The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-27
PER1Ls OF LION HUNTING.
Mr.. Inverarity's Interesting Expert
ences in Somali Land.
From the London Times.

enceS In SOman Land.
From the London Times.
Mr.. InVerarity, member of the Bombay
bar. aud one of the most distinguished of
Indian shikaris, lately contributed to the
Bombay Natural History Society a paper
on the mammaia of Somali Land where
he went on a shooting expedition last year
Referring to lion shooting, he says it is
very fascinating pursuit if conducted in the
proper manner, which is to track the ami
NAL to where he is lying. At the end Of the
track, which may last for several hours, the
eyes suddenly fall on lion sitting in the
dense gloom of a bush a few feet off, or
sometimes it leads into a thicket of thorns
that cannot be penetrated, when the best
plan is to set fire to 1t and stand at the other
end.
Mr.. Inverarity says he only once found
one sitting in the open-a lioness with
well-grown cub. They were sitting on the
sand under small thorn tree. So we'll
does their color harmonic with their sur
roundings that he tracked to within four
yards of them without seeing them, and
would not hive seen them then il they had
not got up. On another occasion his men
pointed to a lioness he was tracking, crouch
ing In the grass a few yards off, but, al
though he looked. he could not see her tin
she moved her ears. Like every other anis
NAL, the lion tries to avoid man until
wounded. and it is only in exceptional
cases of there being young ones to guard,
or from establishment at seeing the hunters
80 close to them, that they charge when
being tracked.
Mr.. Inverarity was never charged by an
unwounded one. They charge with the
same coughing roar that tiger does, and
come at great speed close to the ground
not bounding in the air, as they are repre-
sented in pictures; their ears are pressed
close TO the head. giving them the comical
appearance of being without ears He
says: $50 large an animal coming at full
speed against you OF course knocks you off
your legs. The claws and teeth entering
the flesh do not hurt so much as you would
think. The only really painful part of the
business is the squeeze given by the Jaws on
the bone. l felt none of the dreamy stupor
Livingstone describes, but, on the contrary,
felt as usual. / adopted the course of living
quite still, which, / believe, is the beat
thing one can do, as you are quite helpless
with heavy animal on you, and they are
inclined to make grabs at everything that
moves, and the fewer bites you can get off
with the better.
IAN the wounds are centers of infiamma-
ton and blood poisoning, and the more you
get the less chance you have The power
of the lions jaws may be inferred from the
fact that the lioness that seized me, al
though it had broken jaw, scored deep
groves In the barrels of my rife with her
teeth. Some claw wounds were more
scratches, which l attribute to the fact that
they clutch at the surface of your coat,
thinking it is all solid underneath, and SO
reach the flesh pretty late. In fact, my
coat was torn in some places without any
corresponding wound beneath. l never
felt the slightest shock. Tigers and
panthers. as a rule Immediately leave any
one they seize in charge. but this lioness,
having left me, went few yards to roar at
growing. and then bit my arm. / got no
bite the first go off, as he was occupied In
biting the rife"