Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-11-12
TRACKING A LION.
Feat of an East African Native
Huntino With Wanderobo Tribe.

IHASNiNS ~ EiS"
Feat of an East African Native
Hunting With Wanderobo Tribe.
In British East Africa the Wenderobo
people are outcasts from other tribes
who have taken to the forest. They
are to be met with in bands about nifty
strong and build small manpataia, or
huts. the whole tribe comprising about
200 or 800 in all within radius OF
about thirty miles. The majority have
wives and own packs Of dogs. Their
arms consist of bows and arrows ana
a short heavy sword called a semi The
bows are about five feet in height, the
strings are composed Of sinews out OF
game, while the arrows are about three
feet In length, Terminated with a barb
ed tin of iron smeared with poison.
They live almost entirely on meat
and honey and generally hunt sinsly
or In pairs, the old men as q rule re-
naming in camp. They leave at break
of day before the children are awake,
as It is reckoned bad luck IL a oapy
cries when the hunter is leaving, and
nine times out Of ten they will not go
out after a child has cried. About p.
m. they return home with the spoils OF
the chase, which they willingly share
These Wanderobo folk are very wild
and will not admit any stranger into
their camp. Having heard rumors
about them determined to try and
find them, being well acquainted with
the part Of the country in which they
lived. writes a correspondent OF the
Field. While resting in the forest /
heard one Of them following honey
bird, so waited for him and seizing my
opportunity sprang out and captured
him. He fought and bit and struggled
to get away and 1t took me some time
to explain that I wanted to be friends
with him. At last l quieted him and
persuaded him to show me where the
others were encamped. When we
reached the spot there was rush for
arms and / was within an ace Of hav-
ing an arrow sent through me, but as
/ spoke their language 1 soon got them
to crowd around me.
Then gave the women and children
some colored beads and the men some
iron wire for arrow heads and to some
of the old men I gave blankets. l had
some fat oxen with me, for my real
mission was to trade for ivory, so
killed one and gave them the meat,
which put them all at ease. told them
/ had come to shoot lions, and then,
when they promised to show me some
in the morning. we turned IN.
They were ready at in the morning,
and informed me that there was an old
"maneater'' in the neighborhood and
that he had killed three people out OF
their camp. We accordingly started
out to look for him. After travelling
for about four miles we began to see
plenty Of game. I shot a couple Of topi,
and left some of the old men who had
come with Us to skin them and take
the meat back for the women and chill
dren. Then they spotted some vultures
in the air, and told me that that meant
there were lions on the hill. Three
started ahead, and We followed. All at
once one Of the leaders beckoned me
to come on. He told me to follow
quietly, as there were lions ahead. He
led me up to the other two men, who
were crouching in the grass, and they
pointed out two lions at a distance of
about fifty yards feeding on a female
waterbuck.
They heard me, and sprang in front
of the carcass, giving me splendid
shot. let the first lion have botn bar
rels of my 500 Express and he went
down. The other tried to make for the
bush, but as he ran / stopped him with
a bullet in the hindquarters, when he
turned and came straight at us. The
Wanderobo had their bows ready
strung, and just as 1 fired they released
their arrows. My shot broke a foreleg,
but the lion was Immediately riddled
with arrows. He seemed just to draw
up and then expired. l had no idea
their poison was so deadly. They took
off the skins and we started back to
camp. On the way l killed fine wa
terbuck, and found on measuring the
horns that they taped "a inches. The
natives were delighted with the meat,
of which they never seemed to have
enough.
I turned in about II o'clock feeling
pretty tired, but had only just closed
nv eyes when heard frightful screams
and shouts. My first thoughts were
that the Wanderobo were about to at
tack me, and as l was lying down in
nv clothes / seized the rifle and went
outside the tent. The noise was at the
huts. and I proceeded thence, shouting
all the time and asking what was the
matter. They informed me that the
"maneater" had carried off a girl. i
proposed that we should get firebrands
and endeavor to find him. So the wo-
men carried flaming sticks, and we
searched till about o'clock In the
morning, but without success. l then
returned and had some coffee, deter
mined as soon as 1t was light to con-
tinue the search till we found the lion.
AS soon therefore as daylight appeared
we picked up the trail
The Wanderobo are the most wonder
full trackers in the world. Those who
have tried tracking know how difficult
II is to follow a trail with The wind