The Helena independent., 1893-12-14

part, ana no came for biood. A dozen OF MS
Cred at him, and he was hit twice before nc
reached us, but he cnme right ahead, and
had knocked native down, and was stand
ing over him when he got his quietts. He
was an immense fellow and well along In
years. We tried to find some explanation
OF his conduct, and finally concluded that
he had been hunted and perhaps wounded,
and had become reckless md desperate.
once had such nm al,trm from lion as
to send mo to bed for couple Of days. We
were riding on strip Of sand, with the
heavy forest ut our right and u scattering
line OF bushes on onr left, when our attcn-
tion was called to something skulkinG In
tho bushes. We dismounted, three OF us,
and crcpt forward, scattering us we went.
] made for q blish, whence l hoped to We
cure better observation, and rs turned
1t, being on my hands and knees, came
face to face with big lion, who was skulk-
ing In n hollow. was within four feet OF
his head when discovered him. His eyes
were open very wide, and his breath came
to me with sickening odor, but he neither
growled nor moved for full minute. We
looked into each others eyes, and was SO
overcome that l was like one paralyzed for
the time At that short distance his eyes
had the brightness of electric lights. In
deed they seemed to burn mine, and the
feeling did not leave me for four or five
days
After minute or SO the lion uttered q
low growl and sat up for a better look at
me. l was on my knees, and he snuffed at
me and uncovered his great teeth. Per-
haps another might have fired at him, as
his head and chest offered target like a
barn door, and had my gun all ready, but
l hadn't the, power to raise my arms He
growled again and then turned around and
sneaked off through the bushes and got
away. When my companions came up, l
was too weak to walk to my horses and
on reaching camp had to go to bed.
1t was while referring to this adventure
some time later that a native related his
queer experience with lion. He was re-
turning to his village one afternoon when
snake bit him. He was obliged to stop
aid find certain roots and make poultice
and thus got belated. AS he hurried on in
the twilight lion suddenly leaped into
the path before him and barred his further
progress. Had the man turned to fee he
would have been struck down. He stood
there gasping with fright and ready to col
lapse, when it suddenly flashed upon him
that the lion appeared in playful mood.
The beast lay down and rolled over, paved
at the earth, and when the native advanced
step it became certain that the lion was
in for lark.
while ! was frightened almost to
DEATH" said the man, II had sense enough
to humor him. jumped at him, and he
frisked and bounded like puppy. Then
retreated, and he ran after me. It was two
miles to the village, and we kept up the
play until within few rods of the first hut.
had my hand on him 20 times, and when
entered the village had some of the hairs
Of his name to prove the particulars of my
adventure" a.1
We were in Matabeleland-a govern
ment expedition consisting of upward OF
200 men-and had gone into camp two hours
before sundown one day at a pool, when
one of the white men fired at lion who
was making off. The king of beasts had
been ''snoozing" in the shade Of some
bushes in the open plain and had remained
quiet in hopes we would pass. When he
saw us 90 into camp, he made a sneak for
the forest, a quarter of mile away, and
had almost reached it when the shot was
fired ,r
There was no hope of hitting him, but
more by accident than intention the ball
struck the target. The lion was wounded
in the ham. We saw him turn and bite
at the wound and were laughing at his
antics when he suddenly headed for the
camp. Although he was a big fellow, his
name stood up until it SCENE ed as if he was
the size Of 2-year-old steer. His leaps
were something tremendous. and he roared
at every spring.
At least 20 shots were fred at the lion as
he charged, and some Of the bullets flung
dirt into his face, but we might as well
have tried to stop hurricane. He had
been insulted end wounded, and he wanted
revenge. The first thing he came to was q
horse hitched to the hind wheel of a wagon
He knocked the horse over as he sprang
lacerating his back in terrible manner
Then he knocked down native, breaking
the mans collar bone. pulled another down
and shook the life out Of him and then at
tackled a second horse.
! He was on the horses back as two of us
fred and hit him hard. He fell to the
ground, rolled over, and then sprang to the
seat of wagon and pulled native to the