The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1901-08-23
By B. C. Brigham.


IT is greatly in favor of the automo-
bile in South Africa that it is not
subject to the fatal ''horse Sickness"
or to the ravages of the tsetse-fy. AS
yet, however, hOrseless carriages are
not very numerous there. One of the
first was brought into the country bya
young English ranchman, named AL
bert Hill.
In addition to its tank a 2O-gallon
can of gasoline or oil was transported,
which for time added materially to
the weight of the outfit. Hill himself,
however, weighed not more than 116
pounds; and his entire outfit, exclud-
ing fuel, was kept down to less than
so pounds. The young ranchman pos
sessed the nimbleness which is one of
the advantages Oh light weight, and
this agility stood him in good stead, as
will be seen.
There were rivers and creeks to be
crossed where there were no bridges.
Hills method N these exigencies was
to wade across in advance, and pull
the automobile over with line.
A little after sunset cICe evening,
while he was passing beneath some
mabolo-trees, a leopard attempted to
drop upon him, but miscalculated his
speed and landed in the road behind.
The animal was so much disguised,
other with its ill-success, or with the
gaseous odor of the machine, that it
Reaked away without further effort
70 modest the ranchman.
At another time, while he was pass
ihg a swamp which the road skirted, a
hlffalo charged out after him. For
s. yards it was nearly drawn race,
when the motor-carriage showed the
hitter speed and pulled away.
These, however, were but unimpOr-
tint incidents, soon over; the real ad-
1enture of the trip befell Hill after en-
firing Mashonaland. He was now in a
tact of country which was remote
ffom settlers ranches. At a little past
Tbon one day he was crossing kind
# grassy marsh. In the wet season
sich depressions are shallow lakes,
tie shores of which are marked by an
Irregular fringe of m'pame trees. The
Rad was here merely a trail over the
b.aten-down grass, but there were
nfther stones nor logs to obstruct
tie traveller; and the Little Ajax, as
Hill called his small motor-carriage,
vas putting forward at a fair rate of
seed and approaching the fringe of
wood.
CuI1on1ry ha 11n1arhr11cL
ately ahead termed with antlered
heads, and the next moment the soli-
tary scout found himself in the midst
Of a herd of duiker-bok, not fleeing
from him, but rushing upon him, run
ming madly out into the open marsh.
AS many as 200 of the animals dashed
by him as he was passing through the
thin fringe of trees.
In his establishment at this unex-
pected stampede, Hill did not, for the
moment, reflect that the cause of it
must be near at hand; but the cause
disclosed itself promptly. Not 40 yards
away stood a number of large lions
that had evidently been stalking the
dHker-bok. He had hardly taken in
this startling sight, when he heard a
tremendous roar a little way to the
lett, and saw another lion even bigger
tlan the others that had just killed a
BUCK, and was standing over its prey.
There was no time TO unstrap his
eabine, no time for anything. The
in tinct which prompts the locomotive
dryer, when he sees a head-on col
80, oOvoir,rr 70 ch1r4 off
led Hill to give one convulsive shove
at the steering lever and leap clear of
thdvehicle. His idea was to get into
thdfringe of timber and climb tree;
buthe had already passed most of the
tres. The nearest was a large old
trunk that had fallen partly over and
layat an angle of As degrees or less,
its top lodged in another smaller tree
which had arrested its fall. and acted
as ! prop to hold it up. He made a
dasp for this inclined tree, and ran up
IS cr 20 feet to where a large branch
ros vertically. Twisting his body
ninbly around this branch, Hill
glazed back to see what the lions
wee doing.
Luckily for him. they were being
ent.rtained by the motor-carriage
The machine was still going, and
seemed fully 10 occupy their attention
as new and very dubious sort Of
game The movements of the little
autS mobile were somewhat laughable
Thd hard shove TO left which Hill had
givln the steering handle caused the
malhine to describe a vagrant circuit
out on the weld beyond the trees
Thege were thorn-bushes, thin, dry
graIs and numbers of stones in the
Opel; but the Little Ajax was accus-
ton led to such Instructions, and wad-
dlel its gay merriiy over them, de-
scrlbing circle and coming round