Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-07-30


life or death for the Arab. The amount OF
damage done to the Eeris Of tribe by q sin
glc family Of lions In a month has been esti-
niAed at 10 per cent. and remember. his
herd is the Arabs all
We were on visit to one Of the hill tribes
when such an emergency arose Our hosts
were poor, but to the best they could offer We
were made heartily welcome There Is no
lack OF hospitality among the much maiigned
Ishmi.elites Many an act Of genuine kind
ness was shown US, and we should have been
cravens indeed had we refused to aid our
dusky frientis in their hour Of need lion
family had taken up their abode In cave
difficult Of access, among the hills Close
by Night after night dire havoc was wrought
by these fierce nlarauders. and the time had
come when a determined stand must be made
to avert utter and irrevocable ruin While
the mountain Arab Is by no means deficient
in courage, perseverance, physical strength.
his weapons are Of a most primitive kind
The long. light fiintlock gun he handles bears
no comparison with our modern arms OF pre-
cision Deprived Of that comfortable sense
of safety and self assurance which the posses
sion Of trusty breech loader affords, the
Arab endeavors to make up for it by an &C
cuI1uldlfn Oh uuIitsTs IL ceu NcdIceiy pe
said, however. that the old proverb colds
good on such occasions Face to face with an
angry North African lion, there is no safety
In numbers, he has been known to rush upon
hundreds of men
A glorious morning 1t was among the hills;
the sky all aglow with purple tints; and
through the veil Of mist which hung round
the shoulder of the great granite heights Tar
off, the submits were glistening like 20 many
black diamonds bathed in sunbeams Nature
in its most rugged form lay before and around
US In the pure.azure above, moon and stars
were paling before the suns return We
were surrounded by a motley crowd Of Arabs
in their picturesque costume Young and old,
all indeed capabIeof hearing arms, had turned
out, some few were handling their long.
slender. smooth bore guns. but by far the
greater number had only spears and yata-
ghans. The venerable chief beside us gave
his orders briefly but distinctly The exact
location Of the lions cave was well known.
AT imminent peril of their lives the scouts
had found 1t, tracking its mighty denizens to
their very lair A large circle Of spearmen
was now formed, and the men received In
structions to converge gradually towards a
rocky ledge in front Of the cave, whose en-
trance was family visible from the elevated
position of our trysting place. Presently the
''battue" commenced Amid much shouting
and clash of arms, the lines were drawn closer
and closer while all of US who had firearms
made straight possible for the cave
Before we had got within range an enormous
male lion showed himself for an Instant
shook his name and vanished. to appear again
when we had arrived at distance Of about q
thousand yards
A brisk but harmless fusillade was opened
upon him by our Arab friends. and with .
roar of defiance he withdrew once more into
his stronghold, nor did he show himself again
as we drew nearer and nearer, until we came
to halt about 2UO yards from the cave
The narrow ledge leading up to it was
separated from the hillside on which
we stood by deep gorge more than
forty feet wide Above the ledge lowered q
precipitous height. and every cleft or gully
in the rocky wall around bristled with the
arms OF our spearnen, barring escape in
every direction, a complete circle of glitter
ing steel We looked carefully to our weap
ons, and when all was ready for giving our
royal foes hot reception, loud shouts and
clamor were raised tn draw them forth. but
all in vain No lion showed rs much as the
tip OF his nose After a brief consultation
one dauntless youth volunteered to creep
along the ledge, close to the cave, col
lect a heap of dry brushwood and fire
1t, to smoke the lions out
The sreafmen reduubled their clamor and
We held our rifles In readiness for instant use,
while anxiously watching the lads progress
He pursued his perilous task with great cour-
age Creeping warily along the ledge. he
never paused till he had gained the entrance
of the cave Quickly gathering together the
dry brushwood near at hand he soon raised
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 few moments
and the fire blazed up, sending column Of
smoke into the cave The effect upon the In
mates was instantaneous and startling Two
mighty roars mingled in one, and lion and
lioness bounded forth one after the other.
Our doinss had goaded them into fury. and
they were ready to do battle against all odds
in defense Of their young ones and their
home At first glimpse of them my compan-
ion and fired but the movements Of the
mighty beasts were 81 rapid and incessant
that both Of US missed Our Arab friends
were pepperns away with their frelocks,
but also to little or no purpose.
Suddenly. whie the lioiless charged down
upon us along the ledge her consort, with one
mighty bound, cleared the gully, alighting
in the very midst Of the Arabs at its brink,
and for the moment carrying all before him.
We aimed carefully this time as the lioneas
sprang upon us, and both our bullets took
effect, but it needed a second dose of lead out
of our brcech leaders to stretch her lifeless at
r,ir foot Ia fhau In u, ha .vr{s%an,.,
Of our allies What scene met our eyes!
Bleeding profusely from many wounds, but
as yet FAR from disabled. the furious male
was making sad havoc among the crowd
Cracking skull there with one mighty sweep
of his paw. and smashing a shoulder with
another, he had already strewn the ground
with slain and wounded. as we drew nigh to
finish him with our rifles At that very mo-
ment the spearmen were likewise upon him
While be was scattering his assailants In
front. more ant more men had drawn near
from behind, AMI half a dozen lauces were
now plunged into him simultaneously. bear
ing him to the ground at last The short but
fierce struggle was over Our terrible antag-
onist lay hreat hing his last. with his victims
around him He had killed five Arabs out
right and wounded fourteen more. among
whom, to our great regret, was the young
hero Of the day, the same brave lad whose
perilous exploit we had admired so much A
great brna,l cash from neck to shoulder will
henceforth tear witness To his proves In the
eyes of the whole tribe
We were publicly thanked by the chief for
our modest share in the glory Of the day. and
be informed IL later on that he deemed vic
tory cheap at the price. considering that
thirty or forty victims often fall in aIch en-.
counterS Two young cubs, scarcely 8
months old, were found inside the cave half
srnothered by the smoke We afterwards
learnt that they had teen sent to AIgiers for
sale. and for all we know. they may nov b
inmates Of some geological garden or menag
erie Our work Wa accomplished Prota.
bly, for many years To come the tribe would
be exempt from similar infiictLn With high
hearts We held our triumphal entry into the
village. amid shouts Of victory blended with
death walls. AMI with lamentations over the
many wounded Our young hero of the fire
met with his reward They carried him along
In triumph, and. as be lay IN his roughly I'M
provi-ssi couch faint from loss OF biood, hut
eiatsi with the consciousness OF his achieve
ment, no mortal could have been happier
than be The whole tribe, young and old.
paid grateful homage TO him a. be lay there,
for honor 70 whom honor h due remains
the rule With these unsophisticafed Sous Of
the wilderness and long may IL continue n
Such then. has been our experience Of
lion hunting 10 North Africa Furnished
with the b.sf arm Of precision, and veil aup
ported by the indonitable pluck and ripe a.
perience Of our dnsky allies. Ne bad foand
Ourselves face To face with the king a heasA
and, after ALL Ind but little right 70 hoes a
our encounter with him -ChAmtaR1 Journal