The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-06-02


our arrival at Mombasa at once pro-
ceeded by the railway to Stony Athi
Station, taking with us a Swahill
headman named Abdullah, cook,
four gun bearers, three tent boys and
more than fifty porters, who had
been engaged in advance for us by
one of the leading trading houses" +"
says Walter Cooper in The Wide
World Magazine.
Soon after leaving Mombasa one
gets into very desolate thornbush
country, which continues without in
termission till one reaches Vol. After
Vol one catches occasional gllmpses
of antelope in the thin thornbush,
but 1t Is not until the Capiti plains
are reached that they are seen In
numbers.
From the dak bungalow at Kia
we could see Kilimanjaro, rising ma
jestically from the fat plain and
looking about four miles off, instead
of the seventy-odd which we knew
It to be. We all felt rather forlorn,
being dumped down on to the station
platform with no one but Babu
station master to give us advice, for
we were all new at the game except
Captain H, who had done a little
shikar in India. He had brought
with him his sister, Miss Sybil H,
who was anxious to try her hand at
big game.
"The following morning we had
Just started breakfast when one of
the porters came running in to say
that while he was gathering firewood
he had seen seven lions, including
three fine named ones. We started
at once, accompanied by our gun
bearers and two Nasal boys who were
recommended to us to carry second
guns.
ION our way to the place where
the lions had been seen we had to
cross perfectly open grassy plain,
intersected every now and then by
small, dry water courses.
"We had not gone far when we
saw lion sinking along depression
In the ground toward clump of dry
reeds, which he entered. After a
council of war 1t was decided that
one of the men should go round and
set fire to the reeds, while we posted
ourselves as for pheasant drive.
Miss H was in the middle, facing
the reeds, whilst Captain H was on
her left and on her right. Soon the
reeds were blazing high, with noise
like a waterfall.
"An instant later, straight in front
OF Captain H, large lioness
bounded across a gap in the reeds,
followed by several forms not easily
distinguishable. She had evidently
seen us, for Immediately after, the
rushing sounds stopped and growls
succeeded, increasing in volume as
the flames came nearer.
Suddenly, without the slightest
warning, out rushed no fewer than
seven lions, no doubt the ones the
porter had previously seen. They
passed between Miss H and myself,
and appeared to be in full flight,
when two lionesses, apparently at
tracted by the movement the young
woman made in putting up her gun,
turned and made straight for her.
They were exactly in a line between
me and her, so that I was unable to
shoot. Miss H had not descended
from long line of soldiers for moth
ing. Standing up boldly she put in
three shots as they advanced. The
first lioness went over like rabbit,
with a bullet in its left eye, which
penetrated the brain; the two other
shots merely checked the second. Un-
able to do anything to help her, in
another instant I expected to see
Miss H hurled to the ground and
worried to death by the enraged
beast. But at this critical juncture
her gun bearer, Hassar, thinking mat
ters were getting somewhat too ex-
citing, took to his heels.
Saved by an Accident.
"The lioness, attracted by the sight
of the fleeing man, or else afraid of
the fearless figure in front, who was
not to be intimidatcd by her charge,
swerved off suddenly and made after
the fugitive. The man had not more
than twenty yards start, and the
great brute rapidly overlook him.
Miss H fired again, and we men
both fired as we'll, but we were not
near enough to make a good running
shot. The wretched man, with
courage born of desperation, turned
at the last moment and hit at the lion
ess with his rifle. The blow fell
bit short, and the enraged brute,
swapping at what came nearest,
caught the weapon in her mouth at
the muzzle. The pace at which she
was travelling was so great that Has
san was hurled backward and in fall
ing, his finger caught the trigger, let
ting off both barrels. BY the most
extraordinary piece of luck the rife
was pointing straight down the
beasts throat at the moment, and
down she went, with her head nearly
shot away. right on top of him. When
we had at length hauled him out he
was a deplorable looking object, sim
ply smothered in blood, chiefly the
liOness'. for his only wounds were