San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-04-20

tribe OF Arabs In sheer sell ueleLlSe ISSUE
forth to man, determined to put an end to
the ravagers of their tiocks and herds or die
in the attempt 1t is indeed question OF
life OF death for the Arab. The amount OF
damage done to the herds of tribe by sin
gle family of lions in a month has been esti-
mated at 10 per cent, and 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 among the much maligned
Ishmaelitas, Many an act of Tenuine kind
ness was shown us, and we should have been
cravens indeed had we refused to aid our
dusky friends in their hour of need. A 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 marauders. and the time had
come when determined stand must be made
to avert utter and irrevocable ruin. While
the mountain Arab is by no means deficient
in courage, perseverance or 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 a trusty treech loader affords, the
Arab endeavors to make up for it by an &C
emulation of numbers. 1t can scarcely be
said, however, that the old proverb holds
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 it 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 far
off, 1.-THE SUBMITS were glistening like so many
black diamonds bathed in sunbeams. Nature
m its most rugged fornlay before and around
US. In the pure azure above, moon andsstaF
were paling before the suns return. We
were surrounded by a motley crowd of Arabs
in their picturesque costume. Young and old,
all indeed capable of hearing arms, hadturned
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 rs 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 it, tracking it's mighty denizens to
their very lair. A large circle of spearmen
was now formed, and the men received in
structions to converge gradually towards
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 as straight as possible for the cave.
Before we had got within range an enormous
male lion showed himself for an' instant,
shook his unne'and vanished, to appear again
when we had arrived at distance of about a
thousand yards.
brisk but harmless fusillade was opened
upon him by our Arab friends. and with
roar Of defiance he Withdraw once more into
his stronghold; aor did he show himself again
as we drew nearer and nearer, until we came
to halt about 200 yards from the cave.
The narrow ledge leading up to it was
separated from the hillside on which
we stood by a deep gorge more than
forty feet wide. Above the ledge lowered a
precipitous height; and every cleft or gully
in the rocky wall around bristled with the
arms Of our spearmen, barring escape in
every direction, a complete circle of glitter
ing steel We looked carefully to our weap-
ons, and when ALL ready for giving our
royal foes a hot reception, loud shouts and
clamor were raised to draw them forth; but
all in vain. No lion showed as, 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
it, so as to smoke the lions out.
The spearmen redoubIed their clanor, and
we held our rifles in readiness for instant use,
while anxiously watching the lads progressS
He pursued his perlous 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, be 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 A few moments
and the fire ,bazed 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
honess bounded forth one after the other.
Our doings 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 so rapid and incessant
that both of us missed. Our Arab friends
were peppering away with their firelocks,
but also to little or no purpose.
Suddenly, while the lioness charged down
upon us along the ledge, her consent, 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 loness
sprang upon us, and both our bullets took
effect, but it needed a second dose of lead out