Show I I f t J I 1 y 1 1 r r r rf 1 Z f r I I I II t I I Y f A C tL r t 1 r rr r AFRICA I 11 On the Spoor 01 O OI th ing 01 Beasts bf tD LB I Y LO R D DEILA o M MER E R E Et t Foremost FOl among the great greal hunting l s of o f the lie English sh speaking world is Lord He lIe is credited with Icing being Hie heaviest killer iller it to the party pari which bagged lagged the record number of African rl f rican lions some sonic few years ago In 11 East Central Africa 1 his its prowess fv is i familiar to 10 every native Ao long ago aJo a locality 10 beset bent with lions hons l s sent a delegation four hundred miles to 10 call on OIL r Lord to 10 ask him to 10 come and wipe out Oil the Iho destroyers of their cattle In tits this article he tic vividly l contrasts the ille theory n i and practice of lion hunting in the region which Roosevelt will invade O 0 get good sport In InT tho 1 T thing is la to get gel n good There Thero are excellent men to tobe tobe be found with care i and good luck but a great many who are ire absolutely worthless In addition to oth others t ers I have hlo always had ono one man maD Ab Abdulla Abdulla dulla dully Ashur as head Besides 1 being an agreeable companion he Is I far and away aWn tho best finder tinder of game I have over oer seen In tho the country countr His Ills pluck Is undeniable and the t only difficulty difficult I have had with him him m Is to prevent him going b where I did lri not care C re to go myself I f This may sound hound exaggerated praise of ofa It t a 11 native but among other things he hel l grappled a lion which had knocked me d down being heing severe mauled before y he got gol tho the brute off orf so 60 that I naturally naturally ally all entertain a very high opinion of him Owing to his skill In tracking I have havo only lost ono wounded lion out of Dr many man that were hit and that was 3 not his hla fault ault as tho the blood stopped almost al almost almost most directly and tho ground was nothing but stones for miles This speaks for or Itself as any my ono one who has shot phot lions knows how difficult it t Is to tot t recover a wounded beast without dogs i I 1 only anI once had tho help of dogs after wounded wounder lions Wo IVo were camped v down In the Hand Haud among am ng tho the villages under Sultan Derla Deria One day lIa I 1 went out to try to get some meat t for or the tho natives accompanied by b a war warrior warnor nor called Hassan and his pony pon I had Imd Just shot an oryx orx and we were cutting culling It up when the smallest So SoV V mall I have hae ever eer seen seon came running t up to say l he hc had bad just observed five Ove lions Mons asleep under a tree close by This man belonged to the caste castet t tribe of people ople who do not nol lie together In ono tribe but are arc scattered all nil over in differ different ent eat villages where they tho arc chiefly ehlen engaged In killing antelope for meat meal meal other Somalia Somalis as a rule thinking It below their dignity to do anything but go 10 out ont occasionally on looting expeditions lions are arc armed with bows haws and poisoned arrows and each cach of them carries a n knife Until quito quite lately Intel no other Somali would use a abow aboy abow bow boy but now It Is la quite a common thing to meet a native belonging to another who has haR discarded his spears for a bow ho and quiver of poisoned arrows Shooting Lions with Poisoned Arrows d Lions are aro occasionally killed by b but the tho poison polson on the tho arrows cannot be very Yer strong as frequently 1 after being sick lIck two or throe limes times the lion scorns seems to recover and get getaway I away awa Captain Swayne gives an ac account account account count of the way wa In which these Mid guns gans gans hunt the oryx 01 with their dogs dOIS But to get on with my ray story The little carried a bow nearly JIB ns long Jong as himself and was followed by b y about a dozen small native dogs with curly curl sterns and prick ears card These TheRO curs were wonderfully broken Tho The man trotted off on In front of us usami usand and ami when he got gol near the place where he had seen the th lions he simply put putout putout putout out his hand and all the dogs lay down In a n bunch and never attempted to follow on after us Then wo we stalked carefully towards a big thorn tree treo ris rising ing In above aboc the bush This was where here tho the lions wore were said to be bc Tho The bush was lIS very er open and when whon we camo came in Insight sight Bight ht of the tree the lions were Just 1 decamping Thero There were four of o them thorn not five an old lioness s and three lions perhaps not quite full grown own and with Ith very er little mane Hassan had followed close behind on his pony BO so I shouted to him to try tr and keep 14 his eye eyo on the lioness lIones and ran on my myself m myself self ReI with Abdulla after one of tho the I lions This one ono did not seem com much inclined to run and after arter a short burnt I 1 managed manned to