The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-08-03
WORKING AMONG WILD BEASTS.

Crocodiles. Lions and Rippopotamuses
Endangers Lives of Railway Builders.
The building of the bridge at Vic
toria Falls and the Cape to Carlo
railwcy has suddenly and necessarily
brolght a great many people together
at this spot, where there were previous
ly no houses, and, indeed, no one but
an occasional traveller or hunter. Be-
sides the birds and the butterflies and
the fish, the chief living animals were
lions and elephants and hippopotanius-
es and crocodiIes and jackals and hye-
mas.
The crocodiles were found to be so
numerOUs-as many as theirty being
seen together sometimes-that they
have had to be killed in great numbers
for the safety of the people at work.
One is known to have killed a man and
woman, and was itself only killed
after it had seized another man. A
native woman was taking water from
the river when the crocodile knocked
her in with it's tail, seized her in it's
horried mouth and dragged her away.
Her husband was close by but was
powerless to save her. He determined
to be avenged, however, and for sew
eral nights waited in i canoe with a
loaded gun. He too disappeared, and
it is though that the crocodile knock
cd him out of the canoe as it had
knocked his wife off the bankand took
him into it's hole under the bank.
A week later it got another man, but
instead of taking him into its hole it
carried him to an island. Here its
victim got hold of the reeds and strong
grass, and held on so lightly that the
crocodile could not get away with him.
Of course he Screamed with all his
might, and gang of men with crow
bars went to rescue him. This they
succeeded in doing, and also in STAY
ing, the dangerous monster. These
crocodiles are so ravenous that it Is not
possible even to keep dogs with safety,
and parents living near the river are
! in constant dread of losing their chill
| dren.
] One of the lions killed had also fill
ed up the measure of it's iniquity ere
| it met its doom. The scene of its de-
| probation was a native village some
distance north of the falls. The ma
| tive huts are very slender, being built
| mainly of reeds, In such hut wo-
man was sitting, when the lion pushed
aside the door, walked in, seized her,
carrying her away to his lair in the
dense bush. Then he had an OK. This
VISA in the enclosure with other cattle
and donkeys.
The lion, failing to- get into the en-
! closure. so frightened the animals
| with his attmpts that they rushed in a
| huddled, terrified mass from end to
end and their weight upon the palisad-
! ing broke it down. They rushed out
through the opening, which was just
what the lion wanted. for he had now
nothing to do but take his choice, AT
ter the OK he selected a donkey on his
next visit, and then a sheep, and final
ly another OK. At last the natives be-
came panicstricken until some while
men treasured them, telling them they
would sit up ali night for the lion and
shoot him. The lion came and got away
with another OK, for thG white men,
unable to keep awake, had fallen asleep
However they were able to track him.
1t was important that having promis-
ed to kill the lion they should do so, for
that is the secret of the white mans
power over the natives-never to break
his word. So they set off to the thick
brush half a mile away. whittier the
lions tracks led them. There they came
upon him and killed him with one bull
let, that entered the right nostril. This
was what big game hunters consider
a good kill, as the bullet did not dis
figure the lion nor injure his skin.
Near by was the carcass Of an OK and
little further in the bush, in a sort
Of impenetrable thorn, We're gnawed
bones-the remains of some Of his
former victims.
A young hippipotamus, riding on It's
mothers back when she was shot, was
saved and cared for by one of the men
These animals are very dangerous to