The Dickinson press., 1889-04-27
all indeed capableof hearing arms, had turned

his orders briefly hut distinctly Tho exact
location of the lions cave was wei! knowu.
AT imminent peril OF their lives the scouts
had found it, tracking its mighty dcnizclS to
their very lair \ large circle of spcarrnrn
was now formed. and the men received in
Structions to converge gradually towards n
rocky ledge in front of the cave, whose Gil
trance was family visible from the elevated
position of our trusting place. Presently the
"i,attue" commenced. Amid much shouting
and clash of arms. the lines were ,l:awn closer
and closer. while all of us who had firearms
made as straight us possible for the cave.
Before we had sot within range an enormous
,nair lion showed himself for an instant,
shoot; his name and vanished, to appear again
when we had arrived nj n distance of about n
thousand yards,
y: brisk hut harmless fusilladc was opened
upon him 10y our Arab iricnds. and with a
r.:.r Of defiance he withdrew once more into
Ills stronghold. nor did he show himself again
is we drew nearer and nearer, until we came
10 Il halt about 2W yards from the cavc.
lt.c narrow ledge leading up to it was
separated from the hillside on which
We stood by II deep gorge more than
sorly feet wide Above the ledge lowered II
Ir,ripltous height. and every cleft or gully
in the rocky wall around hristled with the
arms of our spcarlncn, barring escape in
every direction, a complete circle OF glitter.
iny steel We looked carefully to our weup.
u,s. aud when all was ready for giviu. our
i"yal foes Il hot reception, loud shouts and
ciallor were raised to draw them forth. but
al i'll vain. No lion showed as much rs the
TN. of his nose. After Il brief consultation
one dauntlesS youth volunteered to creep
along the ledge, close to the cave, col.
lcct a heap of dry bralshwood and fire
it, so as to smoke the lions out.
The spcarmen rcdoublcl their %clanor, and
We held our rifles in readiness for instant Use,
while anXiously watching the lads progress.
He pursued his p%elllous task with great coul-
age Creeping warily along the ledge. he
never paused till he had gained the entrance
of the cave. Quickly gathering together the
dry b%ruShwool near at hand. he soon raised
Il pile large enough to fill the entrance, and
after firing it he made his way back in
safety, proud of his daring achievement. and
warmly greeted by us all. a few moments
and the fire blazed up, sending IL column of
smoke into tho cave. The effect upon the in
mates was instantaneous aud startling Two
mighty roars mingled in one, and lion and
llonesS bounded forth one after the other.
Our doin9s had goadcd them into fury. and
they were ready to do battle against all odds
i'll defense of their young ones and their
home. at first glimpse of them my conlpan-
ion and ! fired. but the movements of the
mighty beasts were so rapid and lnccsSant
that both OF us missed. Our Arab friends
were peppering away with their firelocks,
but also to little or no purpose.
Suddenly. while the liouess charged down
upon us along the ledge, her consort, with one
mighty bound, cleared the gully, alighting
in the very midst of tho Arabs at its brink,
and for the moment carrying oil before him.
We aimed carefully this time as tho lioncss
slrang upon us, and both our bullets took
effect, but it needed Il second DOSE of lead out
Of cur brecch leaders to stretch her ~lifelcss ut
our feet. We then hastencd to the assistance
of our allies. What Il scene met our ey.sl
Bleeding profuSely from many woL.iids, but
as yet far from disabled, ne furious male
was making sad havoc among tile crowd.
CrarSlng a skull there with one mighty sweep
OF Ills paw, and smashing u shoulder with
another, he had already strewn the ground
with slain and wounded, as W. drew nigh to
finish him with our rifles. AT that very mo.
inent the spearmcn were likewise upon him.
While he was scattering his as,ailants in
front, more and more men had drawn near
from behind, and half n dozen lances were
now plunged into him simultaneously, bear
Ing him to the ground at last. The short hut
fierce struggle was over Onr tcrribleantug
oulst lay breathing his last, with his victims
around linn. He had killed five Arabs out
right and wounded fourteen moro, uHiolg
whom, to our great regret, was tho young
hero of the day. the same brave lad whose
t,,ttI ~ 80 ltt s-. t~l .l,,,, .,l - a
great broad cash from neck to shoulder will
lcmelortb tear witness to his prowcss III the
eyes of the whole tribe
We were publicly thanked by tho chief for
our modest share in the glory of the day. and
he Informed lis later on that he deemed vic
tory cheap at the price, considering that
thirty or forty victims often fall in such en-
counters. Two young cubs, scarcely 6
months old. were found inside the cave half
Snlnt.iered 10y the smoke We afterwards
learnt that they had been sent to .NislerS Tor
sale. ami for all we know. they may now Inc
inmates "f some geological garden or melag
erie Our work was accomplished Proba
bly, for many years to come tile tribe would
lie exempt ron similar infection With l:i-l,
hearts we held our triuinphal entry into the
village. AMID shouts of victory blended wit,
death walls, and with lamentations over the
many wounded Our young hero Of the lire
met with his reward. They carried him along
in triumph. and. us he lay III his roughly IN.
p~rovlSed couch. faint from loss of bluo,i. hut
elatcd with the consciousness of his achieve,
mrnt, TO mortal could have teri, happier
than he The whole tribe. yolir. and ull
paid grateful homage to him as he lay there.
for "hunor to whom honor Is due remain.
the rule with these uiisuplislicatcl SoiiS ct
the wilderness, and long may II continue ST,
Such. then. has been our experience OF
hon hunting III North Africa Furnished
with the best arms of precision, and well sup
perielre of our du>ky allies. we had found
ourselves face to face with the king of beasts
and, after all, had but little right To beast OF
nur encounter with him. Chambers Journal