The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-12-07
A ROYAL DEFIANCE.
Description OF an Encounter With q Lin
In His Native Jungle.


the center OF the grove, leading from
shicaet to water, is hard-beaten path.
The elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe,
zebra, springbok, buffalo, lion, hyena,
wolf and jaclal have trod this path ON
occasions
The hunters have driven the big
game out of this section of Griqua
Land, but the path is still in use. Even
before the sun goes down big hyena,
painting with thirst, lodges us to the
tight to get to the water, and three
wolves emerge from the thiclSet, to
make a hasty retreat at sight of the
camp. AS soon as supper is disposed
Of the oxen are secured to the wheels
Of the wagons, large quantity OF fuel
brought in, and then the forty natives
close up the openings with n breast
work of thorn bushes. They make
his breastwork thickest and highest
on the south side, and they further
strengthen it with sharp stakes as in
abatis. l ask them why they do this,
and old Mingo grins and replies:
This is the path by which the king
comes and goes, and he will be angry
when he finds us here"
The sun went down, darkness came
like the fall of n curtain, and presently
we heard from the king. A mile or
more away to the north, in some dark.
cool spot in the great thicket, he had
been sleeping away the summers day.
Rest and sleep had brought thirst He
would drink his All and then stalk
through his realms and exhibit himself
TO his subjects, asking no favors, but
commanding servility from NIL. heard
the distant rumble of thunder and
stood up to see from which direction
the storm was approaching.
st is not thunder, but the voice Oh
the king" said MinRo as he leaned
against one of the trees.
Five minutes later the sound came
again. 1t was nearer now, and this
time l could not be deceived. Lions In
captivity will roar when excited, but 1t
is weak imitation of the voice of
lion on his native heath. The roar OF
full-grown lion as he moves out of
his lair for the night is signal to
every living thing for miles around
that he is astr and challenge to every
thing with life to cross his path at their
peril. No hunter hears it without feel
ing awed at it's immense volume and
power making obeisance to
the throne from which it comes as q
proclamation.
There is longer interval this time.
His highness has got our scent and Ii
Il, l., 1aI
though all the time he Is advancing to-
ward us and intends to make thor
ough examination. During this inter-
val the oxen crowd closer together and
begin low, sad moaning, and after
heaping fuel on the fires the natives
hide away in wagons or find safe places
in the tree tops. The captain and are
left alone, and as we get out our dou-
BILE barreled shotguns and slip in buck
shot cartridges the king reaches the
edge of the thiclet and stands for q
moment, without the slightest move
ment, to stare at us. 1t is starlit
night, and Mingo, who is perched
above my head, can plainly see his
royal highness and will keep US posted.
Now comes a roar which drops half
the cattle to their knees and fills the
ear like thunder rumbling along n
mountain side. 1t begins as II the lion
were in deep pit almost at our feet,
and when 1t reaches its climax the bel
lowing of dozen oxen would be
drowned out. The dying away is like
the beginning, but through it all is q
savageness that tries the nerves far
more than the brief roar of a tiger as
he leaps up for a charge. We are
camped on the kings highway, and
that roar expresses his surprise and
Indignation at our audacity. The glare
of the camp fires is new sight to him.
The big white-topped wagons have
never greeted his eyes before. As he
stands and switches his tail about he
must realize that the camp is strong
one and that he has no friends within,
but fear is not mingled with his indig-
nation.
1.-THE king is coming, master!" shouts
Mingo from his perch, and we get
ready to greet him.
There is no more roaring. He has
challenged us and defed us. and now
he is coming to punish us for daring to
obstruct the path which perhaps he
first marked out as a royal highway.
Everything Is so quiet for a moment
that we can hear his footballs. He
does not advance few feet and then
halt, but comes stright on, his head
we'll up, his eyes shining, and his long
tail switching the bushes each side of
the path. Mingo can read his inten-
tions by his walk, and he shouts down
TO us:
Look out, master! He will come
into the camp"
The captain took a tree about twenty
feet from the one sheltering me. and
we dropped to our knees and brought
our guns to ready. The path was
midway between us. The king did not
change his pace until he came within
100 feet of the breastwork. Then he
uttered catlike snarl, broke into q
run to get his spring, and five feet
from the thorn bushes he lifted him
self and came sailing over like great
bird. The height was fourteen feet.
The distance on a straight line was
thirty-two feet. Both of us fired at
him before he landed and again
as he tonched the earth, but all
four shots missed. He bounded up
the path between as, cleared one of tho
tents at leap, and landed among the
oxen. The natives raised a direful
veil. and to this was added the below