The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-02-12
PACED BY A LION.
A wheelman Makes Great Speed TO
About Two Miles.

rode on my bicycle from Blantyre on
Monday afternoon, August o. and reached
Mr. Strouds fMrs. Bunees AGENT before
the sun went down and after waiting for
few minutes started again, just after sum
set BY the time 1 got to the Namazi
crossing (where my private road crosses
the Blantyre- Zombra main road-beyond
Mr. Morkel,s plantation) it had got quite
dark except for a little light the new moon
was giving. The main road has only just
recently been made and is quite soft ana
lumpy, besides being very steep for at least
half its length The rest of 1t is fairly
level, but none of it is in a condition 1of
cycling except the portion which extends
from my first plantation to my mousse
which was made some time ago, and is now
nice and hard, says a writer in the BRUSH
Central Africa Gazette.
When l left the main road l dismounted
and started pushing my bicycle up the hill,
but before 1 had gone far l heard heaVy
body pushing its way through the bush on
my left l thought it was some big game,
possibly an Gland or buffalo, but as lett
a certain amount of uneasiness l went to
the other side of the road and pushed away
quickly as | could. When l had gone
a short distance up the slope looked
around and almost had fit when l saw
fullgrown lion standing across the road,
broadside on, with his head turned toward
me, and as l looked he started in pursuit. I
attempted to mount my machine, but ow-
ing to the slope and my excitement l
failed twice. The third time / succeeded in
getting away and l did pedal for all l was
worth, but the machine kept wabbling
across the road and l saw that the lion
had lessened the distance between US by
about half, though l was still fifty yards
from the top of the slope. He kept up a
low growing all the time and could hear
him more and more distinctly every time
as he still lessened the distance between
us. I think 1 could easily have outstripped
him If it had been level. but the machine
kept up rattle, rattle over the inequali-
ties in the road and once or twice l was
almost thrown off, / did not dare to look
back, indeed, there was no need, as the
growl plainly told me that he was almost
on me, but at last [ reached the crest ana
flew down the opposite slope. l then sud
dendly remembered that there was an open
culvert across the road some 200 yards
ahead, but there was no time to dismount,
so 1 rode 1t and the shock flung me high
out of the saddle, but 1 fell back on 1t
without being knocked off. Fortunately
the side of the drain next the hill was
high and the opposite side low, so that the
machine was not stuck in the culvert and
though the front fork was twisted and the
front wheel grated against 1t, 1t was not
quite damned and l was able to ride on.
When l reached the smooth part of the
road near my first plantation | was able
to get up a good rate of speed, but 1 no
longer heard the growl in the rear. -
Next morning went back along the road
and l found the lion had come as far as
the cuvert and had there come to a stand
The chase, therefore, lasted along the
whole road from the main line through the
forest to my house, a distance of about
two miles.