| Show YOUTH RAMMED ARM INTO LIONS THROAT TH ROAT beast chewed hand while another used a hatchet the furlowe arabs dwelling along the southeastern boror border of the sahara may have many fallings failings but lack ot of courage cannot be counted among them one morning an man walked into my office and said that a lion and a lioness were molesting the pence peace of his village about fifteen miles away lie he wished me to come and destroy the beasts I 1 promised to go the following day dal but unfortunately the investigation of a case of murder occupied my attention and I 1 could not go the day after the old man came b before e me dangling at the end of ft a piece of rope what hat I 1 first thought was a skin ofa of honey boncy but a second glance showed it was the head atthe lioness lie ile told a story which I 1 corroborated the same afternoon nhon nhen I 1 went to the village to dress the wounds of the chief actors three boys about fifteen or sixteen years old no arab knows his exact age but calculates by the ta time of some striking incident went 0 out ut to their field each carrying a small throwing spear and they saw the lion and hla his mate under a bush the first lad threw his spear and missed and the quarry bounded ott off under another bush the next boy hurled his spear and also missed A third spear hurtled through the air from the arm of the youngest lad and struck the lioness in the side she immediately turned and with one spring seized the thrower round the shoulders threw him to the ground and began gnawing at his neck one oce of the boys took off the long garment garin int he was wearing bound it siftley sIft swiftly ly round around his arm and grasping the left ear car with his left hand drove his right arm down her throat As her teeth closed on his arm ur in the third arab picked up his small hatchet and rained blows on the head of the lioness until she fell dead at their feet the boys soon recovered from their wounds and tor for weeks afterwards all the girls of the village wore little pieces of lion meat in clr their hair as a tribute to the prowess of the young men maj edward keith roach in the national geographic magazine |
