Evening star., 1923-10-21

BY TINS time Kennedy had Joined the
| crowd. All the beaters and both of
US were grouped on one side of the
pot hole. Dudo now took q small
bore rife and fired, not in an effort
to kill the lion, but to move him.
It succeeded. He moved, not away
from us, but toward us. The way Of
retreat was open. but he did not
take IL.
nUDo fired again. and again the
~ bushes moved toward us. FL
nally the old fellow was so close to
the edge Of the brush that, while we
couldn't see him, he undoubtedly could
see us. He stood looking out on
thirty black men and two white men
in front OF great fire-a crowd OF
his enemies. The path was not
blocked in any other direction. He
looked us over carefully for fully
five minutes and then Of his own vo-
lition. with great roar, he charged
out OF the brush and up from the
pot hole.
Half way UP the slope the fatal
bullet hit him.
He was killed charging his enemies
and without thought of retreat--the
first black-maned lion ever shot In
British East Africa.
OF the usual methods OF hunting
lions--beating. on foot or horseback,
night batting or following with
hounds--none is really the sports
manlike one; that is, spearing, and to
do this II takes a black man.
One time in Uganda, after I had
been under a considerable strain
while elephant hunting. decided
that ! needed q rest and a change
/ set out for the Vasin Gishu plateau,
where got together 100 Nandi spear
men.
We had no difficulty in recruiting
volunteers, for they were to be Eaid
and fed for playing the game they
loved.
During the first half day out from
the government station. where we
gathered our force together, the
alarm OF lion was sounded. We were
approaching a patch of bush. The
spearmen entered the bush from all
sides. I placed my motion picture
camera at a point OF vantage. The
idea was to drive the lion out in
front OF the camera and have the
spearmen at that point spear him.
Above the din of the spearmen In
the bush l finally heard the angry
excitement in the bush for a few
seconds. Then three OF the boys
came out OF the bush. The middle
boy of the three was being carried
and his scalp was hanging down 1ver
his face. Behind this trio came a
group carrying the dead leopard
Later, when his skin was stretched,
1t showed sixty spear holes In t.
1 promptly took the wounded boy
under the shade of a mimosa tree,
shaved him and sewed his scalp back
into place and cared for his other
wounds
A few days later. soon after our
start in the morning. Mrs. hkeley and
were riding ahead OF the process
sion, when we met several lions COM
ing out of the grass and bush near
small stream. The spearmen i'm
mediately surrounded the busn into
which the lions plunged. The lions
tried to escape, but In whatever di-
rectIon any lion tried to go a spear
man bobbed UP out of the grass In
front Of him.
That is a simple statement, but to
jump up In front OF lion or three
lions with nothing but a spear and
shield as protection Is thing not to
be taken lightly. AS the lions sought
one escape after another and found
them closed, they fought it out. There
was about ten minutes OF pandemo-
MUM. Then we took stock. Three
dead lions gathered together in a
pile; pretty authentic reports that
two others escaped-and not a pic
ture.
At the next spcaring, however, I
did get two pictures. We were riding
along early in the morning through
rough bush country. All at once
heard a lion grunt. The gun boy held
up his hand as a signal to stop. The
camera was rushed forwari 10 the
bank of little ravine. but before 1t
was assembled ready for the opera
tion a lloness came up within ten
feet of the camera, turned to the left
and then ran back by the same route.
TIME boys waved me to come down
l. twenty-five yards. There. from
little knoll, we got the first movie
record of lion spearing. A young full !
grown lion was at bay In tall grass
at the bottom of the ravine. The
camera caught the first spear thrown.
The first one was followed by a
shower OF spears and few seconds
later the boys rushed In and got their
spears. 1t was all over more quickly
than 1t takes to tell 1t.
Hardly had I finished turning the
handle on this scene when I was
called off twenty-five yards to another
lion at bay. He was held for thel,
camera and a similar record was
made. In the meantime lone spear
man making O desperate effort to get
into the show stumbled on an old
lioness. They fought 1t out. man and
beast together, When we discovered
him he was on his back protecting
himself with his shield, single bite
in his leg and the lioness dying be-
side him. He had killed lioness
alone, which entitled him
to wear lions skin head-dress.
On this trip OF twenty days we had
three occasions In which the spear
men rounded up fivs lions In bunch
and each time fheY got three of the