Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-01-24
Adventures With Lions.

While trapping lions in the Hottentot
country for the Hamburg animal house
/ had opportunities Tor seeing the king
of beasts at his best, and for making
close observations of his traits OF
character. When a so called lion tanner
tells you that he understands his pets as
well as if they were human beings, there
is a powerful significance to his words.
He understands them as well, but no
better, and this means hourly peril to
him. If five desperate criminals were
shut up in a and a keeper entered
it several times a day TO whip them
about, he would be in the same peril as
the man among the lions. No two lions
are alike, except in n few leading traits,
any more than any two men are alike.
Every hon is supposed to roar at night
when abroad after prey, but not half of
them do SO. When you read of one
charging into a camp you praise his
courage, but for every one such case |
can show ten where the lion skulked
about like a dog. You never find him
twice alike. He may charge you in the
morning and run from you in the after.
noon. He may come roaring about your
camp one night, putting you in fear that
he means to defy the blazing fires and the
wide awake hunters, and the mex night
he may creep up as softly as a cat and
lie hidden for an hour for the sake of
picking up a native dog.
We were once camped in a grove on
lhe bank of a creek, our party number
ing over thirty people. We had horses,
oxen, wagons, and dogs, and were spread
out over two acres of ground. 1t was in
the lion country, and they might be ex-
pected to approach at night, but on the
second afternoon of our camp, while all
were engaged in cleaning up and making
repairs, an alarm was suddenly raised.
] supposed that some of the animals had
stampeded. and ran around the wagon TO
get a clear view of the space between
us and the creek. This creek was 200
feet away, and was so nearly dry that
one could step across il. The bank on
the other side was roSSy ground, pretty
thickly covered with scrub, and right on
the brink stood one OF the largest lions
/ ever saw He was out in full view.
head and tail up, and stood so still for a
moment that doubted if he was alive.
AA0AO was a XIV OtGCLC W IOWAIu
us, and as soon as our animals got the
scent it required the efforts Of every ma
tive to prevent them from breaking
away. My gurs were being cleaned and
oiled, and my two white companions
were looking after their horses.
No one had the least idea that
the lion meant mischief, and we we're
presently ~dumfounded to see him spring
across the creek and com walking into
camp. We measured his leap. and found
it to be twenty eight feet. He made it
without an effort. was to the right of
him. and the center Of the camp was his
OBJ ective point The lion advanced az
a walk, uttering no sound, and the
shouts, screams and whooDs of the men.
backed by the believing Of the cattle
and the snorts Of the homes, hal no eff
feet on him.
We had a new mich COW tied to the
wheel of one of the wagons, and the lion
advanced to within thirty feet of her,
and then made a spring which landed
him fairly upon her back. She fell in a
heap, and he seized her by the neck,
gave her two or three shakes which
broke the gTass rope around her head,
and he then got his right shoulder under
her and started of. The ccw weighed
at least 500 pounds, but he carried her
with perfect ease, her hind feet dragging
on the ground. At the creek he made a
jump Of eleven feet. ascending a sloping
bank without q halt, and soon disap-
peared in the broken ground with his
prey. He was gone before we had a
gun ready. Indeed. we were lucky no
10 have lost half our animals. ! was no
greenhorn IN the animal business at that
date, but this was the first time / had
ever witnessed such cheek in q lion.
Had l been told that he had such cour-