Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1897-09-04
THE LION SLAYER.

He is young doctor and a surgeon
Oh board one of the small gunboats
placed on great African lake-fresh
colored still, though slightly tanned by
exposure to the lake winds, with merry
Irish eyes of blue gray, square cut
jaw and obstinate chin, long upper
lip, a little whisker at the temples and
short wiry black brown hair.
Like many men of his class, he is a
potential Darwin, and, having no other
means to travel and study natural his
tory, has entered the navy as a surgeon.
He has landed on the shores of the lake
for days shooting, hoping to get an
elephant at least, but meantime content
to study sunbirds Let us in imagina-
tion enter his mind, see through his
eyes what he saw and lay bare his
thoughts.
Grass, forest of grass, with stout
knotted stems six to eight feet high,
and abundant leaves starting from ev-
cry joint Each stem ends in dropping
plume of ripened seeds. AS the doctor
forces his way through the tangled
herbage and canelike stalks the seeds
shower down upon him, each one stead
led in its descent by it's long, feathery
stipule. The seeds are sharp pointed and
barbed at the ends, so they pierce their
way through his khaki clothing easily
and scratch the perspiring flesh beneath.
This raises to evaporation the dis
,1, IL, fn1% +, I1 ~, Il
unbearable, for the doctors face is now
the color of raw beef from the sitting
heat and the frightful exertion of
forcing his way through such thick
ct of grass and his hands are scratched
and cut by contact with the razor edged
leaves His terai hat is constantly be-
ing dragged off his head, and it is all
his way through the obstructing herb
age, protecting his face as we'll as posi-
BILE with the left hand.
So he is in an i'll temper and cannot
stop to notice the small weaver birds of
flame color and black, the eXtraordi-
nary stick insects, exactly Stimulating
stalks of grass, and the green, leaf1ike
mantises which throng the dense brake
Oh either side. II is after bigger game
The most experienced of his boys pio-
neers him through the stlfiing grass
Jungle. Another boy with a second rifle
follows behind. The idea is "ele-
plants" elephants having been report
ed hereabout the previous day, when
suddenly (they have reached a space
where the grass is a little drier, a little
less dense) the pioneer boy comes
doubling back on his master with every
gesture expressive of "Hushn'
The doctor stops, mops his boiling
face thankful for the momentary halt)
and asks inquiringly, "Elephants?"
"No," says the negro in painting
whisper; "lion. There, there! No, not
there You see that ant hill? Well,
climb on to it's side, and you will see
the lion lying in clear space just be-
yond. A male lion, truly. Its body is
nearly white, and its name is black. ;"
With express rifle at full cock, the
doctor advances gingerly through the
interlaced grass, bent nearly double,
keeping the muzzle of the gun directed
straight before him and shielding its
sensitive trigger from the intrusive
grass stems. The ant hill is reached.
He chambers on to its sloping side
Good God, the boy S right! What
beauty, and asleep toon But something
i'll the doctors coming has aroused the
lion, not ten yards away-aroused him
partially, for there is no sudden move
ment.
He raises the great head set in col
lar of yellow, brown, black name.
Slowly the dim nictitating membrane
passes over the yellow eyes, but as they
are focusing to meet his own gaze the
doctor fires-fires precipitately (his po-
sition on the sloping ant hill is inse-
cure), wounds the lion somewhere,
somehow, but does not kill him. The
beast gives sharp, explosive roar,
seems to jump into the air with all four
feet and then in three bounds has
crashed off into the grass jungle. ST.
lence.
"Well, I'm a muff!" thinks the doc
tor. 'He wasn't ten yards away, and
didn't kill him dead. I don't know
quite where | hit him-in the chest, l
think. But he can't be far away, and
must finish him off,
He descends from the ant hill into
the clear trampled space where the lion
had been lying. AT the spot where the
beast had made its first bound into the
dense grass hedge there is a great squirt
of blood over the tangled greenery-the
dark crimson liquid still drips from
leaf blade to leaf blade. "Ah; thought
SO! He must be pretty badly hit
Two black faces, with starting eyes
and anxious grins, now cautiously peer
around the ant hill. The doctor, raising
his head, recognizes his boys and beck
ons them down. The three converse in
whispers. The situation is explained
how the lion was wounded, the direc-
ton in which he bounded away. The