Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-06-27

astonishing telegram from the babu al
Simba:
"A lion has been bothering me TO,
three nights. 1t comes up on the sta
ton platform and goes To sleep. Their
he walks up and down, scratches or
the wall and door and tries TO get into
the office. Please send cartridges or a
Snyder rifle by the first train for my
protection. l have blank cartridges
but they are Of no use against lions.
This profound observation has the
earmarks OF sober truth, whether the
hon desired to buy a ticket or whether
a fellow feeling for the lonesome babu
induced him to try to cultivate his ac-
auaintance is not known. but it is quite
certain that blank cartridges were not
appropriate ammunition and that ball
cartridges were in demand.
1t Is to be supposed that they were
promptly supplied but if so they did
not make a deep impression upon the
lions, for in August another hair-rais-
| ing telegram reached the traffic man
ager, as follows:
August II. As a. m.
Urgent To the traffic manager:
"A lion is on the platform. Please
instruct guard and driver (engineer) to
| proceed carefully and to make no sig
| nails In the yard. Tell the guard to
advise passengers not to get out here
and to be very careful himself when
he comes into the office"
1t is not quite certain whether the
babu was chiefly soicitous for the
safety of the guard or whether he
/ q N i,ybt To. nd
vantage of the open door to come into
the office. However, this may be- the
/ distress signal from Simba had the inn
mediate results Of starting a British
| sportsman in that direction.
| The first animal he saw was lion
ess that came walking out of the scrub.
| very likely for the purpose of quench-
| ing her thirst at the little stream that
was leaking from the tank. When she
| was within about $50 feet of the plat
| form the hunter put a cordite bullet
into her and stretched her on the
ground.
The hunter did not leave his perch,
for he thought that something more
would be doing. He was not mistaken
little later two lions came out of
the high grass and were soon in great
mental distress over the strange atti-
tude of the dead female.
Just then a bullet ended the life of
one of the brutes. and the other.
wounded by the second. sprang into
the bush.
For half an hour the sportsman
awaited on the platform any signs of
life in the bushes, but detecting no
movement he descended from his perch.
He had hardly reached terra firma.
however, before the wounded lion burst
out of the scrub and struck the hunter
blow with its paw which tore tne
flesh from his arm to the bone The
hunter was knocked to the ground,
and the lion, which was evidently
growing weaker, rolled over on the
grass and then dragged itself back into
the bush. where its dead body was
found a little later
The hunter gave up watching Tor
lions and sought hospital at the coast
and the poor babu was left again in ths
wilderness. not exactly monarch OF all
he surveyed. He told the train hands
every day that he could not sleep
nights and his nerves were badly shak-
en-.
There was nothing doing, however, FOR
several weeks after the great day when
three lions had been laid low within
few rods of the station. Then came
another nervous telegram:
Extra Urgent Track hand was sur
rounded by two lions while returning
from signal box. He climbed tele-
graph pole near the water tank. He IS
up there yet. Order train to stop there
and take him aboard. The traffic man
ager will please make necessary ar
rangements.'
The trackman succeeded In reaching
the station before relief arrived. For
several days the telegraph wire was
burdened only with routine dispatches.
Then another episode was proclaimed
in the following shape:
'To the Guard and Driver of Down
Train-Carriage of secretary is on the
siding where he shot a lion just now,
and others are roaring OH Makindu
side Driver must proceed without
signals and stop engine opposite sta
ton. Guard must not get out of the
brake van"
Later advices have not yet come to
hand, but if any station master is find
ing life monotonous and longs to have
a dull routine peppered with incident
and adventure, perhaps he may ar
range to swap jobs with the babu at
Simba.