Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-01-18
A LIONS FEAST.
Tom-Tom Pays the Forfeit For Sacrificing
Another's Life.

| Tonn-Tom Pays the Forfeit For Sacrificing
| Another's Life.
| We had our camp at the big bend of the
| Tonga river, where it approaches nearest
the great desert of the Hottentot country,
and one morning word was brought in that
we had captured very large lion in a pit
which had been dug for that purpose.
| Among the natives who went out in ad-
vance of us were two fellows who had been
threatening each other with personal vio-
| lence ever since we left the Vaal river. Both
were tall, strong men, and each had his fol-
| lowing as is always the case, even in civil
lized communities. They had been re-
| strained only by threats of the colonel to
| turn them out of camp. They met at the
| lion pit, and by accident or otherwise one
| jostled the other. 1t was the spark leading
| to an explosion. Tom-Tom, as we had
| nicknamed one of them, seized the other,
| whose title was JoeJoe, and with q
| twist and a wrench threw him into the pit
| upon the lion. 1t was terrible thing to
| do, and neither the colonel nor believed
| that Tom-Tom really had meant to do it,
| though he would not have hesitated to use
| Ratchet or knife.
| We met the natives coming back with the
murderer in custody, and they demanded
that his life should pay the forfeit. The
| pair of US ran on to the pit in hopes to save
| Joe-Joe, but we We're too late. The lion was
not only hungry, but in terrible temper
| over his capture, and he had killed the man
as soon as he could get to him. Had the
victim lost his life in a fair fight, nothing
| would have been done. Had he been stabbed
| to death in camp, the murderer would have
| had to give his widow or other relatives
| N
| the men would hear of no punishment short
| of death.
About 10 o'clock in the forenoon, having
exhausted every effort and the men begin
ming to threaten loudly, we turned Tom
Tom over to them. He had been very quiet
all the morning, and when told that he
| must die he exhibited no emotion. He was
in his prime and had wife and three chill
dren at home, but he was too brave and
proud spirited to break down. He was
given his choice of death-that is, they
| would strip him and leave him bound hand
and foot ON an anthill or he should be flung
to the lion, who had by that time eaten the
last morsel of poor Joe-Joe. Hewould rath-
er have been shot or dubbed to death. but
they thought that would be getting off too
easy. After thinking it over for awhile, he
| said to us:
II have seen men left to the ants, and it
was sometimes a whole day before they
died. If am thrown into the pit, the lion
will kill me within a minute, and there
will be no suffering. And, too, the man
who is killed by lion dies a proud death,
and his wife and children need not be
ashamed to say how he died Yes, will
die that way. The lion will not be hungry
again before tomorrow, but wish the men
to annoy him until he raves with anger.
get the cage up and secure him."
Tom-Tom talked the matter over as
calmly as if speaking of an OK gone astray.
Wedoubled our offer only to have it prompt
ly rejected, and then turned him over to
the escort and saddled up and rode away.
What followed was told to us on our re-
turn. A portion of the natives armed
themselves with long poles and sticks and
stones and angered the lion until he was
positively furious. Tom-Tom was then led
forward by his guards All agreed that he
was the least excited of the crowd. Two
strong fellows had been appointed to fling
him into the pit, but when he was brought
forward he said:
II am to die for causing the death of a
man who thirsted for my life. l do not
complain of that but 1 wish to die like a
man. Unbind me and stand back! Iknow
what lion can do. He can kill an OK with
a blow of his paw, and he can crush the
largest bone ut one bite. He will kill me
before you. can count 30, but he would aft
erward be ashamed that he had killed a
man who was helpless. Jab him with your
poles and make him furious. That's the
way! Hear his cries of ragel Sec how he
leaps up in hopes to get out! You are now
going to see how brave man dies. Look
sharply, for you will never see the like again
When ~ return home you will tell every
body that l threw Joe-Joe to the lion, but
you will also say that was killed by the
same beast. Now / am going-goodby ALI"
He stepped to the edge of the pit, which
was about 10 feet deep, and dived head first
down upon the lion, who was standing on
his hind feet There was fierce roar, muf
fed growls, a struggle lasting few sec
onds and the men looked down and knew
that Tom Tom was dead. The lion was SO
thoroughly aroused that it was not until
the next day we could make move to cage
him, and it took us over half day to bring
him out of the pit and make him secure
prisoner. After he was out of the pit
looked into it, but there was very little to
be found to tell of the double tragedy.
Then closely inspected the Gagged beast.
but he had licked himself clean and was
hungry for another victim. NJ. QUAD.