davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21

other was completely disembowelled
and must have been killed instantly.
We could not find any dead hyenas.
but we were pretty sure that on. or
two must nave been hit. Seeing that
If the lions did come 10 the dead don
key there would not Je much chance
OF hitting them on so dark night,
we pulled the carcass right under the
skerm or fence round the camp. and,
to prevent hyenas dragging II away.
tied a rope to one of its legs. and
passing 1t over the fence, fastened IL
to heavy water barrel inside the
camp. We sat up for bit and got
few shots at hyenas. and then we
went TO bed. telling the sentry TO keep
sharp lookout and to let us know IL
lions came to the carcass.
Some time after awoke to find
Abdullah bending over me, with my
rife in his hand. He wss frighttully
excited. and all could get out of him
was "Libah, sahib, liban!" ("Lion, sir,
lion!D Jumping up ! rushed out Just
as my companion fred two shots into
the darkness. The first thing saw
when got to where he stood was that
great piece OF the skerm round the
camp had disappeared. leaving a
broad gap. | could not for moment
think what had happened. and then it
struck me that when The carcase had
been dragged away the water barrel
must have got hitched against the
inside of the interlaccd mimosa
boughs and the whole lot had gone to-
gether II was frightfully dark out.
side, and We stood peering out for
some time without being able to dis.
tinguish anything; but after few
minutes we could hear something
tearing at the flesh quite close by.
We had a shot or two at the sound
and the beasts, whatever they were.
went away. AS ut that tim, we knew
nothing about lions, We were not
quite sure that they were not hyenas
after all; but Abdullah stuck to il
they were lions. so we got our beds
and lay down one on each side OF the
opening. Just behad the fence to
watch, hoping that the brrtes would
come back. Nothing furtl happened
however. At day break we sailed out
to see II by any chance We had man
aged to hit lion but We only found
two or three dead hyenas. One OF
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21
Reading TIE Lion Tracks.

Abdullah -till insisted that there
had been lions round the camp, and
a little later We found the spoor of
one big lion by the body Of the half
eaten hyena. The ground was very
stony and there were 20 other tracks
TO be seen. but one lion could hardly
have dragged the donkey and heavy
barrel away so quickly, so there were
probably more. The other hunters
had got hold of a man at the village
who said he knew where the lions
always lay, SO they went with lim.
Soon after they left. .-bdullah. who
had been hunting about. came and
told me that he had picked y the
track OF one .Ion on soft ground a lit
tie way from camp, and that We ought
to follow 1t. At that tine none OF us
knew much about tracking. and We
had had such bad luck after the ele-
plants that We did not think much
OF our shikar.es. and | did not think
it was much good. Abdullah persuaded
me and | went. After we a.. followed
the track for some distance | quite
caught his enthusiasm. and when the
single track was Joined by three 9TH
ers. | was divided between delight at
the prospect OF having four lions all
TO myself and the thought that per
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21

run across the lioness If he followed
our track back to the place We had
come from. An hour after we got
back to camp he came galloping up
having seen two ions, curiously
enough both males. and mad shot one
with better name than either OF
mine.
have at another time described
two different methods of hunting lions
One of them could hardly be called
method at all. as 1t depended on
news brought in by natives as to
where a lion had actually been seen
The second plan consisted OF tying
up a donkey for bait, and sitting VI
to watch at night. A much more in.
teresting way of hunting lions than
either OF these and a very success
full one n the native shikaries EN-,
ployed are any good. is this process
OF tracking them. A lion lies up in
some cool. shady place for the day
sun cannot get out, when he will oc.
casionally be found hunting at any
hour. II you can strike his spoor OF
the night before there is very good
chance OF following it up to where
the lion lies, should the ground be
suitable. There is no form of hunt.
ing so exciting as this. When the
spoor is found there is generally
nothing to show II you have struck
II early or late in the lions wander.
ings. so that IL is quite chance
whether II leads you for hours over all
sorts of country. or whether. after half
a mile down on a sandy river bed or
path Il turns of into thick patch
OF reeds or bush close by, where the
lion is lying. II is extraordinary how
the excitement grows as time goes on
and still you keep the track some.
times very slowly. where only now
and then part of footprint can be
seen on soft place between the
stones. at other times as fast as you
can walk over soil where the track
is visible many yards ahead. And
when the spoor is lost and minute
after minute goes by while YOU cast
about vainly In every direction. how
wretched you are. and how quickly
your spirits rise again when \ lo~
whistle or swapping OF the fingers an.
nounces that one of the tracksrs has
hit 1t OF further on!
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21
EX-PRESIDENT
ROOSEVELT'S
/ Progress / /
I I In Africa !

