The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-06-03
! II
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ludl StuSIdl uCIuOo
of lion hunting.
Two of my men got badly mauled by
a lion, so our camp had to stop where
it was till they could be moved. After
a time one of them was able to walk
about with his arm in a sling. and the
other was getting on we'll. so one night
! decided to leave the big camp next
day and go with two or three camels
to some villages only days march
away. Early the next morning Ma
homed Moor. the headman, started
with the camels. l stopped behind to
get some breakfast. Just as We were
going to follow, a camelman, who had
gone up the river-bed close by to get
some water. came running back to say
that q lion had been down to drink
at one of the shallow sand wells in the
night. / started at once with Abdul.
lah and two other trackers. telling my
pony-boy to follow on as soon as he
could get the pony saddled. When
tracking. have always found 1t the
best plan to have the pony led some
distance behind. The boy ought to
have no difficulty in following the
tracks of two or three men and
, lion, and If the pony Is kept close
up, it Is sure to stamp or blow its
nose at the critical moment.
When we got to the well there was
the spoor plain enough in the sand.
but rather blurred by some rain which
had fallen at daybreak. This made
the tracking a little difficult after we
left the river-bed, but when we had
followed it slowly for some distance,
we came to a place where the lion had
lain down under a thick bush. evi.
dently to shelter from the rain, as the
spoor after this was quiet distinct on
the top of the damp ground. This
made us think we were in for short
track, for it must have been light
when the lion went on again from
here, and lions generally lie up short
ly after the sun rises; but this day
proved an exception. because 1t was
cloudy and cool through the forenoon.
Trailing the King OF Beasts.
The spoor now led us along a sandy
path, where we could follow 1t as fast
as we could walk When it turned on
into the bush we quite expected to see
the lion at any moment; but not bit
of it-he wandered about through
endless clumps of mimosa a-d ''irgin"
bushes. as II he did not mean to lie
up at all.
The track at last ed us down .
little sandy watercourse. which 1t fol-
lowed for some distance. Up to this
time we had had no real dimculty
in making 1t out. but now came our
FIRST serious check. The nullah turned
of along the side Of Q stony ridge.
and, instead of going along 1t. the
lion had turned up the hill. We had
got the general direction tn" the lion
had been going in. but this was no
good to US. as on casting forward in
the same line to the bottom OF the
other side of the ridge whore there
was some sandy ground. we could ind
no sign of his having passed in that
direction. We spent some time hunt
ing about. growing less hopeful a.
time went on. A man following q
trail by sight certainly has an enor-
NOUS advantage over hound hunting
1t by nose, UcCduSO tiiuc tS Oh 40
particular object to him. and every
direction can be tried in turn. After
making out cast forward we went
back to the little water-course. and
followed that down for some distance.
hoping that the lion had turned down
hill again; but here. too. we were dis
appointed. and gravitated back to
where we had first lost the spoor. We
knew that the lion had not gone
straight on. nor had he turned back:
he must have gone along the top Of
the ridge and then crossed into other
stony hills where is was hopeless to
try to track him.
ltdullah. who is never defeated.
said there was big river-bed further
on in the direction In which the lion
was going. 1t seemed very slender
chance. as he might have turned on
anywhere in between, but 1t was the
only one, SO OF we went. We were
evidently in luck that day. for we had
only gone about quarter Of mile
when we struck the spoor, The Hon