New-York tribune., 1901-03-03
THREE LIONS AND 4 MlN.
HOW \ BICYCLE HELPED TO SAVE THE
FUGITINE'S LIFE
From The Rhodesia Herald.

From The Rhodesia Herald.
II falls to the lot Of but few men to come
50 near TO a violent death ard yet escape un-
harmed the with J. \. Smith. who
bad been working 4 mechanical engineer at
the lnez. Having finished the work FOR which
he had been engaged, he left the IneZ, intending
To cycle into Salisbury. stopping for couple
OF days at the Great Bear He left the latter
place for GadZima, travelling along the line Of
railway extension. on reaching the spot where
the line crosses the Umfuli River he found. as
the bridge is not yet erected. that he would have
10 round by the deviation and cross at the
, railway drift. This necessitated wading through
the river and carrying the bicycle. on reaching
the level again he put his machine down in
order To resume his boots and socks. and. feeling
rather fatigued after his cXertions. stayed for
brief rest While enjoying the rest has attention
drawn by a troop of very fine sahla-tWo
magnificent bulls and three cows making their
way up from the other side II the river in the
direction Of a fringe of forest beyond Feeling
sufficiently refreshed. he picked up his machine
preparatory To starting aEain for GadZlnla
which he wished 70 raach before il became dark.
The next moment Afr. Smith received a shock
which h. viii not forget for many long day.
About fifty yards a"ay. and slightly 20 his right
Were three lions 50 intent On stalking the sable
that they We're not looking in his diTeCtioul
II was an awkward position. 10 say ~ least
and for a brief space h. stood Ike one p-tr.tiei.
hut. although his limbs for a moment were
numb, his mind was active enough The largest
Of the three was a hug, black NAMED ilou the
second was Noness. while the third was
almost fun grown cub The latter was the first
10 observe Alr. Smith. and, utterinS low Erowl
made for IN" unhappy man. who. dropping his
bicycle. stayed not IA Tn. order of his going but
went for = friendly tree at top speed He had
just time tu notice that the parent lions had
started in the wake of their young hopeful
the sight. as may DE Imagined. only serving 10
accelerate his pace. The tree was bat short
distance away. but 10 the hunted Il appeared a
mile expecting every second 20 De struck down
II was destitute of branches for about ten feet
up, aVG n1w hc nauac,,! 10 climb il AZ All Will
forever remain r-ystr~y 20 him. Just as he
. thought himself safe, however Their. yyls a
f.-rH fH4 H. b afys.f ;. >
. feeling that he was being 2ragt q n the tree
The lion. outStripplrs D. S mate in the chase had
made his spring. missing has quarry hy = feN
inches only Even AS l. vas his claws tore
away the greater part ~ Mr Smiths trousers
and Infl'ttt several fairly deep Strateh hes-a
narrow escape Indeed Exhausted ard r:4atinr
streaming out ~ h.ia. he managed &. iraN him
s-lf lp INTO comparative security. anI here for
HeariS an hour Dr. reia..n' la this dreadful posi-
l'"h' NhAr ihe laiii"d non. r"W 5aIued 10y the
lioneSs, RACED below. every now and a--aiu max
ing frantic springs when their f-ud breath
came 50 uuUl"asautly .ar 10 almost bring
~ nausea The tree il should b. mentioned
"i.5 small m1Ionda, about eighteen feet high
A. hist Mr- smith could not uu !ers;aud what
MN 'ist. ana hGt iHr the taCt mat ne was not
IA i position t. appreciate tn- hGuor If the
Ih'nS. he witnessed si-nt which must have
l'-h ''in'cul m the extreme. though To il alone
D" D. nriuly convinced. hs If. was tIe It
seems that Leo Junior stopped halfway To- ,-x-
anime the bi-yc.. which had hseu i,Iu.. down
was siiH revolving TINS arrested the young
.i"n.s attention. and, like -hi.i wth new toy
a. turned aside To .>alH.u- this Hl...- gIe-
r"me"an- Cautiously giving jt q Pat ,yifh one
80 his huge uaNr. vhj.t .nly made ii =, round
faster his &oI--r increased. and hc sat down
~ lis haDI Hrs. --.l4.u- IL -..tu % n Uuzzlrd
air and no. for some tr0a 4it he Join IN. parent
couple at the foot ~ 'h. tree. but not until he
lad mount 3" the machine considar4n nIy and
L.. st-d TIE Hari'rbrr. During he tenure OF
ms unpleasant perch Mr.. smith cast many
Wistfui ulaH'eF the direction = his double
iarr-iird gun. which was strapped 10 lis bicycle
hut il miEht well have been burdre, miles
away lie cast his eyes about in order o. dis
cover some place f retreat as soon as the lions
should retire. and. 10 his great jog. saw a hut
some three hundred yards away. Just before
dark his CartoIs BEGAN - pay less attention to
him, and scentinE the sable again in the vicinity
ty tho aid oi a strong breeze, they left after
about three quarters IF an hour. 10 the extreme
relief of their unfortunate prisoner. After wait
ing for about half an hour, until every thing
was quiet. h. cautiously descended and not
daring TO go back for his gun fearfully made
his way To the hut referred to. making cu k
sprints from tree to tree. There vas no roof
ana the hut was but nimsy structure but,
after making the entrance secure as possible.
and knlHng big fire. he soon dropped off 10
sleep. At iagbretk ne able to resume his
journey. eventually reaching GadZima and Sails
bury little the worse. beyond a very natural ner-
vous shock. for his thrilling experience.