The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1900-05-26
TALES OF PLUCK
And ADVENTURE.
BesieSed by Lions.
ION-HUNTING is dangerol

enough Wueu tuc uuhloA D
/ health and strength are Of
the best. But an inveterate
sportsman does not regard conse-
quences, and the author of ''Sport in
East Central Africa" gives an account
of q foolhardy adventure which he
seems to have enjoyed. He was i'll
with fever in q little settlement OF
blacks, but since lions were IN the
ne:ghbSrnood he must needs insist
upon having the carcass Of q boar
placed as bait not far from his hut;
and although his legs were too weak
to allow him to walk dozen steps,
he had himself propped against the
door jamp, aud laid his double-bar-
relied rifle across his knees.
1t was nearly l o'clock, he says,
when the lions gave notice OF their
whereabouts. / heard the heavy
grunting sighs CT three or four of
them as they moved about in the
scrub two hundred yards away. Then
followed series of rushes, as they
leaped down the bank of the creek
and Tapped noisily at the water.
Next came terrified voice from q
neighboring hut.
ssWhite man, we are going" he
said, and the "boys" rushed peli-mell
from their shelter, some passing IN
front of me, others behind me, max
ing for a grove of :rees.
| Scarcely had the first Of them got
we'll outside the hpts, before it seemed
as if a lion were right among them, as,
with deep, savage grunts, it dashed
past my but, bounding through the
scrub in close pursuit.
Suddenly yell rang out from the
darkness, and I was convinced that
one OF my blacks was being devoured;
but i was too weak to stand, and was
powerless to act.
After some further noise and con-
fusion, I heard lion treading over
the dead leaves near by. Then came
prolonged mufled sound, half roar,
half moan, uttered in a deep voice,
which under the circumstances, !
recognized as profoundly musical.
Then there was heavy but silent
football as the beast walked to the
back of my hut, and thrusting his
nose among the thatched grass,
| shifted loudly, till I could see the
lighter stalks stirring with his breath
and hear the rustling, when he en-,
desSfcrecclL tsc5;nsessff g ia paw between th1
!, interstiees of the wattles. s,-ess-e--
Each instant I expected the Who'll
structure to collapse, but luckily tn
!. beast forebore to take mean adVan
tage, which would have secured M
destruction. I should have fred, ba
I not been afraid of setting fire to tn
hut.
At length the brutes cleared out
uttering deep growls. They had de
!. stroyed one hut and pretty muc
ruined two more, not to speak Q
smashing the hut next to mine, whlc
contained all my stores. I could hea
them there, making terrific noise
snufing, grunting and snarling, break
ing sticks and clanking metal, whl!
every now and then one would lea
down the bank into the water an
then como tearing back, breathin
heavily and growing low. Yet not
whisker hair did one of them show i
the freight in front OF me.
The excitement did me good. TIL
next morning I was up and about /
paiamas and an ulster. Not one c
the boys had been injured, althoug
one had had marvellous escape. Th
lions were close upon him as h
reached q tree. He sprang at
branch, and in his terror seized tn
leg of another black who had clam
bered up before him. Fearing les
he, too, should fall into the lion
nav, the other fellow kicked his lie
clear, so that the unfortunate fugitiv
fell to the ground, uttering the yell
had heard.
Why the nearest lion did not seiz
him, I cannot say. The boy explaine
that it merely growled as he scram
bled to his feet and climbed up an
other tree as fast as his black leg
could shin.