The latest press advices to reach
the INDEPENDENT from Ex-president
Roosevelt's hunting camp in Africa,
are to the effect that he has brought
down specimens of practically every
game animal of that region, including
lions, giraffes and leopards, and his
assistants are kept busy preparing the
skins for shipment to America. Last
week, af er shooting leopard he cap
tured her two cubs. His most thrilling
experience to date was with a huge
rhinoceros, which broke from its hiding
place and charged upon him, but was
brought low by his quick presence of
mind and unerring aim before inflicting
injury upon the ex-president. The rhi-
noceros is considered by hunters II e
most treacherous animal of that coun-
try. He hides in the tall grass, and when
his victim unconsciously approaches,
he suddenly jumps from his hiding
place and fights to the death With
five lions to Mr.. Roosevelt's CT, dit, the
article below will be of timely interest.
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21
Driving the Lion to Bay.

The shape made it easy place to
drive. for a little way out from the
point one could easily command the
whole OF II. The lion was almost ccr-
tain to break out of one OF the sides
towards the bush on the banks OF the
river-bed. in which case | should get
an easy broadside shot. II we fol-
lowed the track into the place, the
noise we were sure to make would be
very likely to get the beast on his
legs. and he would sneak out at one
side as We went in at the other, es-
pecIally as the water had left lot OF
dead sticks along the edges. over
which It would be impossible to walk
quietly. Abdullah also said that from
the way he had wandered about this
lion must be very hungry. and would
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21

AT last certain signs show that you
are getting near tn, end: the tfackcrs
take o. their sandals and tuck up
their loin-cloths under their belts. lest
a corner tapping in the wind should
scare the lion. For the frst time you
take your rife from the native who
has had charge of it. and, with your
head shikari carrying a second rife,
steal forward until the lion is sighted
or ringed in small clump of bush.
Then. when all is over, and the skin
is being taken off, how pleasant it is
to sit in the shade, listening to the
excited talk of the natives, and let,
ting your nerves quiet down again
after the hopes and fears of the morn,
ing. You ride home to camp with the
lion skin behind your saddle. while
one of your men after another gives
his version of the mornings proceed
ings in hunting song. On the other
hand, when you get a shot, and miss
after a long and difficult track, it
seems as if any number of lions killed
in the future will never make up for
the los. of this one. which is always
the biggest lion, carrying the finest
name you have ever seen. The ride
home to camp is then a silent one, as
40 lion means no sheep for the men,
and they are spondingly down
hearted.
The first thing to be done in track
!ng is to find fresh spoor. Natives
will often bring news of spoor. but
Inluckily the average villagers idea
II fresh track is rather hazy. I
nave several times gone a long way
70 find at the end a track several days
I'D. On one occasion two natives
rrived, saying there were fresh lion
racks in a river-bed. luckily not more
hat half mile from camp, but when
We got there the fresh lion tracks
-urned out to be the spoo of two hy-
mas. at least a week cid.
The spoor of the large spotted
nyena is not unlike that of lioness
On certain ground, but the difference
can easily be told. becarse a hyena
las claws like dog. whereas the re-
tractive claws of a lioL are always
sheathed and leave no L--rk. The DCEs
way to find spoor is to look for it
yourself with good trackers. Should
there be any villages near camp
which lions have been in the naUit
Of raiding it is very necessary to get
there as early as possible in the
morning. If once the large fiocks OF
Continued on page g.
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21

seemed now to have made up his
mind as to his direction, for he kept
on straight down the middle of the
river-bed. The sun had come out from
behind the clouds, and in places the
sand was very deep, SO that we We're
not sorry when at last the track led
into a little island OF bush in the
great fiat sand. There was no doubt
the lion was at home. for on casting
round no sign was perceptible of a
track coming out. The island. raised
little above the river-bed. was
formed of a mass OF thick-tangled
bush and creepers clustered round a
few big trees. The water coming aown
the rive- after heavy rain had washe /
It roughly into the form of triangle,
the apex of which pointed up the
river. From this point the sides
widened out to the other end, wnich
was about thirty yards broad, the
whole length being somewhat uIder
hundred yards.
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21
Death of the Jungle Lord.

