The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-09-20
THE FARMER AND MECHANIC

rhlno; then Kermit made ont bio
COW with a calf lying under q Iaree
tree on a bare plain of short grass
mpan by Grogan, and BY a
Smnneaiel carrying his rifle, while he
nlinself carried his 'naturalists' granh-
lex camera, he got up to within fiftv
" Sixty yards of the d~ull-Witted
oeasts, ana spent an hour cautiously
~manoeuVring and taking photos He
got several photos of the COW and
cail lying under the tree. Then SOME
thlng, probably the click of the cam
era, rendered them uneasy and thn,
slocu W. Soon the calf lay down
AGAIN, While the COW continued stand
ing on the other side of the tree. her
mead held down, the muzzle almost
touchlng the ground, according to the
custom OF this species. After taking
one or two more pictures Kermit
edged in, so as to get better ones.
Gradually the COW grew alarmed She
raised her head, as these animals al
ways do when interested or excited.
twisted her tail into a tight knot. and
walked out from under the tree, fol
lowed by the calf; she and the calf
stood stern to stern for a few seconds,
and Kermit took another photo"
Mr.. Roosevelt was eager to kill a lion
not OF course for the "Wanton cruel
ty or ~barbarity," but really for "scien-
tine and he says one day
the party found themselves peering
into a patch Of tall grass. from which
issued ominOGs sounds of terrifying
volume. "A later says Mr..
Roosevelt, they came out bling" and
he thus describes the killing:
4 sprang to one side" writes Mr..
Roosevelt, and for a second or two We
waited, uncertain whether we should
see the lion charging out ten yards
distant or running away. Fortunately
It a0ODtp6 the latter rnurSn RiOht in
front of me, thirty yards off, it ap-
peared, from behind the bushes which
at first had screened him, the tawny,
galloping form of a big, maneless lion.
Crack. the Winchester spoke. The
soft-nosed bullet plunged forward
through his flank; the lion swerved so
that l missed him with the second
shot. but the third bullet went
through his. spine, and Onward into
his chest. Down he came, sixty yards
off, his headquarters dragging, his
hea up, his ears back, his jaws
opening and his lips drawn up into a
prodigious snar1, as ne e~ndeavored
to turn and face us. His back was
broken, but of this we could not at
the moment be sure, and if it had been
merely graZed he might have recover
ed and then, even though dying, his
charge might have done mischief. SO
Kermit, Sir Alfred and ], almost to-
gether. fired into his chest. His head
sank and he died. -
Here is the story of Kermit killing
his first leOpard-a story Of danger
told dramatically:
Another day we beat for lions, but
without success. We rode to a spot a
few miles off, where we were joined
by three Boer farmers. They were
big, outstanding men, looking just as
Boer farmers ought to look who had
been through a war and had eve
since led the adventurous life of from
tier m in wild regions. They
were accompanied by a pack of big,
rough-looking dogs. but were on foot,
walking with long and easy strides
The dogs looked a rough-and-ready
lot, but on this particular morning
showed themselves of little use; at
any rate, they put up nothing.
But Kermit had a bit Of deserved
good luck. Whit the main body OF
US went down the river bed, he and
Mcmillan, with a few natives, beat up
a side ravine, down the middle or
which ran the usual dry w~atercourse
frtnged with patches Of brush. In
one of these they put up a leopard
and saw it sinking forward ahead OF
them through the bushes. Then they
lost sight of 1t and came to the con-
clusion that it was in a large thlcket.
SO Kermit went on one side OF it ana
Mcmillan on the other, n n peat
ers approached to try and get the
| leopard out. OF course none or the
heaters had guns; their function was
merely to make a disturbance and
rouse the game, and they were eau
toned on no account to get into dan
ger. But the leopard did not wait TO
be driven. Without any warning out
he came and charged straight al ker-
nit. who stopped him when he was
but six yards off with a bullet in the
forepart of his body; the leopard turn.
ed. and, as he galloped back, Kermit
hit him again, Gripping him IN the
hips. b wound were fatai' ana
49, would have knocked the fight
ont of any animal less plucky and saw
age than the leopard; but not even IN
Africa is there a beast of more I'M
fIinchinp courage than this spotted cat
The heaters were much excited py the
o;gbt Of the charge n the way IN