Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1909-05-21

| Ellnl SuQOenly SelZeQ my arm, point
ing the rifle he carried into the bas,
of the bush and hissed; See! See
The lion! Shoot him! Spring"
'Once more l must admit that couIG
see nothing. Strain my eyes as
would, l could distinguish nothing like
lion in that bush. | decided rather
recklessly, and perhaps from some
sense of shame that a black mar
should be so superior in eyesight, tt
| fire. There was no mistaking the re.
| sponSe-a growl more savage than
ever had heard in my life before. |
also saw through the thick smoke the
| electric CONFUSION with Which the
beast pulled itself together for a
spring. The movement disclosed the
position of the head and shoulder, and
put the second bullet well in behind
the shoulder. The beast. still growl-
Ing, but mOrtally sick, craWled out be-
yond. I now saw it was a lioness.
Elmi handed me the 45, and third
bullet. raking forward from the stern,
stretched her among the grass.
'While rushing forward to examine
the beast and in the excitement Of the
moment utterly forgetting the second
lion in the other bush, now behind us,
l was promptly reminded by shouts
and two rapidly fired shots in that di-
rection. Turning round. was just in
time to see this beast, also Iioness,
bound out toward me, a yellow streak,
from the thick covert, growing and
snarling. l remember seeing her white
teeth as she pommancad annt har prowI
she was only twenty yards away
but that movement was her last. A
Paradox ball on the shoulder dropped
her from our sight
"While Elmi and I were thus occu-
pied we had heard several rifle shots
away on our right. 1t now transpired
that third liOness had also been Sc
cured by the guns who had gone off
In that direction. All three lionesses
were dragged out of the covert by our
boys and laid in row on the grass
outside, where a scene of indescriba-
BILE excitement ensued, the niggers
dancing and jumping around the dead
beasts to an accompaniment of shrieks
beating Of tomtoms and other fear
some Instruments, including biscuit
tins"
In the open the hunter continually
uses his powerful fieldglasses in seek
ing game, and at times he discovers a
lion that may be approached by
means Of. bush stalking-that is, by
warily stealing close enough to him to
secure a shot. But to insure success
the animal must not be disturbed, and
difficulties arise. The shift
ing winds and numerous small fowl
and animals that start up noisily from
serve to warn the intended
prey. By getting so that the wind
blows from the lion toward the hunter.
or nearly so. the animal does not detect
the hunters scent. but the variable
African breeZes frequently put the
hunter to windward, and the lion
quickly discovers his enemy's pres
ence. Bush stalking Is usually en-
ployed in antelope hunting.
Deep ravines are Il favorite shelter
Of lions during the rainy seasons. Out
lying rock koppieS around the noun
tains of Uganda are during these sea-
sons also popular retreats. The lions
lie outside their caves by day on
shelves Of rock and have two outside
beds, so that when the overpowering
sun makes one bed too hot
they change to the other, so chosen as
to be more shaded at that period. In
the dry season they find enough shell
ter in the grass and reed beds or
among the heavy canes. When the
ions are out Of their rocky diurnal
lairs and in the open veldt pursuit of
them is greatly assisted by having
capable mounts on hand-mounts the
tsetse fly has overlooked. Lions, find
Ing that they cannot catch or escape
from horsemen in the open. will
crouch, awaiting attack, and thus af-
ford a target
Veteran hunters have learned to
watch other animals during lion hunts
for indications of the latter's presence.
For instance if herd of grazing an
.elopes is divided, the divisions feeding
On both sides Of an open stretch of IA |
vorable ground, they often find that |
the open space is a zone through |
which lions scent is blowing, denot- |
ing the beasts close presence to wind |
ward. Mounted Somali warriors are |
often used to scout the rolling country |
For lion tracks.
East African lions show a marked |
to mounted men, arising |
probably from the advantage given by |
the horses speed. They will attack |
men when unmolested and |
when the circumstances would war
ant their avoiding unmounted men |
Until attacked. Recently a few miles |
lorth of Lake Isolt, which Mr.. Roose-
Telt will pass, lion sprang from a
lump Of bushes upon a mounted Eng
threw the officer and his pony to the
ground, breaking the pony's back, and |
hen killed the other man, tearing |
away his face. The Englishman killed |
he lion with two hollow pointed lead |
,lugs from 40 Express.
Hunters often trace lions by means
If the musky odor Of places where the |
beasts have stayed for a period, but |
sometimes they are aggravatingly de- |
,eived by an aromatic shrub that fills |
he air with an odor practically indis-
from lion scent.
AS lion when unable to finish it's
)rey at one meal often returns to it
he following day, this habit is some
lines taken advantage of when a
freshly killed animal bearing lions
marks is discovered. A trap gun is
,et, arranged by attaching a piece of |
string TO the trigger of an ordinary