Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 October 1878 — IN A TIGHT PLACE. [ARTICLE]

IN A TIGHT PLACE.

A Lion Hunter’s Story. “Here we are at last!” “And precious seedy we all look.” “Yes, that abominable Mediterranean nearly finished me off. Well, here goes to forget sea-sickness—for the next few months, at least —and thoroughly enjoy ourselves.” These remarks were uttered by Hugh Vulliamy, Guy Gee and myself, Sidney Shipton, as we sat round a well-spread table in a French hotel in the North of Africa, all three being pale and slightly green as to complexion, not being good sailors. It was a great consolation to each of us individually that the others were no better than himself, for no one could laugh at his companions. It is, no doubt, a great misfortune to have plenty of money and nothing to do—or, at least, it is voted so by some of those who have but a small proportion of that necessary article, and have their time fully occupied in earning that little; but we three young men were all in that position, and the countenances of my companions had not yet assumed that expression of ennui and disgust at the “slowness” of things in general not infrequently met with in our grout metropolis. For my own I can say nothing; but I never feel tired of living, except during the first week of a sea voyage. Hugh, Guy and I had been somewhere together for the last three years, for sporting purposes; and this time we had resolved to realize our longcherished dream of seeing the African lion in a state of nature. Each of us had made up his mind to kill the first lion, and we had two or three bets on about it. We did not stay long in this civilized part of the world, but hastened to get further south; and, though it was early in December, and consequently rather cold, a healthy brown was fast tinging our skins, from the open air and exercise. The highest mountains were already crowned with snow, and we heard that it was by far the best time of year for sport, as the game, forced by the snow and cold air of the heights to do so, came down into the plains, whore the temperature was milder. We should probably find hyenas, wild boars and lions, if we were fortunate, and there seemed good prospect of adventures of an exciting nature. We took up our quarters at a small town southeast of Morocco, and had not been there long before Guy came in one morning, having been" out early, with eyes that told me at once that lie had heard news. However, he took his seat at breakfast without any remark, and merely answered my query of “Is anything up?” with a quiet “Yes.” I restrained my curiosity, and, as I expected, finding he was asked no questions, he soon spoke. “A lion has been seen at a farm not far off, and helped himself to a sheep. Here is r, chance for us.” Vulliamy sprung up. “Hurrah! Come along, boys. Don’t let’s lose any time.” He had fetched his gun, and examined it, and we soon had all our weapons in readiness, and sallied forth. There was some excitement in the place about i L , and a battue was organized, we being of the party; but with no result. .No lion turned up, and we had to content ourselves for the day with smaller game. However, though we were disappointed this time, an opportunity occurred before long to have our wishes gratified. M e had tor a week or two been staying at a lodging-house on the outskirts of the town, riding out daily in search of any game that might turn up, and during this time (ree had somehow managed to make friends with an Arab chief, who had invited us all to his house, some miles from the town. Guy had expressed his desire for a shot at the king of beasts, ami his new acquaintance promised that we should have the pleasure of hunting the - lion very shortly if we would go. After a little hesitation we agreed to accept the invitation, in reality not a little delighted at the novel experience thus offering itself; and a few days after we were riding out to his place. He welcomed us with much cordiality, and we learned that several lions had lately been seen in the neighborhood, and that almost every morning the Arabs of his tribe found vacancies among their flocks. It was time something was done, and a battue was decided on for the following day. b Our host showed us on the night of our arrival a snare which had that day been prepared, in the hope of catching one of these nightly visitors. It was a mere hole dug in the ground, just deep enough to prevent the animal from jumping out, and was concealed by a light covering of branches. A most fearful noise awakened me in what seemed the middle of the night, though it must have been toward morning; and it was some time before it occurred to me that it emanated from the throat of a lion, which had undoubtedly fallen into the trap; and, as I lay and listened, I could make out that the roaring was responded to from further off. It was impossible to sleep again, as the howls continued; and, as soon as it began to grow light, I dressed and joined some of the men, who were evidently on their way to look at their imprisoned enemy. There, sure enough, was a magnificent lioness, who lashed her sides with her tail, and looked hungrily at us as she bounded from side to side of her prison. There was so much power in every movement of the beautiful lithe creature that at first I could not avoid shrinking back with a shudder. “Fancy playing mouse to that great cat, ’ said Hugh’s voice in my ear; for he and Guy had joined us. “It would pretty 80011 bc ttll U P wifch y° u > wouldn’t This gave one a very different idea of the power of these creatures from that ensuing on a visit to a menagerie. On my first visit to a menagerie, I remember being very much disappointed in the lions, which were not half what I expected; but no one who has not been lion-hunting can imagine the difference between these poor, confined, tamed things and this active, powerful, graceful creature, which lashed itself into a fury as it sprung up' in a vain endeavor to get at us or to make its escape. We saw it dispatched then and there. We had returned to the house, and were

