Weekly News. — 1889-12-19 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

FIGHT WITH A LIONESS.  A correspondent, writing to the Bombay Gazette, furnishes exciting detaila of the encounter between Mr. J. D. I ity, the well - known Bombay barrister, and an infuriated lioness, whom he met on a scrubby plain • hundred miles from Berbera: "Mr. Inverarity was accompanied by two Somalis, who, like himself, carried firearms and were full of pluck. The first game of the kind of which he was in quest which it was his good fortune to see was • lioness, accompanied by a cub. She was in the sand, and he got a fair shot at her and bowled her over. She got up and made for some gran. While there Mr. Inverarity followed her up and gave her a second shot, wounding her in the jaw and breaking a fang. She again turned and made for some scrub. When she got in there she refused to come out. Mr. Inverarity, believing that she was dying in the scrub, tried to gat in and give her the coup ilc grace. Foiled in this attempt, he canoed the scrub to be set on fire to windward,and stood within 20 yards of the fire on the other side. The lioness came out at a spot scarcely 20 yards distant from where Mr. Inverarity was standing rifle in hand. She charged straight for him. He fired when she was within two yards of the muzzle of the rifle, and hit her. In a second she was on him and got him down beneath her on the gra.s. She laid hold of his arrn, and his fate would have been then sealed but for the intrepidity of the two Somalia, who rushed up to the lioness and discharged two bullets into her body close to Mr. Inverarity's head. She let go Mr. Inverarity and made Lack for the scrub, but, changing her mind, she charged again, and once more proceeded to maul Mr. Inverarity. The two Somalis, who had no time to reload, assailed the wounled lioness with the muzzles and butt ends of their rifles and beat her off. They reloaded, and, following her up, killed her with two more bullets. Mr. Inverarity pulled himself together, and, notwithstanding his many wounds, took a photograph of his dead antagonist, who had so fearlessly tried conclusions with him at close quarters. The number of his wounds was 16, 13 being inflicted with the claws, and three with the teeth. He washed out these with carbolic acid. The teeth wounds were very painful, but those inflicted with the claws Were comparatively alight. Mr. Inverarity rode back to Berbera, being able to make only six hours a day. He returned to Aden in a steamer, and was there examined by the Residency surgeon. The wounds were pronounced to be not dangerous, and none of the important muscles of the arm were found to be badly injured. The doctor ordered him to proceed to England, and was in hopes that a fortnight would see the wounds fairly healed.  An explosion of fire damp occurred on Friday in the mines of Belmes. Spain. Fourteen wounded and two dead bodies have been extracted from the shafts. The Civil Governor and the authorities directed the rescue of the entombed miners. It is feared that many are still in the shafts. Groat excitement prevailed among the miners' families. Frederick Brett, a navvy, employed on the High Level Railway at Halifax,has, at Leeds'Assizes,been sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. The prisoner had accused her of being too familiar with other men employed at the works. He quarrelled with her frequently, the last dispute resulting in:his cutting her throat with a large pocket-knife. They had both been drinking before the fatal affair occurred. Robert Buchanan had been missed by him Dunterm line neighbours. At last they determined to breal open his door. There on the bed lay the body of tie missing man—a revolting spectacle. A consiclerabli Portion of his face had been eaten away by rate.  The Mandi seems to have as many lives 18 a cat. Refugees arriviDg at Wady Haifa contradMt the to port that he is dead. They state, on the contrary, that he recently attended the meeting of Emirs at Onirbirmen reenacting the invasion of the frontier.