Year: 1866

The following after-dinner story of sport in
| India is taken from pleasant book by Capt. j.
T. Newal, entitled The Eastern Hunters y juat
published in London


q remember, = said Norman, a story told
me some time ago relating to an acquaintance OF
my own. He is queer fellow, full of fun, and
always ready for joke, and hasa ludicrous way
of making faces, emitting curious howls, which
| defy the most solemn Methodist to witness un-
moved. The nature Of the man renders what |
am going to tell you appear more absurd than
the real narrative itself justi6es but as ! can't
convey proper idea Of that, will just tell you
what was told to me. | must state first, though
that the poor fellow got bad fall with bis horse
some years ago, by which bis leg was broken,
and be has been obliged ever since to wear some
iron apparatus to assist it, for the broken leg is
considerably shorter than the other, But though
this necessarily oblgeS him to hobble, he can
scuttle over the ground at wonderful pace. In
other respects he is a tall, good looking man.


I" He was out once lion shooting in Kattiwar.
In some parts Of the district, where it is tolerably
open the sportsmen used to follow the game on
horseback ride up within range, and then dis
mount to get shot, unless their beasts were
steady enough to stand fire from their backs
After the shot, they quickly remounted and gal
loped of; in fact, something in the manner that
the African way ofconductng the sport is de-
scribed.


I" On one occasion, my friend had turned up
couple Of full grown lions, and was following
them on the plain. He managed to get within
range, and as his horse would not stand quiet
enough for him to fire from his back he jumped
off, and threw the bride over his arm by some
chance however emitting to slip his arm through
it. Well he gota fair shot, and hit one Of the lions
hard but the noise startled the horse, and as
there was nothing to check it, away it galloped,
leaving my friend standing. He fired his second
barrel and then had the horror of seeing the
| wounded lion charging down toward him, all
head, tail and legs, and roaring tremendously
His rife was empty and useless, and of course
there was no time toload. His impulse was nat
urally to bolt as hard as he could and accord
| ingly away he stumped for the nearest tree But
long before he could reach it, the roars came clos
er and closer behind him. and be felt that he had
not the slightest chance of reaching the tree be-
fore being overtaken by the angry brute. Still
be sped on with the instinct of sell-preseryation;
but the lion was fast closing with him. What
could he do? There was no time to be lost. In a
few more bounds his head might be crushed in
by the blow of q paw, or his mangled limbs be
quivering in the animal relentless jaws. 1t sud-
denly occurred to him TO try and startle the beast
bysome unusual combination ofform and sounds.
His resolve was Immediately taken and acted up
on without delay. STOPPING suddenly in his race
with his back still towards the charging lion,





body till he looked at it reversely from between
hislegs, and in that position made some of the
most hideous faces, and gave utterance to some
of his most appalling yells, and at the same ges-
ticulated wildly with his arms.


This was metamOrphoss for which the saw
age beast was quite unprepared. Just before
there had been q runaway man, logging it as
hard as he could go in front but now there was
a fearful, shapeless creature, stationary and un-
yielding, and howling in the most awful way,
quite beyond all lion experience. The brute was
staggered, and hesitated in his headIong career
then pulled up aud looked, advanced step and
looked more closely heard a frantic yell of ex-
traordinary power, the last despairing effort OF
the hunter; turned and with lowered tail, trot-
ted off to join his companion, now disappearing
in the distance. After short space my friend
arose, almost purple in the face from the violence
ofhis exertions, and the unpleasantly low posi-
tion of his head, but much gratified, and chuck
ling greatly al the success Of bis ingenious ruse