The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-08-12

higher toward my throat. Up to this tune l had been reflecting in a strange ly calm manper on the curious aspects of this frlghtful affair, precisely as though l were a disnterested outsider instead of the dying victim of the man eater.
 AS l felt the lions carrion- -soiled jaws near my face and throat, however, was seized with terror, and instinctive- ly l threw up both arms and thrust them far in between his jaws, and, in- deed, almost down his throat.As I did so the monster snapped off three fin- gers of my right hand, and, horrible as it may seem to the reader, I actually left my arms and hands lying idly in the lions jaws, Thank God" I thought, The is satisfied with sucking the bleeding fingers he has bitten off, and as long as can keep him at arms s length with my hands in his mouth will have yet few moments of life left for earnest prayer" And I prayed God, how I prayed! Sometimes 1t seemed to me it was a little hard to die in this way, and I felt didt want to leave my bones in that horrible place. My life however, was fast ebb- ing away, and later on I didn't seem to mind it so much. I grew fainter and fainter, and--so am told--I kept moaning feebly.
 During all this time the boys kept screaming "Nkanga, Nkanga" (the lion, the lion) just as if they them selves 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 horror to the thing which no pen could de- scribe. At last my friend did induce two of the niggers to make couple of torches of dry grass, and by the lurid | and uncertain light of these Morkel was enabled, though very indistipctly to see the lion standing over my pros | trate body He was an enormous gaunt brute, over ten feet in length and with tuxuriant tawny mane that imparted to him most majestic ap- pearance. 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 com | panion was afraid to shoot lest he 1 l screamed out Keep cool, Brockman" "a funny admonition this-"only keep ] cool, and I will do what can for you!" | As he approached the lion 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 | paces from the lion I don't know, but, anyhow, he levelled his rifle and fired. The lion immediately staggered back a few paces clear of my body, for he had been hit fairly in the eye, and the ball, after touching the brain, had come out through the lower jaw, which it had broken badly. Morkel instantly pro- ceeded to reload, but he was in such a desperate hurry that the lever of his ri- | file damned, and he found himself prac- tically helpless. Will it be believed ' that this desperate man, now fairly at his wits end, rushed forward toward | the lion and dealt him terrific blow on l the head with the stock of his rifle. 1 This did the lion no harm, whereas Morkel's gun was literally crumpled up. | My friend, however, at once informed | his torchbearer to run over to the hut and get my rifle and with this he killed 1 the lion in two other shots.
 It is important to remember that when Morkefs first shot rang out in the night air the lion had been worrying, 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 thir- ! tu yyar1 Than T fall 1ilya Q ctOna n the earth, and I remember no more un- til the next day. when I found myself In warm bath that had been prepared | by Morkel to wash my wounds-of which had one and twenty My poor friend tells me that my naked body pre- scented so shocking, so revolting spec tacle-my hands groins and thighs be- ing chewed and bloodless, like paper pulp-that he nearly lost his reason and became delirious. All that night, how ever, my heroic companion had sat by my bedside until daybreak, and well do l I remember that with awakened con- sciousness came the first poignant shock of agony from my wounds.
 When Dr. 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 immediate | ly 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 had to lie conscious and scream l ing in agony while the doctor was cut ting and carving away the mortified 1 flesh from all parts of my tortured body It is perfectly clear that my day 1 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 I went through | the whole fearful business again. hastily, horrible nightmares took pos session of me, and I would have gone raving mad were it not for the power | ful opiates that were administered. A | slammng door, the sudden appearance of a man before me, anything and eve rything threw me into perfect agony | of terror, pitiful to witness. My mind and reason were all but gone, and I, who had been a giant of strength, was | like a timid little child, mere wreck of a man in mind and body.-Wide World Magazine.
 A MARINES VIEW OF THE CU- BANS.