Abdullah called up jana and the
pony boy. and they soon had the hide
of and tied on the pony. | thought
all the time that Abdullah knew all
about the other one. but as he seemed
to be going right home, | asked him If
we had not better go and look for it
and he replied that it was the same
lion all the time. and that had
missed 1t the frst shot. | did not fee
quite sure about it myself. but the
moan in the bushes could only have
come from a wounded beast, so | told
him We had better go and look any
way He evidently thought it was
waste OF time. but when we got bacl
to where the lion had been hit We
soon found some blood. and going
quietly down a little path between the
'irgin'' bushes We came round cor
ner almost on top OF the lion. He was
stone dead. was very pleased al
scoring OF Abdullah. as he mad shown
such evident disgust at my shooting
We met one OF our party on our way
back TO camp. and told him he might
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21

was over for the day after all this
shooting: but Abdullah, who was al
most weeping, hardly gave me time
to get my wind little before he
rushed me back again. AS we ran
round the place where We had first
seen the lioness, a fine lion appeared
walking slowly out of another thicket
towards us. AS l shot, he turned
and plunged thorugh an opening in the
bushes to our right. We ran round al
outstanding bush to head him if HI
broke out. and met lion facing us. Just
as | fired | heard moan to the right
so was sure it was not the same lion.
This one staggered away at the shot
and fell stone dead close by.
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21

these brutes had been rarity eaten;
we thought at the time by other hy-
enas, as it was still too dark to make
out tracks. We came to the conclu-
sion We had made iui IS | ourselves,
and had been shooting all night at
hyenas. and We did not fee. any the
better when our friends came back
from their night at the village and
told us We had probably frightened
every lion out Of the countr' by our
bonn bardment.
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21
Peri.s Of the Fan Eater.

My first experience iL tracking lions
was early in 1892, and the night be-
fore was rather an exciting one. After
hunting elephants un5uccessfully for
about a month. we were on our way
south, when We arrived one day at
some villages where the natives had
been very much bothered by five lions
which were said to be still in the
neighborhood. A girl had been killed
two days before, and an enormous
amount of damage had teen done
among the sheep and cattle. The first
day we camped there two of our party
had shooting zerebas made at the vii
lage to which the lions generally
came. and just before sunset they
went on there.
tied up our two dorkeys just out
side the camp, on the chance that the
lions might come and look us up. Just
after dark We were having dinner in
the tent when there was a scufiie out
side, and II was evident that some
thing was attacking our donkeys. 1t
was pitch dark. and we firo several
shots in the direction OF the sound
before we discovered that the attack
ing beasts were hyenas. We did not
mind having donkey killed instan-
taneously by a lion, but We had not
bargained for the poor beasts getting
mauled by hyenas, SO taking a lamp
We went out to see what had hap
pened ny donkey had got of with
a nasty bite n the hollow Of the hind
leg above the hook. aad We had him
taken into tue camp at once. The
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21

night when we got there. and did not
follow up our camels till the next day.
! have described this track rather at
length because it is a good example of
many similar days.
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21
LION SHOOTING IN
SOMALILAND

HE best piece Of
lion tracking | ever
saw lasted five full
hours and is so
memorable in sew
eral respects that !
purpose to use II as
an Introduction 10
that general method
OF lion hunting
The Delta independent., 1909-05-21

CONTINUED on page s. }
The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-01-23
protest or did anything to prevent me
outcome that must have appeared to
be something almost inevitable.
MAPPING OF GREENLAND
COST EXPLORERS LIVES.