get a bullet into him somewhere Just ns as he disappeared I t Into some thick bushes At that moment wo we caught sight of ot another lion trotting along parallel to tous tous tous us about yards ards off orr Tho The wounded St ono one was keeping up a n continuous low growling In the bushes so o thinking he ho would not get far away awa we wo ran to cut off orr the tho other lIe He turned off orr when hen henhe he caught sight of o us II and we had a n along ar r long stern chase after him as an n a re result suIt sult of or which I 1 was so 50 blown I could not hit him although allbough ho was lobbing r along not more moro than yards ahead b At last I 1 did get bOt a n bullet Into his flank lank Ho lie at once turned and growl growling growling rowl rowlIn h ing In fiercely came bounding a fow ow r yards ards towards us as ns If trying to make makeup makeup up his mind to charge Whether ho he would have havi done dono one so or not I do not I know OH uI my m second barrel caught him himon himon on tho point of o the shoulder bringing him on to his nono noso and before he I could could recover himself I 1 put in smother another I bullet from my m second rifle rIno and fin On finished r 1 shed him It Is la morn than likely he hr would not have havo charged as ns I have bave several so vera I times limos seen a n lion Hon make mako this kind of demon domon demonstration when slightly hit more I II I think to try lr to frighten his hiM assailant aS y i I J Q r I A 1 4 than anything else ciao A lion that really menus means charging up comes quite silent silently ly Ir galloping very ver fast along the tho ground like a dog dug dugA dogA dogA A Wounded Lion at Bay While this was going on we could hear Hassan shouting in the tho distance so now wo we ran off orr towards tho the sound When we started the shouts seemed to be almost stationary but as we ran they got further and further off till at last we could hear nothing Wo We Wethen then turned to go so back for tho thin wound wounded ed lion Hon As we e got near the place where we had left him we wo could hear a tremendous row going on men shouting dogs barking and the tho unmistakable unmistakable grunts of an angry angry lion Hon Run nun Running Running ning up wo found the lion with his shoulder er broken standing In III a bush surrounded at a respectful distance by the tho little logs dogs They kept up an Incessant yapping and every now and then tho lion would make mako a drive at thorn thom but they the were much too quick for him with his broken shoulder and were at him again directly ho he re retreated retreated retreated treated to the bush The Tho little lItlie Mid lId gan and one ono of my mr men were close by b yelling with excitement As I walked up to try to get a shot with without without without out hitting one ono of or tho the pack tho the lion took no moro more notice of the dogs but bul kept kopl his eyes fixed fired on me I never neer saw a lion look nastier but I suppose his broken shoulder had sickened him and I shot him without difficulty Tho The after calling his dogs had light IL It He Ife was waR very vcr unwell with fever feer at the lime time and although ho lie had two or three shots shot ho lie was so 60 shaky shak ho he could not hit her and at nt last felt so ill III he had bad to 10 give her up Ills His told me mo tho the lioness was very much beat bent from being badgered about In the sun and he was sure suro wo yo could find her I lowed owed her ono one for frightening Hassan so 60 we wo started at nt once Hassan not coming but sending a relation of his on tho the same Bony After Arter a n short ride we got to the tho place and found the tracks going Into a along along along long strip of high feathery feather grass Wo We cast all around and could find no tracks coming out so 60 decided to burn the tho patch It was about yards long and perhaps 50 broad brand I could not nol comm command nd ind the tho whole of oC it so I told the men to light it at the top tOIl and along one side and Abdulla and andI I took up our station halfway down tho the other side about 30 yards out from tho the edge At the tho bottom end I put the warrior on the pony to see If tho the lioness broko broke that way Al AI Almost Almost most directly the grass was lit III a big spotted allotted hyena hena blundered blun orel out and camo came within a few ew yards of us but tho the great part of tho the patch was burnt be before before fore foro there thero was any an sign of oC tho the lioness Then I caught sight eight of o her slinking Blinking along through tho the thin grass grasa at tho the edge of tho the strip going towards tho the bottom end ond She Sho did not Dot see Bee us as ns wo we were rather behind her hor and stand standing standIng standing ing quito still When I shot she seemed to stumble forward but recovering herself caught sight of the man on the pony and before I I could shoot again she was half haU way towards him going like lIko a flash ash He Ho had bad not seen hor her when I shot stint as