The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-07-11
CAPTURING LION CUBS.

Fish tales have their place N llLS,
even the most abnormal of them. They
help to relieve the tedium for a minute
or two. Perhaps that's why the
strangest of them are turned loose dur
ing the summer time. There is much
need then for respite in every possible
way from thoughts of the annoying
heat. Sometimes, too, the more i'm
probable the fish story, the more GER
tain is it that there is a foundation Of
fact for It, Often the fish stories that
a man is interested with for the mo-
ment only to pronounce blamed false
hoods when the teller gets out of ear
shot are no more than the exact truth.
These same conditions prevail with
animal stories, and especially with
those which are concerned in the hunt
for big game. Some of them are I'M
doubtedly pure fabricatiOns put for
ward by hunters with cleverer magma
tions than they have sight or trigger
fingers. For the most part, though,
truth is stranger than fiction even
in this realm. And occupying
prominent place in either the fact
or fiction column is a tale that
appeared in the Literary Digest of re-
cent date. The story was found by the
Digest in an East India paper, Saras-
vati, published at AHahabad.
IT concerns the experiences of
Mussulman who was commissioned by
an Englishman to catch alive two lion
cubs The consideration was to be q
thousand rupees, or about 1888 ia
American money. And there can be no
doubt that the hunter earned his pay.
Equipped with the usual trusty rifle, a
sufficient supply Of cartridges, and
enough lunch to last him for four days,
the hunter set forth for the jungle. AS
soon as he reached it he was fortunate
to pick up the trail of a Honess az
companied by a couple of cubs. He
followed up a rocky hill and lost sight
Of his quarry only to be startled to
hear the Iioness roar close at hand. He
climbed a tree to reconnoiter and was
surprised to look right into a deep
cave where the lioness had jumped
with her cubs. He stayed in the tree
until the lioness left her cubs in the pit
and started on a probable stalk for
food. The pit was about eight cubits
deep with smooth sides, and it was q
problem for the hunter to figure on
how to get in it and secure the cubs
which were little things. Finally he
did so by climbing a sapling near the
edge of the pit which bent with his
weight and lowered him easily into the
cavern. He left his rifle standing on
nearby stone. The rest of the story is
best told in the Mussulman's own Ian
guage as follows:
Presenting that their mother had
returned the cubs came out of their
nook and slowly walked over to where
I was. Thereupon l took off my coat
and bound the little beasts up in H.
then taking hold of it began to figure
how I could get away with my booty.
Now, for the first time. I missed the
| branch of the tree which had helped
me descend. But horror of horrors, 1t
was not within my reach. After hal
got down, the minute my weight was
| removed, it had resumed its former
position, leaving me absolutely help
| less. thought and thought. but failed
i to find any way out of my dilemma. l
was absolutely nonplussed and my
plight was miserable in the extreme.
Now I began to hear a noise which
! I at Jnce took to be proceeding from
| the lioness. I quietly sat down. In
| stead of looking into the cave she
turned back toward it, being attracted
/ by the rifle which had deposited upon
a stone roaring at it in a terrifying
l HteAAAACA- AAC Ae~S , " NAAO sun AdA111lS
directly upon the steel barrel, made the
gun shine brightly, and claimed the at
tention of the big beast, who switched
her tail, which was hanging into the
| pit.
My condition at this time can better
be imagined than described; but my
very desperation made me think and
act fast. at once grabbed hold of tn =
tail that was hanging over the edge Of
the pit. The 1ioness gave a jump, and
quick as a flash 1 was landed outside
and, as luck would have it, near my
rifle. had presence of mind left t.:
grasp the gun and fire it at the
lioness, and killed her Instantly
The rest was easy. The hunter went
back to the city and brought back the
Englishman to verify his story. A
ladder was brought and lowered into
the Dit. and the cubs were taken out.