Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-03-05
BY MUTUAL CONSENT.
Neither Liked the Others Company. and
So They Parted.

BY MUTUAL CONSENT.
Neither Liked the Others Company. and
| So They Parted.
Along about the middle of the after
noon, having been in camp all the morn
ing, thought would walk over to the
old lion pit the natives had been telling of
I simply had to turn the corner of the
thicket, follow it down to the dry water
course and then turn to the right for a few
steps. On straight line it was only a
quarter of a mile from camp. There was,
the natives said, the skeleton of lion in
the pit. We had been in camp four days
and had not heard the roar of lion, and
| some native hunters assured us that we
ought to have continued on at least SO
miles north. 1 broke off a switch as Invent
along, being perfectly free handed, and
presume l whistled as 1 walked down the
path. Reaching the bed of the creek,
| stood for moment to watch Jackal Snlt-
Eng about in search of water.
To the right, between the lion pit and
| me, were two bushes in line and only IL
| feet apart. AS l reached the first one
paused to scent its blossoms, and when
| turned to go my gaze fell upon full
| grown male lion standing in the shade of
the other bush. He was headed toward
me, and his look and attitude betrayed
| surprise and curiosity. His ears We're
cooked up, his tail without movement,
and had | thrown up my arms and yelled
at him he might have run away. was
too nearly paralyzed to grasp the opportu-
| nifty, however. 1t was queer enough to
meet lion providing about in the daytime,
and to find him right before me brought
such feeling that | stood and gasped for
breath | might have been in this be-
numbed condition for a minute and a half.
Then | recovered enough to take notice
that the lion seemed as much put out as
was, and from that on was clear about
everything.
While l stood perfectly still the lion
shifted uneasily and glanced right and left,
as if suspecting trap Then he sat down
like dog and pointed both ears forward
and looked eXpectant. My knees were
shaking in way to threaten my downfall,
and to prevent a tumble | sat down on a
rock. Instead of sprnging upon me, as
might have been naturally expected, the
beast lay down, with his forepaws crossed
and his big head resting on them. The
distance between his eyes and mine was
now about nine feet, and as l was leeward
of him could even get the scent of his
breath | had been told over and over
again that lion could be looked out of
countenance by man. You can explode
the idea by going to the nearest menagerie.
l stared at him as hard as l could for per-
haps minute and then discovered that he
seemed to like it. He not only stared back
without wink, but began catlike purr-
ing and rested his head more heavily on
his paws
Some of the natives knew where | was
going, but it would be hours before they
became alarmed at my absence. Their
coming might scare the lion away or might
enrage him.
had heard of hunter who backed
away from Il lion, but had no thoughts OF
trying it. If he regarded me as a great
living curiosity and had supped we'll the
night before, perhaps he might retire after
awhile. Instead of trying to look him in
the eyes l looked to the right and left and
over his head. Lifting his head, he reached
out one paw and then the other, as you
have seen a cat or dog do in playful mood.
l refused to look at him, and he rolled
over in a heavy way and scratched at the
soil and purred his loudest. He was evil
IDENTIFY in great good nature, but l sat
there and shivered and wouldn't have
given 2 cents for my chances.
After about Is minutes his royal high
ness began to show signs of temper. Per
haps that was in his programme from the
start, as q cat DrSU ueCelNeS Il mouse, anu
perhaps my want of civility ruffled him. !
noticed his ears lying flat on his head and
his upper lip working, and now and then
he gave vent to a catlike hiss. If that
went on, he would soon get his mad up
and attack me, and SO l forced myself to
look him in the eyes again. The instant
did so he stretched out at fun length Oh
his stomach and rested his head on his
paws as before. He acted as if he might
have heard the stories about the magnetic
power of the human eye and wanted me
to understand that he couldn't be downed
in any such manner. At the end of 80 or 40
seconds l had to look away again, and
this time he growled and switched his tail
and seemed ready to spring upon me. in
stinctively sprang up and shouted.
That particular lion had never heard
the English language before, and it must
have suddenly dawned upon him that he
was face to face with man. saw his
tail on the ground as he stood erect, and
that was a certain sign that he was dubi-
Gus, if not ratified.
go on!" shouted at him. ~ have no
fuss with you'll Let me alone, and won't
bother you!'
He looked to the right and left and step
ped off sideways. He worked his upper
lip a bit, but not in menace. Without
knowing what did l stamped with my
foot, and he jumped 10 feet and dragged
foot of his tail ON the ground.
''We'n both gor' yelled, feeling won
derfully revived all of sudden. "You &C
that way and I'll go this! Move on with
YOUR
Ipulled off my shake and flung it at
him, and as he dashed away into the
thicket flew up the path in such haste
that, meeting one of the natives who was
out after fuel, we collided and were both
knocked down and nearly sense1ess. The
old lion could have had two for one had he
been in pursuit, but he had retired to his
lair to think matters over. That night he
came out and leaped among our oxen and
killed and dragged away creature weigh
ing 200 pounds. We fired dozen shots
at him, and he roared defiance at every
one. 1t was night now, and he was lord
of creation. NJ. QUAD.