Morning journal and courier., 1890-04-14
Capturing a Lion Cub.

we were IN the inferior OF OVampo 1auu,
wild district situated in southwest Africa.
in front of our tired horses, stopped and
held up his hand. My eyes, wearied with
peering at distant game, and dazzled by
the afternoon sunshine, could at first detect
nothing which should warrant the Bush
mans attitude of mingled eagerness and
fear. At last, howsyt distinguished,
with a sudden start of ecognition, a group
on the warm, red earth, just outside low,
thorny thioket.
The wind, blowing freshly across the plain
into our faces, had prevented the lions from
getting our scent, and doubtless also had
kept from their quick hearing the slight
noise caused by the advancing troop of hunt
ers, while our forms had been concealed
from their sight by the thick brushwood
bordering the path. But as soon as my
frightened, restive horse had expressed his
alarm by loud snort the lion jumped an
Rrily to his feet and stood facing me, not
more than twenty yards away, lashing his
tail from side to side and watching me
steadily out of his big yellow eyes, while the
lioness, picking up one of the cubs In her
ceded by her other little one, who quickly
hid themselves in the brushwood.
Meanwhile, my frststart of surprise over,
I had seized my gun from the holsters, and,
as we'll as the fdgety backing of my horse
permitted, I took aim at the lions forehead,
between his eyes, and fired. As soon as the
smoke had cleared away I saw the lion
fell forward on his front paws and rolled
over dead.
That evening over the big blazing camp
fires, when Caiverley and had finished our
dinner of rietbock steaks and bread and
honey, we sat chatting cozily and slipping
our mugs of hot, strong coffee. The slain
lion had already been skinned, and his hide
Some Ovampo men were scraping off the
fat and rubbing the inner surface of
the skin with wood ashes to absorb the
One of them, noticed, walked away with
especial zeal. He was fine looking
creature, fully six feet in height, with we'll
kit frame and a pleasant face. His name
was Muropo. Every one in camp liked him,
aud every one knew his little history.
Muropo, strange to say for an African, was
actually in love! And the object of his af-
fections was Kangombe, the daughter of the
old Chief Chintengo, who ruled over con-
siderable village some ten miles from our
camp. Unfortunately, in Africa, as a gen
eral rule, it is not much easier for penniless
young man to get married than it is in more
civilized countries. Now, unless Muropo
COulQ pEOOuTo bcu COW5 oiu OACoeAs shOLa W
Chintengo, that chief would not hear of his
marrying Kangombe. Now, ten COWS in his
favored land of Ovampo would cost about
$50 worth of trade goods, and this amount
Muropo had set himself resolutely to acquire,
and this was one of the reasons why he had
| attached himself to our hunting expedition,
hoping to come in for some unconsidered
| trihes when our stay In Ovampo land should
| come to a close.
When my coffee was finished got up
from the zebra skin on which I had been
reclining and went to look at the way my
| lions hide was being prepared.
swell, Muropo," I said, in my imperfect
Ovampo speech, ''why didn't you catch one
| of those little lions when 1 had shot the
fathers Eha You know how much I want
| to have live lion cub from its mothers
mouth, did youa Why, had not even a
spear"
eyes, but the lover of kancombe should
be strong enough for anything single handed.
You'll never win your wife that way. Sup
posing you had caught one of those lion
cubs and brought him to camp, I might have
given you enough to buy five COWS, and
there would be half your marriage money. u
with an eager look in his eyes. "You
are speaking truth, mastera You would
| give me FIVE COWS for one of those small
lionsg'
IT would, really"
81 won't forget that; won't forget that, u
he repeated slowly to himself, sitting down
again on his launches and taking up some
more wood ashes to rub on the skin.
The next day missed Muropo's stately
form among the group of camp followers
who were dressing the pegged out skin. He
had not been seen or heard of all day. but
his absence excited little attention, because
it was supposed that he had gone over
to Chintengo's town to see his swestheart.
However, just as we were going to bed
there was eommotion in the camp, and
black, wild looking figure, carrying some
thing large and furry in his arms. rushed
through the crowd Of beaters, guides and
trackers, and threw himself down on thu
ground close to my tent. It was Muropo
and he had brought little lion cub, will
its paws tied together. The poor little thini
mewed piteously, go while Muropo went Il
wash off the blood with which his body wa
oaked, had leather thongs cut which tie'
the cubs paws together, and sent for som
goats milk, which II eagerly lapped. Pses