The completed map of Greenland,
the largest island in the world, has at
last been published. About forty years
ago DR.. A. Petermann spread the view
that Greenland probably extended
across the pole and down the other side
Of the earth to the neighborhood Of Be
ring Straits. Then, in 1905, the Duke
of Orleans pushed over 100 miles to
the north of Cape Bismarck, but fog
prevented him from making salts
factory survey of the coast line. Mean
while DIR. Mylius- Erichsen formed the
plan of making complete survey. He
started on the steamer Denmark from
Copenhagen on June %, 1905. On
March %, 1907, the great sledge jour
ney was begun.
As Mylius- Erichsen and his two COM
panions emerged from Denmark Fiord
they met Lieut.. Koch and his party,
who had pushed directly on to Peary
Land across the sea ice and had not
only connected their surveys with
Peary's at Wyckoff Island, but had also
resurveyed the coast as far north a.
Cape Bridgman. Koch and his men
had done everything they set out to do
and returned to the ship in safety.
Mylius- Erickson and his comrades
determined to risk everything to COM
plete their survey of the mainland
coast. At last, however, they Joined
their surveys with those of Peary.
The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-01-23

The manuscript Of Charles r..
beautiful essay, Dream Childron -
for sale in London. It is WRIT, y
two folio leaves, and is set With, %
appropriate binding by Riviere NJ ~
price OF this treasure is 81 $50: and 1ue
ropos Of this piece Of informat,on :. ~
interesting to remember that for :.
years of his work upon the "Elio, '"'
says Lamb received only $3.50.
At the last session of the 1nd,.
Legislature law was passed reouir,n
the Railroad Commission to call -.
conference annually the superjntens I
ents OF all railroads operating in ~
diana to review the accident record :.
the year and determine what conld -
done to improve the record. A. AZ
meeting held recently the general NOV
ager Of the Pennsylvania Lines A..
tributed 100 copies of 1.-THE Contests.
Of a Railroad Signal Man." BY lanes
O'Fagan, believing that this book wou,s
have more influence than anv sto.s
ment that he could make on the suhiao.
Of discipline and obedience to rules
In DR.. Nicoll's "Life of Ian Ma
laren" the author tells us that that
writer chad the book collectors ravor
ence for books; he never marked
book in his life" Clement Shorto,
takes issue with DR.. Nicoll on this
point and says that "the real book
collector, as distinguished from tho
postage stamp collecting sort of Der.
sonage, marks his books without end
scribbles on the margins, as Coleridge
did, makes his own index on the dv.
leaves, and Is quite reckless az fl
whether he is detracting from their
value for some other person. The real
book collector is fashioned like ono
who said long ago that He bought
his books for himself and not for bis
executors
Nome is one Of the most interesting
places described in Mrs. Ella Higgin.
sons forthcoming book on ALASKA: the
Great Country" The city is, according
to her account, at once so pagan and
SO civilized, SO crude and so refined
1t has water system that supplies
Its households, with steampipes laid
parallel to the waterpipes to thaw
them in winter. 1t has not yard Of
sewerage. It has a wireless telegraph
station, telephone service, an electric
light plant and it is seeking munici.
pal steam heating. There are three
good newspapers, three banks, churches
hospitals, and a club of which the
wives Of the members form the most
exclusive society of the North.
The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-01-23
Exploding a Musty Myth.

The old-time idea was that the farm
er toiled from dawn till dark-sixteen
and eighteen hours a day-and had q
very much more difficult life of it than
the artisan with union-labor hours or
professional man twiddling his pen
over writing paper six hours a day,
says Agnes G. Laut in Outing. The
new farmer knows that though the
days work may be sixteen hours in the
rush season, it is often less than four
hours In the rainy and dull seasons,
and that the farmers days work to-
tails up fewer hours for the whole year
than the artisans; to be exact, think
the figures are between six and seven
hours for an average. The new farmer
knows to a cent what his labor costs
him in wages and board, and what re-
turns in cash that labor gives him, and
whether the margin Of profit fs big
enough to guarantee keeping certain
hired men.
The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-01-23

