever they cross his path. In
the eyes of the European sportsman they
soon become more contemplate even than
the rat, for it is Il plucky animal, and will
sometimes turn upon its foe and die game;
but the iackal never Even when wounded,
or with their young. their only Resource is to
sneak away ignominiulsly In short. master
jackul is an urrnnt coward and humbug,
known rs such by every child in Algeria.
Nor can it he said of the more powerful
hycna that he is much Drawer We havo
seen IL mere lad with II stick chase them by
day. and even at night when they pluck up
courage and come forth from their hiding
places in large numbers to ply their loath-
some task as sc%avengcrs of tho desert, an en-
ounter with them is deemed by no means
formidable Only the most verdant novice,
freshly imported from Europe, would bring
a brccch loader to bear upon them.
Where, then, in broad Algeria, muy tho
brave son of Nimrod find game worthy of his
trusted rifle and of his keen and practiced
eye, which have been the death Of many n
hare and wild owl on tho moors of merry
England and Wales and bonnie Scotland! If
he is Sans pucr Ct sall; reprochc, and, more
over, patient, much anduring-and with
plenty of time at his disposal-we can prom
Use him the grandcst and noblcst sport of all.
The king of beasts in his finest development
is still to he found i'll North Africa. Among
the mimos bushes of yonder sandy plains he
rearS his majestic crest. Those rocky heights
know his Presence. From bowldcr to howl
der hc leaps with mighty bounds, and at
night his awful voice rc-cchocs. rolling like
thunder along the ground, and cowing all M
ture into silence No other MORT. African
country contains SO MANY LOIS as Algeria;
but even there they arc growing scarccr
from year to year Gerard, the first famous
Algerian lion killer, upwards of thirty years
ago estimated them rs only one hundred and
twenty III number, and they have certainly
not increased since. a successful lion hunt
has thus become one of the rarrst of raro
events We have known many fashionable
chasscs ;u lion to he organized No stranger
of note who visits the country can well
leave it without INDUCING in ono Or
moro of them. They are a pic
always shown off in broad daylight, and for
sooth on horsel,ack. Small matter to these
amateur slmrts.nen that lions habituully
S1nn,, t. 1oy il, t,,ni, pIptDvf inor,aScibla
mountain businesses. and that the proximity
of a large poss. of men and horses intim-
idatcs them. The native guides know well
what they arc about. A lion hunt has been
ordered regardless of expense, and vast
preparations are set on foot forthwith.
AT dawn of the appointed day u glittcring
cavalcade issues from the gates. 1t is hailed
by the reclamation of u motley crowd of
natives eager for hacishccsh. whose expecta-
tons are %ahrnlantly gratified, owing to the
hest of huinors engendcred by tho prospect
of such noble sport. y truly magnificent
display is made of horses. harness and plct.
urcsuue costumes. Brccch loading rifles,
revolvers, spears and yataghans reflect the
bright rays OF the morning sun, and thus
with much shouting, clanking and jingling the
grand hunt proceeds. Much show, but little
wool. for nothing ever comes of it. All day
long. through field, sandy plain and forest,
the king oT beasts is sought but never found.
Some spicy little bit Of excitement or other
has been prearrangcd by tho guides, who fee.
that something must be done for the money,
"A turbaned Arab suddenly appears on the
outskirts of u thicket. vowing that a lio,
is there. With much show of courage the
thicket is entered by the guides, leading
what seems a forlorn hope, and tho unini
tiated follow boldly Every bush is searched
but no! His royal majesty is not at home
His lair is indeed pointed out and declared
to be still warm with unmistakabl
signs OF recent occupancy, but tina
is about all. unless some one in the fervor o
bis enthusiasm should fancy that he has 90
sight Of the lion, of his tawny name, his tuft
ed tail or glittering eyes. In that case
rifle. perhaps several. are discharged. an
though no carcass is ever found. the read,
witted natives are Mt no loss to account 70
that. it has tumbled into some inaccessihl
ravine. and there it lies Lies, indeed, An
so the grand hunt comes to an end bcfor
nightfall. il %triumphal return and sum-
tuous feast crown the glorious achievement
of the day In fact tho thing is u sham fror
beginning to end.
Real lion hunt present widely differe1
- tASSt Oil oolClll <4LlouS NllSplu
they are spiced with much difficulty. exel
ton and danger, and only on rare occasion
unqualified success is reaped. Perhaps til
most impressive of them is, when u who
tribe of Arabs in sheer self defense lssu
forth to- man, determined 10 put all end
the ravaGers of their llocks and herds or d
in the attempt. 1t is indeed u question {
life or death for the Arab The amount
damage done to the herds of n tribe 10y n sill
gle family Of lions in q month has been est
mated at 10 per cent, and remember. b
herd is tho Arabs all.
We were Oh u visit to one of the hill trib
when such IN emergency arose, Our hos
were poor, bit to the best they could offerv
were made heartily welcome. There is
lack of hospitality among the much malign,
Ishnlaeites Many an act of genuine kin
ness was shown us, and we should have ice
cravens indeed had we refused to aid OF
dusky friends in their hour of need. A lilo
family had taken up their abode in a ca,
difficult of access. AMONG the hills clio