The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-04-25
Episodes in the Career sl
of Gordon Cumming,
Greatest of Lion Hunters
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extreme peril.
when the lloness sprang on Coles
berg. l stood out from the horse.
ready w!th my second barrel for the
first chance she should give me of q
clear shot; this she quickly did, for
seemingly satisfied with the revenge
she had taken she quilted Colesberg,
and turning her tail to one side,
trotted sulkily past within few
PAGES of me. Taking one step to the
left. pitched my rife to my shoulder
and in another second the lioness was
stretched on the plain"
One dark windy night on the Linn
popo River a terrible tragedy hap
pened in his camp. The appalling
roar of lion was heard, followed by
the shrieking of Hottentots, then one
of them, Stofolus, rushed up to his
masters wagon shieking out, ~The
lion! The lion! He has got Hem
drick. Hendrick is deadr 1t was
too true. Hendrick, Cummings
most trusty Hotteutot. had been
seized by the camp fire and carried
off. They did what they could, but
on such a night, pitch dark and
windy, little could be attempted.
The dogs were encouraged to attack
the dangerous brute, but the lion re-
peatedly drove them off, and, safe In
his bushy lair, actually devoured the
unfortunate man within fifty yards of
the camp. "As day broke" says
Cumming, "we heard the lion drag
glng something up the river side, un-
der cover of the bank, and we pro-
ceeded to inspect the scene of the
nights awful tragedy. In the hollow,
where the beast had consumed its
prey, we found one leg of the unfor-
tunate Hendrick. bitten off below the
knee, the shoe still on his foot; the
grass and bushes were all stained
with blood, and fragments of his pea
coat lay around. Poor Hendrick! l
knew that old coat, and had often
seen some of its shreds in the dense
coverts where the elephants had
charged after my unfortunate after
rider. Hendrick was by far the best
man had-of a most cheerful dispo-
less in the field, very active, willing
and obliging, and his loss to us all
was very serious. l felt sick at heart,
and could not remain at the wagons,
so l resolved to go after the elephants
to divert my mind" Gordon Cum
ming shot an elephant and returned
to camp two hours before sunset;
then he orders horses to be saddled
and goes in search of the man-eater.
The lion had taken covert in some
reeds, and the dogs were sent in to
dislodge him. He held up the river
bank, but presently turned and stood
at bay. "As / approached, says
Cumming, ats horrid head was to
me, his jaws open. growing flercely
and his tail waving from side to side.
"On beholding the brute my blooe
boiled with rage. and setting my
teeth l dashed my steed forward
within thirty yards of him and shout
ing, Your time is up, old fellow
placed my rifle to my shoulder and
waited for a broadside. This the
next moment he exposed, when l sent
bullet through his shoulder and
dropped him on the spot, he again
rose, but finished him with a second
in the breast. The natives now came
up in wonder and delight, and order
ing John to cut off his head and fore
paws and bring them to the wagons,
l mounted my horse and galloped
home, having been absent about
| fifteen minutes. When the Bakala-
hari women heard that the man-eater
was dead they danced for joy, calling
me their father Thus was poor
Hendrick avenged"
Fear, however, was thing abso.
lutely unknown to such q man. He
would tackle anything living. The
great python of Africa is not the kind
of creature that the average man
cares about handling in the wild
state. A fearsome looking serpent.
having great constructive power and
attaining as much as twenty feet In
length, 1t is far from an attractive
object in natural history. Yet Cum
ming once seized one of these mon.
sters by the tail just as it was enter.
ing a crevice beneath a mass of rock,
and getting rawhide thong round
the middle of its body tugged at II
with the aid of his Hottentot Klein.
boy until the reptile relaxed its hold.
The snake suddenly springing out at
them open-jawed. snapped within a
foot of their legs. Releasing his hold
Cumming quickly overlook the mon
ster and belaboring its head with a
big bough, presently killed him.
Forest and Stream