The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1898-10-20
AN ALGERIAN LION STORY.

4
My companions about the round
table. which was garnished with slim
bottles, glasses, and piles of cigarettes,
were all Frenchmen-three old Alge
rian colonists, the fourth an ex lieu
tenant of the navy, who had exchang
ed his life on the ocean wave for that
of hunter in three quarters OF the
globe
Before dinner l had picked up in
which had never seen before, and
my saying something ahont this turn
ed the conversation in the garde up
| on wild beasts aud the hunting of
| them.
| Some wonderful stories were told.
especially by the ex-sailor, though not
| a bit more wonderful than many one
hears from old Indian sportsmen.
For the matter of that the most
extraordinary sporting story 1 ever
heard was told by hare hunter, who
capped Herewith snake-and ele-
phant narrative, quite unique OF It's
| kind
Presently, a short silence, caused by
| the uncorking and tasting new bot
tie of Hermitage, was broken by the
eldest Of the party, who had net said
much before. He WAS a good looking
man of fifty, with beard gray er th q
his head, and merry twinkle in his
eye. What he said l shall repeat for
| the sake of clearness in the first per
son, just as he told the story himself.
The adventure of which am g.
| ing to tell you, gentlemen, happened
to me good many years ago. 1t was
| my first serious interview with lio1.
Like most serious things it had a
comic side too.
| WAS young man then. and had
been some dozen years in Constantine
farming in partnership with friend
an old cOlonist, whose acquaintance
| had made on board ship while com
ing ont from Marseilles.
Our business was corn and cattle
raising. and we did very well togeth-
er, until my partner died of fever,
and | took dislike to the place. l
thought | would shift my ground in
to this province, Algiers, push toward
the frontier, get a grant of govern
| ment land and make farm of it, So,
getting neighbor to give an eye to
things during ply absence, started
on my prospecting expedlOn.
Il said T. but | should have said
we,' for there were three OF us, sworn
| comrades as ever were.
| First, there Was your humble ser
want; secondly, there was my horse,
Marengo, and a better never looked
through bride. He was bred be
tween Barb sire and an English
mare, belonging to the colonel of
chasseurs Of whom bought him in
town, when his regiment was going
home. He stood about fifteen hands
two carried the Barb head, and the
rest Of his body was all bone and
muscle. His temper was as good as
his courage was high, me he would
follow about like dog, but he had
one failing, and that was an insuper
able objection to the close proximity
of anything. except one thing, that
stood on four legs. We all have our
peculiafities, and this was his. Bi-
peds were all very well, but multiply
the legs by two, and he let fly irnme-
diately, and never missed his aim.
"Such was Marengo
"Thirdly, there was Cognac, the
faithfullest, the most honest, the odd
est and wickedest little dog the world
ever saw. He was more like terrier
than anything else, with short, vel
low coat, a fox's head. very long ears
and very short tail. The shrillness
of his bark pierced your ears like
knife, but the awfulness of his howl
he always howled If left alone-baf
hes description. During the fourteen
years | had him, he seldom left me,
day or night. On journey he would
run beside Inc, and when tired, get up
and sit in my wallet. The great plea
sure of his life was to steal behind
people and secretly bite their legs.
by some mysterious affinity, he
and Marengo were friends from the
first. They now sleep under the same
tree.
We'll, we started, and after going
over a good deal of ground, thought
| had decided on location, and turn
ed my face homeward, My direction
vas by Alma, to strike the great road
that runs under the Atlas eastward
into Constantine.
1T was about eight o'clock one
morning, when | had been about two
hours in the saddle, when | emerged
from a narrow valley, or ravine.
through which the road ran, on to
sandy plain, dotted with bushes and
scrub.
Il bad just laid the reins on Ma
rengos neck, when suddenly he gave
a tremendous shy that pitched me
clean off
The next minute, with a terrible
roar, a lion sprang r ght at his head
II was sure he was on the top of
him, and so he would have been. but,
as Marengo wheeled short around like
lightning on his hind legs, the stream
ing reins caught the brute's forepaw.
and tripped him, SO that he fell side
ways on the road.
The heavy jerk nearly brought the
horse down. but the throat lash broke
and the bride was pulled over his
ears, and, recovering himself, he dart
ed away among a grove of trees that
stood by the wayside.
So intent was the lion on the horse
that he paid no attention to me, lying
| defenceless before him,
Crawling swiftly along the ground
he pursued Marengo, whom gave mp
for lost-for his chance against the
1.-THE brute among the trees seemed
hopeless.
| However, as luck would have it,
there was an open space about a doz-
en- yards across. In the center of
this Marengo took his stand, with his
tail turned toward the lion and his
head turned sharply back over his
shoulde-, watching him.
He stood quite still except for the
slight shifting of his hind feet and
i ~ al