Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1898-12-01

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three fingers of my right hand, and,
horrible as it may seem to the reader,
1 actually left my arms and hands ~
ing idly in the tigers jaws. '"Thank
God," thought, she is satisfied with
sucking the bleeding fingers he has
bitten off, and as long as I can keep
him at arms length with my hands in
his mouth l will have yet few mo-
ments of life left for earnest prayer"
And l prayed-God, how I prayed
Sometimes it seemed to me it was
little hard to die in this way, and I
felt I didn't want to leave my bones
in that horrible place. My life, how
ever, was fast ebbing away, and later
on didn't seem to mind it so much.
L grew fainter and fainter, and-so I
am told-I kept moaning feebly.
During all this time the boys kept
screaming "Nkanga, NkangaW (the
tiger, the tiger just as though they
themselves were in any danger in the
lofty trees up which they had swarmed.
Poor Dan Morkel was simply waltzing
around the clearing in utter bewilder-
ment of agony of mind. The appalling
blackness of the night added a horror
to the thing which no pen could de-
scribe. At last my friend did induce
two of the Africans to make a couple
of torches of dry grass, and by the
lurid and uncertain light of these
Morkel was enabled, though very in
distinctly, to see the tiger standing
over my PROSTATE body. He was an
enormous, gaunt brute, over ten feet
In length, and with a luxuriant tawny
name that impaired to him a most
majestic appearance. Dan told me
afterward that as he approached with
his gun I was moaning or grooming
softly to myself. Up to this time my
unfortunate companion was afraid to
shoot lest he should kill me instead
of the tiger. He screamed out:
Keep cool, Brockman"-a funny al
monition only keep cool, and
I will do what can for you'll" AS he
approached the tiger took his fangs
out of my groin, which was by this
time mere pulp, and he faced about.
growing and snarling horribly, and
with one big paw on my chest.
How Morkel kept his head at ten
PAGES from the tiger I don't know, but
anyhow, he levelled his rifle and fred.
The tiger Immediately staggered back
a few PAGES, clear of my body, for he
had been hit fairly in the eye, and the
ball, after touching the brain, bad
come out through the lower jaw, which
it had broken badly. Morkel instantly
proceeded to reload, but he was in
such desperate hurry that the lever
of his rife jammed, and he found
himself practically helpless. Will it
be believed that this desperate man,
now fairly at his wits end, rushed
forward toward the tiger and dealt
him terrific blow on the head with
the stock of his rife? This did the
tiger no harm, whereas Morkel's gun
was literally crumpled up. My friend,
however, at once Informed his torch
bearer to run over to the hut and get
my rife, and with this he killed the
tiger in two other shots.
1t Is important to remember that
when Morkel's first shot rang out in
the night air the tiger had been worry
ing, biting and sucking me for about
thirty minutes. Well, the moment
the brute retreated from me I actually
got up on to my legs and ran for
twenty or thirty yardsl Then I fell
like stone to the earth, and l rem en-
Der no more until the next day, when
I found myself in a warm bath that
had been prepared by Morkel to wash
my wounds-of which I had one and
twenty My poor friend tells me that
my naked body presented SO shock
ing. so revolving a spectacle-my
hands, groins and thighs being chewed
and bloodless, like paper pulp-that
he nearly lost his reason and became
delirious. All that night, however,
my poor heroic companion had sat at
my bedside until daybreak, and we'll
do I remember that with awakened
consciousness came the first poignant
shock of agony from my wounds.
When DIR. Prentice saw me at the
mission station he told me that my
case was utterly hopeless. My right
leg, I was told, would have to go, but
owing to my condition it was deemed
inadvisable to amputate it Immediately
ON my arrival. Then there was no
chloroform at the mission station, and
the ether had gone wrong through the
climate, and therefore would not act.
Thus I had to lie conscious and
screaming in agony while the doctor
was cutting and carving away the
mortified flesh from all parts of my
tortured body. 1t is perfectly clear
that my day had not come, for all the
bites in the thigh had missed the
artery by about an eighth of an inch
And night after night 1 went
through the whole fearful business
again. CHASTITY, horrible nightmares
took possession of me, and I would
have gone raving mad were it not fol
the powerful opiates that were admin.
istered. A slamming door, the sud
den appearance of man before me-
anything and everything threw me in
to perfect agony of terror, pitiful te
witness. My mind and reason were
all but gone, and I, who had been 6
giant of strength, was like timid lit