Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-02-08

| ouIlnt5 tuc u'ty anu returns 10 IL MT nlHnC
the first act is to drag it some distance
as if fearing an ambuscadc While the
rule is not invariab'e, it holds good in
most cases. During the night dozen
lions scented around our camp. but with
out causing any alarm. and soon after
daylight the natives went out to invcsti-
cato the trap. No hunter ever
had such u w;ndfall before or
since. AS night came sew.
eral lions must have scented the carcass,
and gathered for n feast. The ryhtful
owner oh cctcd, of course, and there
was fight the result of which was that
three ful-grown males tumblcd into our
pit. This fact did not prevent others
from picking the carcass clean. One Of
! the captivcS was the cheeky old fellow
who had entered our camp, and the
other two wcr fully rs large. In tho
course OF the forenoon we had them out
| and in the cages, and two of them are in
the United states to day i'll zoolo ical
gardens.
There are plenty of instances where
men have bccn seized bg lions and lived
to relate the particulars, though no two
agree as to sensations. a week subsc-
qucnt to our capture of the three lious
had been ont with some Of the natives
10 prepare bait in n rocky ravinc. We.
had built stout pen OF rocks and logs
and placed II calf rs II bait. The san
was nearly down as we started for camp,
and no one had the least suspicion OF tic
presence of danger until lion, which
had been crouching beside Il BUSH,
sprang out and knocked me down. In
springing upon his prey the lion or the
tiger strikes as he sei>cj. Thi, blow OF
the paw, if 1t falls on the right spot,
disab!cs the victim nj once. | was SO
near this fellow that H. simply reared up,
seized me by the shoulder and pulled mo
down, and was fiat on the earth before
realized what had happened. | was on
my back, and he stood with both paws
on my middle, facing The natives and
growing savagcly. The men ran oil
about 800 feet and then hated, which
was dot btcss the reason wig | was not
carried oil ut once. | can say w.thou
conccit that | wa' fairly cool. 1t hid
come so suddenly That | hal not hid tine
to get ratified. had been told by an
old Bocr hunter, if ever found myself
in this iiX, to appeal To the lions Tears.
Had moved my arm to get my pistol,
the beast would have lowered his head
and seized nv throat. So long rs | lay
quiet he would reason that was dead,
and give his attention To the natives.
All Of II sudden | ba"kcd out ii c dog,
followed by a growl, and that beast
jumped twenty feet in MS surprise. He
came down between me and the natives,
and turned enough to see tat his tail
was down and hat he was
scared. ! Uttered further barks and
growls, but without moving Il hand, and,
-. l. /
the lion suddenly boltcd and went oil
with a scare which would last him u
week. If you had picked up II stick
would do as the lion did. lie supposed
he haG pulled down II man. The man
turned into dog. 1t appealed TO his
fears.
After the lion had gone grew so
weak that | had 20 be carried to camp
lie had inflicted n pretty bad bite on my
shoulder, and il was II tight before |
could hold my gun for an III hand shot
had the presence OF II fourth captive
during this time to console me. how
ever. No animal went near tho calf tho
first or the second night, but on tho
third we captured fine half-grown
male. and got him Gagged without trouble
Curiously enough, he had offered the
/ calf no violence, being overcome by the
situation, aud when we found him the
two seemed on the best of terms.
About four months later, on the
Orange River, had II close call for my
life, with no one mt hand to aid me by
di>tracting the attention of the lion. I
had only one white man with me, and he
was i'll of fever. We had dug II pit on n
|, L., Il
/ TO drink, but were much ANNOYED by
other animals falling into IT. On the
| first night we caught two hycnas; on
/ the second n panther: on the third n
wild hog. These would have been prizes
/ had we not been after Lions and lions
alone On the fourth night stationed
couple OF natives in tree near the
path To brighten of all game but lions
They were hunters, and knew the walk
, OF lion from that of any other beast
When going down to drink the lion
generally snuirs the air, probably to sec
what game is abroad. Ona rough path
his tread is as heavy as q mans, and no
! one who has hunted him need be afraid
OF making n mistake. On this night,
after the natives had driven several use.
less animals away large lion and
lioncss came down the path. When
first discovered the lion was ahead. but
he got the scent of the men in The tree
and stopped short TO growl and sniff,
while the loness. who was, perhaps,
vcry thirsty, advanced slowly and went
, into the pit.
The pit was two miles from orr camp,
and VIC heard nothing Of the row which
/ took place when the lion discovered the
FIR ck plnvpf on hic mn:o IIp tnro around