The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-09-06

old age to an old animal In the Ma
tional Museum at the Smithsonian lnsti-
tuition in Washington there Ia the stuneo
fioure of buffalo bull attacked by
wolves, One wolf he has pierced with his
horn and crushed to the ground; another
springing from pehind has seized MIN
above the gambril with the evidpnt design
of hamstringing him.
"In these figures is the story OF the oiu
bull driven from the herd Wnen Through
age he has lost the power to hold MS own
in battle with the younger bulls MS
reign may have been long as king OF the
herd, but at last there came the tl1ne
when he found himself cast forth, aban-
doned by the others of his kind, alone
upon the prairie When the herd moved
southwark at the coming of winter he re-
manned solitary upon the prairie, or took
refuge from wind and storms in some
sheltered hollow of the foothills. 1t was
question only of time when the wolves
should attack him, and then, fight brave
~ as he would, there could be but one
ending Through numbers and wolfsh
strategy, with ever recurring attacks.
they would at last pull the old buffalo
down.
SIN the same fashion the wild stallion
that has outlived his power of beating all
rivals from the herd is himself driven
forth by some younger stallion to wander
alone until, with the weakness of age. he
CT or fa11c q
prey to the wolf or bear or cougar. 1t is
a cruel and memorable law which per-
yades all animal nature, except in the
communities of civilized man, that the
old and the stricken shall be left unassist-
ed to their fate.
"Forty years ago, on the shores of Sc
bee Lake in Maine. bulldog owned by
killed bear. A boat rowed by Moulton
was approaching the shore at the foot OF
Birch Mountain when the bear was seen
coming down the mountain side toward
the water. Instantly the dog leaped from
the boat and swan to the shore, and he
had killed the bear before his master
could aet to the spot. Ordinarily bear
would be match for half a dozen buli-
dogs, but the mystery OF the readiness
with which this one was killed was ex-
planned when it was found to be very
old bear, decrepit, in fact, from age.
Lean, weak, NANCY, he was picking MS
way toward the lake, perhaps to drink,
when the dog, espying him, cut short the
few days that might otherwise have been
left to him.
Zone of the old South African mis-
sionaries-Mr. Andersen, I think-told
of a lion that in Kaffirland walked into
a church where O religious service was
being conducted. The congregation at
f1rt was terror stricken, but 1t soon ap-
peared that the lion was helpless from
age and incapable of harming anyone.
Upon this two of the natives seized him,
one by the name and the other by the
tail, and bundled him out of the church.
Once outside he was knocked in the head.
"It is a dismal fate that of the lion
who survives the combats and accidents
of his youth and prime and passes into
old age. There Is a likelihood that With
the weakening of his fighting powers ne
one of the contests that lions SO fierceiy
fight with each over the favor OF some
lioness. But if he survives. the king OF
beasts, who once pulled down the giraffe
and buffalo, unable now to catch and kill
big game, finds himself reduced to q
tramp existence and the indlgnlty OF
fighting with hyenas apd jaokals for the
leayings of the meals of younger and
luckier lions. His hunting is confined to
rats and mice and such small deer, and
SO he fingers miserably on until,
weakened to the last degree through age
and starvation, he crawls to some shell
tered spot and gives up the struggle.
"Gordon Clycliffe, an engineer who
lived many years in India, told me Of an
experience that he had with tiger in
one of the northern provinces there. He
was doing some surveying in the jungle,
and rs he stood, with his bearer, by the
instrument, he saw a tiger emerge sud-
denly from the jungle and strike down
one of the chairsmen, a native, hundred
yards ahead. Every one who has lived in
India knows the terror and confusion that
come upon a party of men in the jungle
when the cry Of 'Tigerr is heard, ely
cliffe took his rifle from the bearer at his
side, determined to fire upon the tiger at
whatever risk of killing the man. But
to his astonishment, instead of picking
the native up and dashing away into the
Jungle with him, after the usual fashion
of tigers in such cases. the beast actually
fumbled with the man-tried several
times to pick him up, and failed. At
that Clycli ffe ran toward him to get a
nearer shot. The tiger did not seem to
perceive him until he got quite near;
then faced him, growing and switching
his tail At twenty yards away Clyolife
gave him two shots in the head, and the
tiger fell dead in his tracks. The man
got up from the ground and ran for it in
a way that showed he was not seriously
hurt. When Clycliffe examined the tiger
hs found that he was very old one, with
scarcely vestige Of a tooth in his mouth.
His thin condition showed that he had
been on short commons for long time.