The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-06-09

yards Of the right hand bush. vher
Elmi suddenly seized my arm, point
ing the rife he carried into the base
Of the bush and Kissed: See! See
The lion! Shoot him! Spring.
"Once more I must admit that I could
see nothing. Strain my eyes as !
would, l could distinguish nothing like
a lion in that bush. I decided rather
vecklessly, and perhaps from some
sense Of shame that a black man
should be 20 superior in eyesight, to
fire. There was no mistaking the re-
sponse-a growl o savage than !
ever had beard in my life before. I
also saw through the thick smoke the
electric CONFUSION with which the
beast pulled itself together for q
spring. The movement disclosed the
position Of the head and shoulder, and
I 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 As, and q 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,
I was promptly reminded by shouts
and two rapidly fired shots In that d.
.ection. Turning round. I was just in
time to see this beast, also a lioness,
bound out toward me, a yellow streak,
from the thick covert, growing and
snarling. I remember seeing her white
teeth as she commenced another growl
she was only twenty yards away
but that movement was her last. A
Paradox ball on the shoulder dropped
her from u sight.
while Elmi and I were thus occu-
pied we had heard several rife shots
away on u right. It now transpired
that a third lioness had also been Sc
cured by the guns who had gone off
In that direction. All three l~ionesses
were dragged out of the covert by our
boys and laid in q row on the grass
outside, where a Gene 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 feldglasses in seek
ing game, and at times he discovers a
lion that may be approached by
mean 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
annoying difficulties arise. The shift
ing winds and numerous small fowl
and animals that start up noisily from
underfoot 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 a 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 by day on
shelves of rock and have two outside
beds, SO that when the overpowering
midday 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
lions 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, win
crouch, awaiting attack, and thus Of
ford a target.
Veteran hunters have learned to
watch other animals during lion hunts
for Indications Of the latter's presence.
For instance, If a herd Of grazing an
telopes 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 one through
which a 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 Hons show a marked
animosity to mounted men, arising
probably from the advantage given by
the horses speed. They will attack