Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-09-08


reply, and it seemed as II the sound would
shake down the roof of the hut. Half an
hour later we heard the sounds of a terrific
combat half a mile away and the natives
whispered:
THAT is good. Fighting will make him
hungry and less cautious, and tomorrow
night we shall capture him."
Next morning some of the men secuted
around and found the spot where the fight
took place. 1t was on an open spot be-
tween thickets, with grass four inches high
On the earth. The struggle had been a ter
rible one The sod was torn up, the grass
covered with spots of blood and tufts of
hair, and - trail was found where one of
the fighters had dragged himself into the
thicket Two of the men followed it and
found grand old lion lying dead. When
he had been pulled out we found him to
be above the usual size and about 16 years
old He had simply been chewed to strings.
The bones in both forelegs and in one hind
leg had been crushed, an ear torn off,
his throat dreadfully mangled and his
hide so torn that he was not worth skin
ming. Male lions never meet without a
terrific battle, but it seldom occurs that
one is killed. The one who gets the worst
of it takes to flight, and the victor is salts
fed with holding the battlefield.
That night no man in the village went to
bed 1t was expected that our lion would
show up at an early hour and all We're
prepared to rush for the kraal as soon as he
should leap in. A bit of carelessness on
the part of the herders brought about an
other disappointment. In driving in the
cattle they had failed to round up year
ling calf, and we heard nothing from the
estray until the lion had shown himself.
Just at dusk he roared loudly, and as the
moon came up we caught sight of him adj
yancing upon the kraal. The calf was on
the other side of the Enclosure keeping
very quiet, but the lion stopped and
roared again the frightened animal began
running around the pen to seek for the
gate AS he came around on our side, run
ming blindly and never seeing the lion, the
latter crouched and sprang. The distance
was about fifty feet He divided this into
three leaps-the first two at fifteen feet
each and the third at twenty. 1 had n
fairly good look at his movements and was
astonished at his activity. The pause be-
tween his bounds was only a breath. AS
he struck the calf he seized it by the neck
and wrenched to right and left, killing it
on the instant. He did not offer further
violence, probably being satisfied that his
victim was dead, but for five minutes he
stood facing us with his paws ON the car
cass and growled defiance. Had n man
shown himself outside of hut the lion
would have charged right at him. After
awhile finding that his def was not &C
cepted, he picked the calf up and trotted
away as n dog would with n bone. Twice
before he reached the thicket he paused to
look back, but we had no thoughts OF NOV
ing out of our shelter.
As the calf was not in good condition,
the natives believed the lion would return
next night, but he did not. Orders were
issued for the people to keep very quiet
during the day, and for the herd to be
penned an hour earlier than usual. On
the second night, just at dusk, we heard
the Old fellow roaring good and strong as
he left his lair, and the head man said to
me:
I'VE are sure of him this time. Can't
you tell by his roar that he is hungry?
He will come straight to the kraal.'
1t is doubtful If the lion ever roars be-
cause of hunger. His roar may rather be
considered Il challenge to his enemies. 1t
is a signal that he has finished his nap and
is ready to meet all corners, and all the
smaller animals flee in confusion when his
tones are heard. The natives insisted,
however, and they were right, except that
he did not appear as soon as expected. He
went off in the other direction, roaring at
intervals and perhaps looking for change
of diet. 1t was close on to II O'Clock, and
we had not heard his voice for an hour,
when l suddenly heard something walk
ing with tread as heavy as that of an OK.
1 thought it was an OK until saw the lion
himself. The moon was now up, and he
advanced upon the kraal without even
looking our way. His bearing exhibited
grim determination. He walked straight
to the spot where he had leaped in before,
halted for an instant to see If the fence
had been strengthened since his other
visit and with an angry growl and a
switch of his tail he went over. The cat
tie beloved and rushed about, but after
couple of minutes the head man whis-
pered:
He certainly fell into the pit! See! the
cattle have become more quiet. Let go
at once"
Alta signal we all rushed for the gate
and opened it. A mistake would mean
death to two or three, but the native had
reasoned correctly. We were not n mo-
ment too soon, however, as the fellow was
springing up and catching the banks with
his paws. We hustled the poles across the
excavation, weighted them down, and then
everybody in the village began to sing and
yell and dance. 1 had promised the people
a keg of rum, ten pounds of powder and
five muskets in case of a capture, and the
reward was a big thing to them. The
cattle were turned out, fires lighted and
all spent the night in watching and rejoic-
ing. Ninety-nine times In hundred a
non Is no SOONER Irappeu Ihtl ne fuses oil
his sand and will whine and beg like
puppy. This fellow was the exception.
He roared, growled and menaced, and but
for the poles he would certainly have got
out among us and wreaked dire revenge.
When morning came we began building
a cage and cart. He must be transported
430 miles before we could get water trans
portation, and over 600 before we could
transship him to vessel. The cage was
made with double bars, each as large as a
mans arm, and of hard wood. We had it
ready by night, but the lion was by no
means ready to enter it. Our only way