The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-05-30
ng very fast along the ground like a


dog.
While this was going on we could hear
Hassan shouting in the distance, so now
we ran off toward the sound. When We
started the shouts seemed to be almost
stationary, but as we ran they got furth-
err and further off till st last we could
hear nothing We then turned to go back
for the wounded lion. AS We got near
the place where we had left him we could
hear, tremendous row going on, men
shouting, dogs barking, and the unmis-
taxable grunts of an angry lion. Run
ming up, we found tho lion, with his
shoulder broken. standing in bush
surrounded at respectful distance by
the little dogs. They kept up an inoes-
SAINT yapping, and every now and then
the lion would make a drive at thu m
but they were much too quick for him
with his broken shoulder, and were as
him again directly he retreated to the
bush. The little Midgan and one of
my men were close by. yelling W 18th ex-
oitsment AS l walked up to try 20 get
u shot without hitting one of the pack.
the lion took no more notice of the dogs,
but kept his eyes fixed on me. 1 never
saw lion look nastier, but l suppose
his broken shoulder had sickened him,
and shot him without difficulty. The
M1dgan, after calling his dogs, had run
on after us, and had come on the wound
ed lion. We skinned this beast, aud the
little Midgan rather amused us, as be
got SO very much annoyed because his
dogs would not eat some great chunks of
raw lion flesh he cut off and offered to
them. We were on our way to skin the
other lion whan we met Hassan looking
rather sorry for himself. He said that
the lioness had trotted along quietly at
first, and he had brought her round in q
circle toward the place where he had left
US, riding alongside her, and shouting
to let us know where he was. Unluckily
she crossed the track of the wounded
lion, and after smelling at the blood she
became perfectly unmanageabIe making
off at gallop and charging him when
ever he got in front to try to turn her.
At last she had gone into thick bush on
some hills, where he had lost her. When
we had skinned the other lion we made
a cast to try to pick up the fourth, but
could make nothing of him-I never got
this lion, although he killed one of our
donkeys the next day.
We had not been back in camp very
long when T came in, saying he had
run across lioness In the hills, which
he was sure was the one we had seen. as
she was very angry. She had run into
some long dry grass, and had charged
out toward his men when they were going
up to light it. T was very unwell
with fever at the time, and, although he
had two or three shots, he was so shaky
he could not hit her. and at last felt so
Ill he had to give her up. His shikari
told me the lioness was very much beat
from being badgered about in the sun,
and he was sure we could find her. /
owed her one for frightening Hassan,
SO we started at once, Hassan not coming,
but sending q relation of his on the same
pony.
After short ride we got to the place
and found the tracks going into d long
strip of high feathery grass. We cast all
round and could find no tracks coming
out, SO we decided to burn tho patch. Tt
was about 200 yards long and perhaps 30
broad. l could not command the whole
of it, so / told the men to light it at tho
top and along one side, and Ahdulla and
I took up orr station half way down the
other side, about thirty yards out from
thu edge. At the bottom cad / put the
warrior on the pony to see if the lioness
broke that way. Almost directly the
grass was Lit big spotted hyena blum
asred out and came within few yards of
US, but the great part of the patch was
burned before there WIS any sign of the
lioness. Then caught sight OF her
Sinking along through the thin grass at
the edge of the strip going toward the
bottom end. She did not see US, as we
were rather behind her and standing
quite still.
When 1 shot she seemed to stumble for
ward, but, recovering herself. caught
sight of the man on the pony, and before
| could shoot again she was half way
toward him, going like flash. He had
not seen her when I shot, as she was hid
den by the grass, and by the time he got
his pony turned around and started she
was close to him. He gnlloped straigh t
away from me, and dared not fire at
the lioness for fear of hitting him. For
nearly 200 yards il looked any money on
the lioness. She got right under the
pony's tail, but did not seem to know
how to strike, ard at length, to my great
relief, the pony began to gain on her.
She at once pulled up and turned into a
bush, where she lay down, stretched out
at foil length, painting. Running up, I
shot her before she could prepare for an
other effort. My first bullet had gone
through the muscles of the forearm, just
below the SHOULDER, and being solid, had
only drilled quito a small hole. The
natives said that the reason she could not
catch tho pony was because a lion cannot
spring without momentary halt to
crouch. If this is So a popy could ALWAYS