The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-15

Francesca al Maria, IN private lire MIS- fran-
cesca Palmer. is one of the new lights of the
New York literary arena, whose works are much
talked about by the critics of that city.
wits. As ii was, felt as If / was going
to be run over by locomotive. / knew it
was useless folly to run, for in a few
strides she would have been upon me.
when L saw her coming 1 stood up
quickly and faced her, threw my gun up to
my shoulder, and fired both barrels at the
base of her coiled-up trunk. in the direction
Of the BRAIN She was within fifteen PAGES
of me when fired, but the laundering re-
port, the smoke and two zinc balls crashing
into her skull close to her brain stopped
her charge. She sheered off suddenly and
rushed into the forest, trumpeting shrilly
once or twice. Directly, there was a grand
crash and q rush in the thicket as the herd
broke away and started off, and that was
the last we saw or cared to see of it.
Then had time to reflect on what might
have been had my caps failed to explode or
my powder been damp.
"Once, when walking on a railway track
in a snowstorm, was very nearly run over
by locomotive coming down a grade in
muffied silence. and my sensations then
were precisely the same as when that old
female elephant came charging down that
grassy slope. The approach of the power
full machine and the living monster seemed
exactly alike"
A few days after this exciting experience,
the hunter fell in suddenly with three black
bears. He shot one, female, left her for
dead, and chased the others. After a hot
pursuit, a second bear was shot and ap-
parently killed. Bear No. was then
pursued, but got away.
Mr.. Hornaday returned to the spot where
he had left bear No. 2, but to his surprise
found no bear there. "I suppose. he con-
cluded,' said the hunter, that he wasn't
dead enough to skin, so he picked himself
up and went about his business
After trying in vain to find him, Mr.. Horn
aday and his native beaters went back to
the place where they had killed the first
of the three bears. BY a remarkable coinci-
dence, that bear was gone also. She hadn't
been dead either, and had gone off, drag
ging her wounded headquarters after her.
Mr.. Hornaday and one of his beaters fol-
lowed her bloody trail, and came suddenly
within twenty feet of her before they
knew IL.
''She saw us first" Mr.. Hornaday said.
she wheeled around and came charging
at US, dragging her headquarters after her.
Her jaws were wide set and her eyes glis-
tened fiercely, while her angry growls told
US that she was desperate and meant mis-
chief My beaten shouted a warning and
then vanished, but L stood still until she got
within ten feet Of me, and then fired at the
center of a yellow crescent on her breast.
That shot finished her..
A FEROCIOUS CROCODILE.
When on the coast of Selangore, East
Indies, Mr.. Hornaday did a new stunt"
as fisherman, which gained for him some
local reputation. With hook and line he
caught a crocodile twelve feet long and
weighing four hundred and fifteen pounds.
Needless to say, 1t was not an ordinary
hook and line. The hook was a, piece of
tough green wood, ten inches long and
sharpened at both ends, so affixed to the
line that it would be swallowed point fore
most, but at the slightest tug would fix
itself crosswise in the crocodile's interior.
The line was made of tough green bark,
which could defy even a crocodiles sharp
teeth, and the bait was the body of a sting
ray.
Naturally, there was trouble when the
crocodile found himself hooked He rushed
to and fro In the narrow muddy creek IN
which he had been caught, plunged vio-
lently. threshing the water into huge waves,
and nearly upset the small canoe from
which Mr.. Hornaday was fishing The creek
was alive with other crocodies. and the
fisherman would have had but a small
it. Luckily. he was not. Presently the
crocodile gave up the fight and suffered
himself to be dragged towards shore by a
number of willing natives. He tried in
vain to escape by diving. until at last q
well-aimed bullet cut his spinal marrow
and ended his sufferings. Few fishermen
have ever made bigger catch.
But 1T IS not a hunter of big game
that Mr. Hornaday is chiefly known AS a
trainer of wild animals and a writer on
animal subjects he is recognized expert
mo. we don't have much serious trouble
with the animals he replied the other
day to an inquiry put to him at the Bronx
Zoo of New York. They rarely or never
escape. There has only been one bad &C.
cident from an escaped animal at this in.
stitution.
do you see these two fingers?'' indicat-
ing the third finger and little finger of hi:
| left hand. They are as useless to me a:
| IL they were amputated. An escaped bear
bit through them. That is one OF the un.
| pleasant little things liable to happen &c
| a man in my line of work"
Mr.. Hornaday thinks nothing of COINS
into a tigers cage 10 inquire about the
| poor beasts tocthache, or into the den OF
| a lioness to see IL she is treating her cubs
properly. He is man of iron nerve and
indomitable will. There is not an ANNA
among the thousands under his charge
which does not, on occasion. recognize his
| mastery. WILLIAM THORP.
Copyright. 1901