The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-07-11

Anima ! Is Routed With
Pitchfork by Brave
Farm Woman.
POSSES HEAVILY ARMED
Jungle Terror Wanders Over
Countryside After Motor
Truck Turns Over.

LIN. IN. July IL
This peaceful farming region held
many of the terrors and thrills of
Central Africa today as half the
countryside searched for a full
grown African lion and the other
half, unaware that the beast had
been liberated in a circus wreck, re-
ported strange terrors and alarms,
To date. with the lion still free,
and the roads congested with posses
armed to the teeth, the most
heroic" occurrence was reported
from the Albrechta farm.
Mrs. Elizabeth Albrechta COM
planned to authorities that she had
encountered the beast in hay field.
Mrs, Albrechta forked up about half
a shock of hay, and to her surprise,
found lion making eyes at her
from the other side.
Il just threw the pitcllfork at
the thing and it ran" she said.
II missed it, I was that excited,
but what kind of a, country is this
under this administrations"
Farmer IS indignant
Herbert Smith, another farmer,
was more indignant. He reported
that the animal had killed and
eaten two Of his sheep.
Detectives at headquarters deduce
that it was lucky for Mrs. Albrechta
that the lion recently had dined on
two sheep.
Patrolnan r. A. Barton knew that
lions always have watering places
and, while his fellows patrolled the
highways with sawed off shotguns,
he inspected the springs Of the
neighborhood.
Patrolman Barton's deduction
that Leo would not have education
enough to beg a drink at a hot dog
stand proved correct.
At a spring near Mount Prospect
he found lion tracks. But the lions
sWig had taken place several hours
before.
Tells Story of "Veldt'
Mr.. and Mrs. Arthur Wood of
Port Dickinson, motorists, had a
chance to make Mr.. and Mrs. Mar
tin johnson look like amateurs, but
they had forgotten their kodak.
1.-TWO balls of fire cleaned out
of the darkness" said Wood, de-
scribing Wednesday nights safari
across the local veldt.
Il thought at first it was a,
large dog and slowed up my car. 1
came to stop about fifteen feet
from the animal with my head
lights full upon it. There is no
doubt but that it was a large Afri-
can lion
Wood paused at this point in his
story.
What did you do?" he was
asked.
This animal resumed Wood,
"peered at the car in a manner l
should describe as curious. Then it
turned and bounded to the ditch
and went past us.
"I turned the car around and fol-
lowed it for about $50 feet as it
trotted along the road.
"It finally turned and went up
the hill near Mt. Prospect, where,
of course, I could not follow eX-
cept on foot, which did not deem
advisable as We we're already late
for an engagement"
Hundreds Aid Search
The lion escaped because of the
IF 0oXyiy1cY NiT-
cuses travel by motor truck. Its mo-
tor truck turned over and spilled
out the lion.
State troopers. aided by volun-
teers in such numbers that they
congested the roads and even in
creased the normal hazards OF traf-
flc in Binghamton itself, secured I'M
availingly for the beast throughout
the day.
A. V. Burley, commissioner of pub
lie works, has offered 800 reward
for capture of the lion alive, on
the theory that whoever catches a
loose lion, that lion is his. Com
missioner Burley hopes to add it to
the public ZOO.
However. all officers had orders
TO shoot the lion on sight.
The lion was described by circus
attaches as an old and somewhat
stiff one. probably unable to catch
rabbits or similar small prey.
For this reason, if he gets hum
CRY, the errors of his proximity are
augmented rather than less ned, as
most of the solid citizens the
community are unable to as
swiftly as rabbits.