Semi-weekly herald., 1909-05-17


having found, to kill lion is the un.
varying theme of conversation; and
every place and every journey is 1udg.
ed by a simple standard-'lions or
no lions" /
At the Thita camp, then, several
gentlemen, accomplished In this i'm,
portant sport, have come together with
ponies, rifles. Somalis and all the
other accessories. Some zebras and
kongoni have been kill ID and left ly-
ing in likely looking places TO atssact
the lions, and at a. M, rain or shine.
we are to go and look for them
The young Englishman, be he Off
Ger or settled in the East African high.
lands. cuts hardy figure, His clothes
are few and far between; sun hat.
brown flannel shirt with sleeves cut
above the elbow and open at the
chest, a pair OF thin khaki knicker-
above the knee, boots and a pair OF
pullets comprise the whole attire
Nothing else is worn. The skin, ex
posed to the sun, thorns and insects,
becomes almost as dark mDhat q,
the natives, and so hardened that It
is nothing to ride all day with bare
knees on the saddle-a truly Spartan
discipline from which at least the
visitor may be excused.
How Roosevelt viii Hunt Lions.
This is the way in which they hunt
hons. First find the lion. lured to a
kill driven from a reed bed or lickel
up incontinently by the way. Once
viewed he must never be lost sight or
for a moment. Mounted on ponies If
more or less approved fidelity. three
or four daring whites or Somalis gal
lop after him across rocks. holes, tus-
socks, nullahs. through high grass.
thorn scrub, underground, turning him
shepherding him. heading him THIS
way and that, until he is brought 20
bay.
For his part the lion is no seeker
of quarrels; he is often described In
accents of contempt. His object
throughout is to save his skin. II
being unarmed, you meet six or seven
lions unexpectedly. all you need do
according to my information-h" to
speak to them sternly and they VIII
stink away, while you throw a few
stones at them to hurry them up. 9Sl
the highest authorities recommend
this.
But when pursued from place to
place. chased hither and thither by
the wheeling horsemen, the naturally
mild disposition of the lions becomes
embittered. First he begins to groSl
and roar at his enemies, in order TO
terrify them and make them leave him
in peace. Then he darts little short
/ charges at them. Finally. when every
attempt at peaceful persuasion has
failed, he pulls up abruptly and of
Il fers battle.
King of Beasts at Bay.
Once he has done this he will run
u no more. He means to fight, and 10
fight to the death. He means to
l. charge home; and when lion. mad
dened with the agony of u bullet
wound, distressed by long and hard
pursuit, or, most, of all, lioness IN
l. defense of her cubs. is definitely com
possible conclusion. Broken limbs
\ broken jaws, a body raked from end
to end, lungs pierced through and
through. entrails torn and protrudIne
u none of these count. 1t must be-
death-instant and utter--for the lion,
= Or down goes the man, mauled by sep
tic claws and fetid teeth, crushed and
crunched, and poisoned afterward to
: make doubly sure. Such are the hah
Its of this cowardly and wicked animal
1t is at the stage when the lion
has been determinedly "bayed" that
the sportsman from London or New
tt York is usually introduced upon the
scene, He has, we may imagine, fol
lowed the riders as fast as the in
equalities of the ground, his own want
of training and the burden of a heavy
rifle will allow him. He arrives at
= the spot where the lion is cornered
In much the same manner as the mat
ador enters the arena, the othersp
standing aside deferentially, ready to
aid or divert the lion.
If his bullet kills he is, no doubt.
justly proud. If it only wounds. the
lion charges the nearest horsemau.
For forty yards the charge of a Hon
is swifter than the gallop of race
horse. The riders, therefore, usually
avoid waiting within that distance
But sometimes they do not, or some.
times the lion sees the man who has
shot him, or sometimes all sorts vi
things happen which make good sio,
ries-afterward.
After this general description no
particular example is required. and
the reader need not be disappointed tn
learn that our lion escaped what, 10
doubt. would have been his certain
destruction by the breaking of n sin.