Amador ledger., 1905-11-17
AMONG WILD BEASTS.
Crocodiles, Lions and Hippopotaml
Endanger Lives of Railway
Builders in Africa.

= AAA AAAA I(Qs
The building of the bridge at Vic
toria Falls and the Cape to Cairo
Railway has suddenly and necessarily
brought a great many people together
at this spot, where there was previous
ly but an occasional traveller or hunter.
Besides the birds and the butterflies
and the fish, the chief living animals
were lions, elephants, hippopotami,
crocodiles, jackals and hyenas.
The crocodileS were found to be so
numerCuS-aS many as thirty being
seen together sometimes they
have had TO be killed in great numbers
for the safety of the people at work.
One giant saurian killed a man and a
woman, and was itself killed only af-
ter Seizing another man. A native
woman was taking water from the
river when the crocodile knocked her
in with its tail, seized her in its hor-
rid mouth and dragged her away. Her
husband was close by, but was power
less to save her. He determined to
be avenged, however, and for several
nights waited in a canoe with load
ed gun. He, too, disappeared, and it is
thought the crocodile knocked him out
of the canoe as it had knocked his
wife off the bank, and taken him to its
hole.
A week later it got another man, but
instead of taking him into it's hole, it
carried him to an island. Here it's
victim got hold of the reeds and strong
grass, and held on so tightly that the
crocodile could not get away with him.
OF course he screamed with all his
might, and a gang of men with crow
bars went to rescue him. This they
succeeded in doing, and also in Staying
the dangerous monster. These croco-
diles are so ravenous that it is not pos
sible even to keep dogs with safety,
and parents living near the river are
in constant dread of losing their chill
dren.
A Lion Terror.
One of the lions killed had also filed
up the measure of it's iniquity ere it
met it's doom. The scene of it's depre-
dations was native village some dis
tance north of the Falls. The native
huts are very slender, being built
mainly of reeds. In such hut a wo-
man was sitting when the lion pushed
aside the door, walked in and seized
her, carrying her away to his lair in
| the dense bush. Then he had an OK.
This was in the enclosure with other
cattle and donkeys.
The lion, failing to get into the en-
closure, SO frightened the animals with
his attempts that they rushed in hud-
died, terrified mass from end to end,
and their weight upon the palisading
broke it down. They rushed out
through the opening, which was just
what the lion wanted, for he had now
nothing to do but to take his choice.
After the OK, he selected a donkey on
his next visit, and then a sheep, and
finally another OK. At last the natives
became panic stricken until some white
men reassured them, telling them they.
would sit up all night for the lion and
shoot him. The lion came and got
away with another OK, for the white
men, tired with the watch, had fallen
asleep. However, they were able to
track him.
| 1t was important that having prom
ised to kill the lion they should do SO,
for that is the secret of the white
mans power over the native-never tc
break his word. So they set off to thc
thick bush half a mile away, whittier
| the lions tracks led them. There the.
came upon him and killed him wit
one bullet, that entered the right nos
tril. This was what big game hunt
ers consider a good kill, as the bullet
did not disfgure the lion nor injure
his skin. Near by was the carcass OF
an OK, and little further in the bush,
in a sort. of tunnel Of impenetrable
thorn, were the gnawed bones-the re-
mains of some of his former victims.
Tame Baby Hippopotamus.
A young hippopotamus, riding on its
mothers back when she was shot, was
saved and cared for by one of the
men. These animals are very danger
Gus to canoe men, for in returning to
the surface to blow they often come
up right under the canoe and upset it.
Sometimes they give chase to canoes,
and then the native paddlers do all
they can to reach the bank, unless a