The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1889-03-15
Adventures With Lions.
7OFu IldaaeI UT.
Solomon Soils Cohen

While trapping lions in the Hottento
country for the Hamburg animal hous,
l had opportunities for seeing the kim
of beasts at his best. and for maxim
oiose observations of his traits o
character. When so called lion tame
tells you that he understands his pets a,
well as If they were human beings. there
IS powerful significance to his words
lie understands them as well. but nc
peter, and this means hourly peril to
nm. If five desperate criminals were
smut up IN room and keeper entered
It several times a day to whip them
about, ne would be in the same peril as
the man among the lions. No two lions
are alike, except in 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 camp you praise his
courage, but for every one such case I
can show ten where the lion skulked
about ike dog. You never find him
twice alike. He may charge you in the
morning and run from you in the after
noon lie may come roaring about your
camp one night, putting you in fear that
he means to defy the blazing fires and the
awake hunters, and the next night
he may creep up as softly as a cat and
lie hidden for an hour for the sake of
picking up native dog.
We were once csmped in a grove on
the bank Of a creek, our party number
ing over thirty people We had horses.
oxen, wagons, and dogs, and were spread
cut over two acres of ground. II was in
me lion country, and they might be ex-
pected to approach at night, but on the
second afternoon Of onr 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 clear view Of the space between
Us and the creek. This creek was 200
feet away, and was so nearly dry flat
one could step across it. The bank on
the other side was rocky ground. prettv
thickly covered with scrub. and ri1bt 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
There wasa light breeze blowing toward
us, and as soon as our animals got the
scent 1t required the efforts of every ma
tive to prevent them from breaking
away. My guns were being cleaned and
oiled, and my two white companions
we're looking after their horses
No one had the least idea tbst
the lion meant mischief, and we were
dumfounded to see him spring
across the creek and come walking into
camp. We measured his leap. and found
It 70 be twenty-eight feet. He made it
without an effort. was to the RIGHT of
him, and the center Of the camp was his
objective point The lion advanced at
a walk, uttering no sound, and the
shouts, screams and whoops of the men
backed by the believing of the cattle
and the snorts of the horses, had no ef
feet on him.
We had 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 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 grass 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 halt, and soon disap-
peared in the broken ground with his
prey. He was gone before we had
gun ready Indeed, we were lucky not
TO 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 check in e lion.
Had 1 been told that he had such cour
age and GOODNESS l should have laughed
the statement TO scorn.
As soon as order had been restored the
three Of US mounted our horses and. pre-
coded by five or six natives and their
dogs, crossed the creek and took up the
trail. After going about half a mile. we
discovered the lion sitting beside the
carcass in little hollow. He was sit
ting up like dog, head turned toward
Us, but as soon as be saw us divide he ran
of with his tail down, evidently
alarmed, ami such was his
speed that we soon lost him. We could
count on his returning to the body dur
ing the night, and the natives were there
lore set 10 work to dig pit and conceal
it. They regarded the lion as being as
cunning as he was wise, and the pit was
not dug near the body, but thirty feet
away from it, and in the direction in
which it was believed he would drag the
body If lion or tiger leaves a body
during the day and returns to it at night
the first act is to drag it some distance,
as If fearing az ambuscade. While the
rule is not inyarIable, it holds good in
most cases. During the night a dozen
ions scented around our camp, but with
,ut causing any alarm, and soon after
daylight the natives went out to investi-
gate the trap. No hunter ever
ied such windfall before or
ince. As night came sew