The Press., 1912-12-04
BY A LION
Fearful Adventure With a South 7~ African Man Eater.
FLUNG RIGHT INTO ITS JAWS.

FLUNG RIGHT INTO ITS JAWS. Ordeal of a TransvaaI Ranger Who
 Was Pitched Over His Horses Head
 Only to Be Gripped In Midair by the
 Savage Brute-The Dramatic Finish.
 If. any one is eager for adventure hunting lions in their native jungleS will offer him. abundant opportunity. Major J Stevenson Hamilton in the pages of his book, Animal Life In Africa" Gi\ tS an account of terrible experience that one of his fellow ran gers of the Transyaal game reserve had with d lion.
 In August, 1903, he was returning from months patrol to the Olifants river and had arrived within two days march of the Sabi He had pushed on ahead of his natives and pack donkeys in order to reach the nearest police picket before nightfall However. the : distance was greater than ne thought. and darkness found him still some three miles from his destination. riding along a path by the side of reed burtlered stream. accompanied only by his big dog Bill.
 As he rode through the dry bed of the creek, where the path crossed it in one of its windingS. he saw something move out of the reeds and melt away , into the darkness ahead A few yards ' farther on the dog rushed forward. barking. and again an indiStinct form moved away SuppOSing this to be buck of some kind. the ranger rode on without taking any special notice Of the incident. but few minutes after ward he suddenly saw the shape again. his time apparently approaching .>
 He had scarcely time to reflect that this was an odd performance for feed buck when he became conscious that it was no antelope. but lion in tM, act of crOu%hing for spring. Pulling his horse sharp to the right ihst as the lion rushed, he caused the AHfter partially to miss his mark. but his claws tore down the horses quar- tt,I's. and the frightened animal. mak- | ing Il terrified leap forward. shot its rider over it's right shoulder straight | into. the jaws of d second lion. which i had :lleen~ coming up from behind. y Horse, man and rifle all went in diff .frrCllt, directions The horse made off at full speed. followed by the first lion. which in turn was pursued by the dog. The man never touched the ground at all aS the lion seemed to catch him in midair
 The first thing he realized was that | it was trOtting off with him down the path He was held firmly by the right shoulder. and. lying on his back. his ! face was on level with the brute's s neck while his legs were dragging | along finder it's belly. Ii was d desperate predicament. and as soon aS he was able to collect his thoughts little he began to wonder whether he would be killed outright or tortured first He saw Il" hope of escape The pain he describes as acute. which is contrary to the expert ] pnce of Livingstone and. others How | ever. being a very cool headed m;ln | and full of grit, he presently began to east about for some method of saving 1 himself
 The ..rnind works quickly in such cases. and suddenly he remembered his l .sheathknife. an, ordinary six inch 1 blade. which was carried in an open leather case at the back of his belt
 Reaching underneath himself with his left hand, he discovered that the, knife had not been lost, so, pulling it out. he bent all his energy on holding 1t tight and awaited q favorable opportunity
 Fortune f,lvors the brave. and the rangers chance came when the lion, after going with him about l5O yards, laid him down under small tree for the purpose either of shifting its grip or of commencing operations upon him
 Feeling very carefully behind the left shoulder for what he judged to be a vital spot he struck a couple of back
 handed blows with all his force, using. of course. his left hand. It turned out heart
 | For what seemed hours, but was no 1 doubt only aLfew seconds, man and
 beast stood facing each other, the lat
 ter silent and the former. with some
 h,tzy idea of the powersof the human voice. shouting out every abusive word that rose to his tongue, The tension
 was relieved by the lion turning and walking slowly away to spot some thirty yards distant. where. after SWuNing for d moment. it fell heavily to the ground. emitted few grOans and expired