Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-03-20
LION HUNTING.

North Africa. the ssaf Of the once mighty
empire Of Car-hage-the resting place u u
ysudal, and cradle II the Noors-renains
terra incoCni,a to the rank and file of ths
great army Of modern traveller Quaint
notions still prevail As to the fauna OF tnaS
vast expanse Of country stretching north
v,rd fr,,n the Sahara to the shores Of tho
Mediterranean
A, the risk of being regarded Is prusatc,
we viii be truthful and esrhew all nct,on
We have encountered no wild elephants. the
giraffe and rhinooeros are strangers 70 u.
beyond seeing them In captivity The larger
beasts of pray met by Us with anything Ike
frequency were only hyenas and lack2h
The hyena. 50 called by the Greeks from It's
swine ike appearance. is that bristiy NAMED,
dog ike animal frequently seen In nenag-
cries. Of which we once heard the SHOW
man say. This Is the savage nyena.
he prowls about graveyards at night ne
digs up the corpses and eats them alive As
TO the jackal he is but q Wild. gregarious
sort Of dog When seen at menaseries. han
mad with hunger. or stirred up by the Long
pole Of the keeper into dts OF unpotent
feroc;ty. growing and snaring at you ano
at each other over the scanty meal OF cones
tuuy 10 them-these aoxious CREATURES may
nave produced in some Of Us the pleasant
sensation Of being terrified IN perfect SAFETY
No doubt many a visitor has come away from
such shows firmly convinced that hyenas and
iackals are animals Of the most dangerous
description ugly customers TO meet outside
their iron cages Such notions VIII Dc
quickly dispeiled by a holiday tour through
Algeria Noors or Arabs mind them no
more than we DO rats Hyenas and Jackals
are to the aborigineS of North Africa mere
vermin and as such not objects OF fear but
only of loathing and contempt No habyie
would bemean himself BY stalking the ike
His long gun. cimeter or yataghan Is much
too good for them They are hit only for bis
cudgel, and with it he Stays them indiscrim-
inately whenever they cross his path In
the eyes Of the European sportsman they
soon become more contemplate even than
the rat. for 1t is plucky animal, and VIII
sometimes turn upon its foe and die game.
but the jackai never Even when wounded,
or with their young, their only resource Is TO
sneak away ignotnlnlousiy In short, master
ackal is an arrant coward and humbug,
known as such by every child in Algeria
Nor can it be said Of the more powerful
hyena that he is much drawer We have
seen a mere lad with 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 scavengers of the desert, an en-
counter with them is deemed by no means
formidable Only the most verdant novice,
freshly imported from Europe, would bring
u breech loader to bear upon them
Where. then, in broad Algeria, may the
brave son of Nimrod find game worthy of his
4 I. ,,x.l
eve, which have been the death of many a
hare and wild fowl on the moors of merry
En-. and and Wales and bonnie Scotlandt If
be is sans puer ct SANS reproche and, more
over, patient. much eudurins-and with
plenty of time at his disposal we can prom
ise him the yrandest and noblest sport Of all
The king Of beasts in his finest development
is still to tie found in North Africa Among
the mmosa bushes of yonder sandy plains he
rears his majestic crest Those rocky heights
know his presence From bowlder TO bowl
der he leap. with mighty hounds, and at
night his awful voice re-erhoe>, rolling like
thunder along the ground, and cowins all ma
ture into silence No other North African
country contains SO many lions as Algeria.
but even there they are growing scarcer
from year to year Gerard. the first famous
ago estimated them as only one hundred and
twenty iii number and they have certainly
not increased since. a successful lion hunt
has thus become one IF the rartst of rare
events We have known many fashionable
chasses au lion to he organized No stranger
of note who visits the country can well
leave it without INDUCING in one or
more of them. They are pic
turesque but costly kind of pageantry
always shown off in broad daylight, and for
sooth On horseback Small matter to these
amateur sportsinen that lions habitua,ly
sleep by day in their almost Inaccessible
mountain fastncsses and that the proximity
of ar,e posse of men and horses intim
idates them The native guides know well
what they are about A lion hunt has been
ordered regardless of expense, and vast
prepara ions are set on foot Forthwith
AT dawn of the appointed day glittering
cayalcade ISSUES from the gates 1t is hailed
by the reclamation of motley crowd Of
natives eager for backsheesh, whose exIectar
tons are abundantly gratiiied, owing to the
hest of humors engendered by the prospect
Of such noble sport truly magnificent
display is made of horses, harness and pict
uresque costumes Breech leading rifles
revolvers, spears and yataghans reflect the
bright rays of the morning sun, and thus
with much shouting. clanking and inglng the
grand hunt prre-ls Much show. but little
wool. Tor nothing; ever comes Of it, All day
long through fell sandy plain and forest
the king OF beasts is sought hut never found
Some spicy little bit OF excitement or other
has been prearrangel 10y the guides. who feel
that something must IL, done for the money
A turbaned Arab suddenly appears on the
outskirts of thicket vowing that a lion
is there With much show of courage the
thicket is entered by the guides, leading
what seems forlorn hope, aud the unini
tiated follow boldly Every bush Is searched
but mol His royal majesty is not at home
His lair is indesl pointed out and declared
to be still warm with unmistakable
signs of recent occupancy. but that
is about all unless some one in the fervor Of
his enthusiasm should fancy that he has got
sight of the lion, of his tawny name, his tuft-
ed tail or glitteriny eyes In that case a
rife. perhaps several are discharged and
though no carcass is ever found. the ready
witted natives are at no loss to account for
that it has tumhled into some inaccessible
ravine and there 1t lies Lies, indeed And
the grand hunt comes to an end before
nightfal A triumphal return and stump
tuous feast crown the glorious achievements
Of the day In fact the thing is sham from
beginning to end.
Real lion hunts present widely different
features Free from all ostentatious display.
they are spced with much difficulty, exer
ton and danger and only on rare occasions
unqualified success is reaped Perhaps the
most impressive OF them il, when a whole
tribe of Arals N sheer self defense issue
forth 10 n man. determined to put an end to
the ravascIs Of their tlocks and herds or die
in the attempt 1t is indeed question of
life or death for the Aral The amount Of
damage done to the Ter Is Of tribe by sin
gle family Of lions in mon tn has been esti-
MED at 10 per cent. AMI remember. his
herd is the Arabs all
We Were on a 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 s'aory tue much maligned
lshmaelites Many an act Of genuine kind
ness was shown us, and we should have been
cravens Inject had refused to aid our
dusky trienis m their hour Ut need lion
family had taken up their abode In Q cave
difficult Of a'r'-'s, among the hills closs
by Night after night dire havoc was wrought
by these feryp niarauders, and the time had
come when determined stand must be made
to avert utter and rrevocable ruin While
the mountain Arab Is By no means deficient
In courage, perseverance, or pn ysieal strength
uaaf Of ,,s,.- Ii.