They had completed the map Of Green
land. The precious survey sheets were
put into a bottle and thus they were
preserved. Then they pushed south to
Denmark Fiord again.
When they lacked all other food,
dogs were killed to supply meager
ration for men and animals. On Oct.
10 the sun disappeared beneath the no
rizon and still they stumbled south
ward in the semi-darkness. Two of
the men never reached this goal. Ha-
gen died on Nov. Is and Mylius- Erich
sen ten days later. Bronlund reached
it in the moonlight, and when the
spring search party this year found
his body there it was evident that he
had lived for several days after his ar
rival.
With trembling hand he filled sew
eral pages in his notebook with de-
scription Of their wanderings and suf-
ferings and told where his comrades
lie on the great island whose mapping
they completed.
1t was wonderfully fortunate that
the bottle containing the survey sheets
was found slung around the neck of
Bronlund. Perhaps the great result Of
this exploration would never have been
known If it were not for this fortunate
circumstance. 1t is thought that Ny
Illus Erichsen probably did not venture
to carry hts diaries and collections over
the inland ice with him, but left them
in some safe depository at Denmark
Fiord, where they may ultimately be
recovered
The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-01-23
PERIL OF CONE MAN" BANKS.

Most Impressive Lesson of the Morse
Conviction IL This Fact.
By far the most impressive lesson
come, apart from the terrible warning
that it projects to those who would
achieve financial influence and leader
ship through any but the old-fashioned
straight and narrow paths, is that con-
veyed by the testimony concerning the
carelessness or the Indifference, or
both, of the officers of the National
Bank Of North America other than
the two whose consiction on serious
criminal charges has been reached
From the outset it must have been as
plain as a pikestaff to anybody hav-
ing to do with the conduct of this In
stitution, even in the most subordinate
capacity, that Morse had it completely
within his own personal control and,
that being apparent, it ought to have
been equally plain-and no doubt was
that the sole purpose Of this control
was his own individual benefit-not
that Of the bank or Of anybody or Of
anything else. Still, with this full and
early knowledge of the situation and
with a complete understanding Of
Morse's business methods, practices and
ambitions, they permitted the Bank Of
North America at the very beginning
Of his connection with it to be zone
man" bank Of the most pronounced
one might well say the most vicious
type. for the influence of any such lone
man" institution, even when operated
with no shadow Of wrongdoing, is some
thing inherently vicious.
In this instance, however, the very
fact that practically the only use that
the zone man" had for the bank was
to borrow its money or to employ It
in any way that he saw fit, ought to
have constructed danger signal at
the very outset. And it is not little
remarkable that among all the officers
OF this institution with authority to
act and to take stand that would
put q stop to the thing, not one except
Curtis % much a. raised z finger in
The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-01-23
LET 1T BANG.

Secret of q Society Woman for Re.
tanning Youthful Beauty.
One Of the young old women, who
despite full 60 summers, still holds
her own as one Of the first figures ID
New York City society, was asked by
a young miss, tired by her first few
months in the social whirl, how she
preserved her appearance of youth in
face and figure, in spirit and even
vivacity.
II relax one hour in the a." replied
the woman tersely, and that explained
it all.
One hour every afternoon this wo
man gives herself to complete relaxa'
ton in a darkened room. She does not
permit herself to think of any of the
distractions Of her social routine; she
does not think of friend or enemy Of
of herself. Relaxation is not alone for
the society woman, but the woman ID
all ranks.
II believe l should lose my mind II
did not relax every day." this wo-
man once said.
Doubtless she talked without knowl-
edge of the treatment of an Engllsn
physician in the case of socleV
woman whose nerves were so tattereu
that there was grave danger OF a NEIL
tai collapse. The woman was mace u
lie on a couch, with her hand over lne
side holding a small paper weight. As
soon as she SO far forgot herself as u
LIT the weight drop to the floor she was
to go about her regular afternoon eau.
ing and receiving. The woman sconeu
at the treatment when 1t was maue
known; she tried it, her nerves "efs
cured, and then wondering she asheo
the physician for the secret.
"What you needed was absolute
Taxation, IL only for an instant ea'n
afternoon" he said, land the nna'
point in relaxing was reached Wnen
you forgot the weight in your nan'
and it aroused you by its bang Oh 'D'
floor"
There seems to be lesson TO eVel'
tagged woman In this little lncluen =,
Ask your family physician. he WV
tell you the way to grow oid graz
fully is to learn the rare art OF fei'N
o<i0u