Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-02-08
Adventures With Lions.
i"'"'u'i ny.
Solomon Soils Cohen

while trapping lions in the Iio:tcn!ot
country for the hamburg animal house
! had Oprortunit!c, Tor seein" the kinw
Of beasts ut hi, hest, and for making
close observations OF his traits OF
character. When =. 20 call. Il lion tanner
tells you that he understands his pets rs
well a' if they were human beings, there
Is powerful Significance TO his words.
nc understands them rs we'll hut no
letter, aud this means hourly peril 10
him. 1t i've desperate criminals were
Shnt mp in room and keeper entered
1t several times II day TO whip them
about, Inc would be in the same perl as
the man among the lions. No two lions
arc alike, except i'll Il few leading traits.
any more than any TWO men ave al Ike.
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
can show ten where the lion skulked
abont like dog. You never find him
twice alike. lie 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
wide awake hunters, and the next might
he may creep up as softly MS cat and
lie hidden Tor an hour for the sake OF
picking up n native dog.
We were once campcd in grove on
the bank of creek, our party number
ing over thirty pcop'e. 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 Mt night, but on the
second afternoon of our camp, while all
were engaged III cleaning up and max inr
repairs, an alarm WAS suddenly raised
| supposed that some of the animals lad
s;amlcded, and ran around the wagon to
get clear view of the space between
lis and the creek. This c. eek was 300
feet away, and was so nearly dry that
one could step across it, The bunk OH
the other side was rocky ground, pretty
thickly covered with scrub, and RIGHT on
the brink stood one of the lnrrss. lions
ever saw. He was out in full view.
head and tail up, and stood so still for n
moment that | doubted if he was alive.
There was ight breeze blowing toward
us, and as soon Is onr animals rot the
scent 1t required the efforts of every IA
tive TO prevent them from brcakinr
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 dumfoundcd to see him sprinp
across the creek and come walking into
camp. We measured his leap, AID found
1T TO he twenty eight feet. He made it
without an effort was to the RIGHT of
hin' and the center OF the camp was his
OBJ ectivc point. The lion advanced at
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 horses, hal no CT
feet on him.
We had new mlch COW tied to IN,
wncel OF one of the wagons, and the l;or
advanced TO within thirty feet of her
ana then made spring which LANDED
nim LARRY upon her back. She fell in
heap, and he seized her by the neck
gave her two or three shakes whicl
proke the grass rope around her head
ana he then got his right shoulder unde
her and started OH. The Cow wcighc,
Mt least 500 pounds, but he carried he
with perfect ease, her hind feet drarpin,
on the ground. st the creek he made
Jump of eleven feet, ascending Il slopin.
bank without halt, and soon disap
peared in the broken ground with hi
piey. He was gone before we had
gun ready. Indeed. we were lucky no
to have lost half our animals. was n
greenhorn IN the animal bushes a, tina
date, but this was the first time I ha,
ever witnessed such check in n lion
Had beer told that he had such cour
age and GOODNESS l should have laugbc,
the statement to scorn.
AS soon as order had been restored th
three of us mounted our horses and. prc
coded by five or six natives and thei
dogs, crossed the creek and took up III
trail. After going about half mile, w
discovered the lion sitting beside tn
carcass in little hollow. lie was sit
ting up like dog, head turned towar,
u.s. bat as soon as he saw us divide he ra
oil with his tail down, evidcntl
thoroughly alarmed, and such was hi
speed that we soon lost him. We coul,
count on his returning to the body dun
! ing the night, and the natives were there
fore set 20 work to dig pit and conceu