at breakfast, when a man came in, pale and trembling, to say that he had been on his way to a farm not far off, when he had come across two lions apparently asleep in the road, scarcely a quarter of an hour before. He had come back at once, taking the greatest care not to disturb their slumbers, no doubt, or he would not have been there. Horses were speedily saddled, and we reached the place the man had indicated, to find that the animals had gone, though fresh traces showed that they had not vacated the place many minutes. We dismounted to try and discover which direction they had taken, w'hen we saw evidently the two emerge from among some trees. They were splendid specimens, and the chief judged them to be about 5 years of age. Catching sight of us, they stood still for a few seconds, then turned and disappeared into a thicket of trees and shrubs. Hugh and Guy looked all excitement, and I felt my heart beat fast, but not with fear. • Our host, seeing that we were all impatience to pursue, turned to me, for he could speak a little French, and we understood each other pretty well. “It would be madness, with so small a party,” he said. “But wait a minute.” He said a few words to one of the men who had accompanied us, and who now galloped off in the way we had come. We waited and waited, until Guy Gee had almost lost his temper, for we were obliged to be guided by our host’s wishes under existing circumstances; but at last we were surrounded by a hundred or more of Arab beaters, of whom more than half were armed with sticks and hatchets. When I saw these men descend into the ravine where the lions had taken refuge, and penetrate into the thicket, I was horrified at their audacity—quite unnecessarily, as I afterward found, as they are given to taking pretty good care of themselves. Of course, during our preparations, the animals had had time to get a good bit ahead, and we followed their tracks for two hours without ever coming near them. At last we caught sight of them some distance before us, just as they entered a little wood where the trees were thick and close, and it was difficult to get along. “It would be very dangerous,” said the chief, drawing rein, “to attempt to follow them there, for you cannot see for the smallest way round you, and may have a ball hit you by accident, or put one into some one else, or, while you are occupied with one beast, the other may be upon you before you are aware of him.” “What would you advise, then?” asked Vulliamy. “That we return and try elsewhere,” was the reply. “If we fail to find a lion a wild boar may do instead.” “Botheration!” said Guy to me. “I wish we had obtained some beaters, and come independently. It does seem a cowardly trick to run away after following them so far.” I looked back at the dark and gloomy thicket, and could not help owning inwardly that the Arab was right. It was very disappointing; but lions seemed to be plentiful, and we had to console ourselves with the hope of another. We soon reached a ravine somewhat resembling the last, with sloping, rocky sides; along each side ran a sort of natural platform, and in one of these Guy and I found ourselves, followed by some fourteen or fifteen of the Arabs, armed with guns, while opposite us were Vulliamy and our host, with the rest of the men who carried firearms. The beaters were down in the hollow between us, and began their work. For an hour we followed the course of the ravine without any result, and I was beginning to feel slightly fatigued, when the report of a gun from the opposite side put us on the alert. The bushes were too high for us to see over, and, as the beaters had given no sign, I asked some of tl;e Arabs whether they thought it could be a lion that had been fired at. The answer was a negative movement, for I only knew a word or two of their language, and, none of those who followed us speaking French, I could not gain any further information. Under these circumstances Gee and I continued to advance, and a minute after there was another shot. Our horses began to tremble and snort, refusing to go on, and at last I thought we must be near the game we sought. “By Jove!” cried Guy, “look here, Sid. All those cowardly Arabs have cut their sticks.” I looked round, and, instead of being followed by a little party of armed men, to my astonishment there was not one in sight. “Where are they?” “Up in the trees behind us,” said Guy. “Well, I don’t see where the danger lies; but perhaps we had better follow their example.” I had dismounted with the intention of taking this advice, when right before us a huge lion bounded out of a thicket of lentisk trees, his skin streaked with blood—for he was wounded—and his terrible fangs disclosed in a savage snarl. He caught sight of us and came straight for me, whereupon I lost all presence of mind. No doubt I ought to have awaited his advance, taken him between the eyes, and fired at five paces off: but I may be a great coward, for I did no such thing. “Run, Guy!” I shouted, and I dropped behind my horse, which remained motionless, paralyzed with terror. Then followed a few minutes of suspense, a terrific, deafening roar, a shot, and I felt a shock that extended me on the ground. I believe I was unconscious for a minute; but as soon as I recovered myself I sat up and looked round, feeling sick and giddy. Neither lion nor horse was visible. A little way oft’ I saw two or three Arabs peering from among the branches of a tree.down into the ravine. A motionless figure, face downward on the ground, next attracted my attention, and my heart sank as I saw it was Guy. I rose staggeringly to my feet, when the Arabs signed to me energetically to follow their example. However, I would not do so without seeing how it fared with my poor friend, for I felt that if he were dead I should never forgive myself for my loss of courage. I knelt down by his side, and laid my hand on his shoulder to turn him over. “Guy, old fellow.” “Hallo!” he said, springing up, rather white, but apparently as whole and sound as ever he was in his life. “Here, come and let’s get up a tree!” We were speedily, ensconced in the branches of a tree, and, as we were safe, he looked at me and laughed. “That was rather narrow, wasn’t it? But I say, Sid, are you hurt?” “No, I think not,” I said, rather doubtfully, for I was still confused and misty in my ideas. I heard from Guy afterward what had taken place during those few minutes after I took shelter behind my horse. He had dismounted at the same time, when the poor terrified animal snatched the reins from his grasp and galloped off. He saw the lion appear, as if about to spring on my horse, and, keeping his presence of mind far better than I had done, he took aim; but, before he could fire, at one and the same instant my horse backed suddenly and threw me full length on the ground, while the lion, changing his intention, made for Guy. He saw it jn the act of springing,’

fired, and, missing, threw himself face, downward on the earth, when the animal went quite over him, was greeted by shots from the surrounding trees, and again took refuge in the ravine. Not feeling sure that the creature was not still at hand, waiting for any sign of life on his part, Guy lay still tilljl touched him. It was some time before any one would venture to go and explore in search of the lion, though we knew toe poor wretch must be either dead or dying, considering the way he had been peppered. At last Guy slipped to the ground, and hastily loaded his gun. “ I’m going,” he said; “come along, Sid. Well go alone if every one else is afraid.” In an instant our host joined us, and he was soon followed by a number of the others. We found the noble beast lying quite dead at the bottom of the ravine. The chief presented Guy with the skin, as a token of admiration for his courage, when we parted from him, with many expressions of regret, a week later.