sho was waa hidden by b tho the grass STa s and by b tho the time he ho got sot his pony pan turned turnell around and started she sho was close to him hilts He galloped straight straightaway straightaway away awa from mo me and I dare daro not nol Ore fire at atthe tho the lioness for fear of hitting him himl For l or nearly yards it looked any an money mono on tho the lioness She got gOl right under tho the pona tall but did not nol seem to lo know how to strike and at length to my great relief tho the pony pon began to gain on her She at nt once pulled pUlle up and turned into a bush where she lay lar down stretched out at full length panting Running up iii I shot ahot her be fore sho she could coul prepare preparo for another ef er fort My first bullet had gone through tho the muscles of tho the forearm just below the shoulder and being solid had only drilled quite a n small hole hoh The Tho na nR tives lIos said that the tho reason she could not catch the tho pony was because a n lion could not nol spring before a n momentary halt to crouch If lC this is so n a l pony pon could always get away from a lion lien galloping straight behind It unless s the pony pon was such Ruch a bad one ono that tho the lion could como come alongside On two or three occasions I havo have been boon chased myself In the upon open grass plain but hut have havo always cot got a fair start and my m pony pon has haa had no difficulty difficult In ln keeping out of or the lions way wa A pony pon boy of 4 mine was very err nearly nearl caught ono day da daIn In tho the open He was trying to round roundup up a lion and got rather too close to It on a tired pony He Ho only Just got away awa This Samo lion afterwards chased mo me and nn two or three of my m men for Quito quite a 11 long time lime Unless a apony apony apony pony falls ralla down I am sure lure there thore Is 18 nothing to be feared from a lion In Inthe tho the open If ono one gives him a pretty wide Ide berth so its IS to get a start when he ho charges Asia rule rulo the tho lion will give up tho the chase after 00 yards or orso orso orso so This pony of or was about the lie best besl I ever over saw In I Ho would not put a price on It bo boo causo ho lie said ho could mako make quite a n i respectable Income by b making looting expeditions on Its back as It t was so 60 fast nobody could catch it Killing Camels to Save a Pony PonyA A year ear after this I met mel Hassan again and asked him how his pony pan was He said it was waa very cry well but that he had very nearly nearl lost it a short time limo before borore Ho lIo had been down Inthe in tho the waterless plain on a looting ex expedition expedition with some other warriors After a successful raid the tho they split spIlt up to avoid pursuit and antI Hassan was on his way wa home driving some somo of ot the looted camels C mels In rent rant of him It II was a very er dry dr year ear and although it was yas the rainy rain season ho he had been unable to find any nn water In pools to give sIo his pony pon The result was that having been rid on hard hoard for two or three days with little or no water to L F t 7 m mf f f t J r r if k kw f ji 1 w I r y C Cj j 4 t tk 4 t I r t rl r f t z ti e WITH A SAVAGE SNARL HE CHARGED C DIRECTLY DI AT THE THICKET TH WHERE I WAS CONCEALED run rUIl on after us and had como come on the wounded oun cd lion Ilon We skinned this beast and the little rather rathor amused us as he got gal so 80 very verr much annoyed because his dogs would not eat cat sonic some great chunks of raw esh ho he cut cutoff cutoff off oft and offered them We were on our way wa to skin tho the other lion when wo we mot met Hassan looking rather sorry for tor himself Ho said that the lioness had trotted trolled quite quietly at nt first and he bo hail had brought her round In a circle towards the place where ho had left leftus leftus leftus us riding alongside of or her and shout shoutIng Ing lug to let us know where ho he was Unluckily sho crossed tho the track of tho the wounded lion and after smelling at the tho blood sho she became perfectly unmanageable un unmanageable unmanageable manageable making off orr at a gallop and charging him whenever ho he got In front to try tr to turn her At last she sho had Imd gono gone into tho lie thick bush hush on somo hills where Thoro he had lost her When we had skinned the other lion wo we 13 made a n cast to try lr to pick up the tho fourth but could make mako nothing of him himI I never noer got this lion although he ho killed one ono of or our donkeys the next day Badgering an Angry Lioness I We 10 had not peen been he en back hack in camp very long when my In companion camo came In say sayIng saying Ing hu had run across a n lioness in inthe the tho hills which he was sure was the theono theone ono one we wo had seen an as she was very ery angry She had run Into seine Homo long I grass and had hall charged out towards I Ils his ls men when they thoy tho wore going up to tor j 7 r drink tho the pony got beat and at last lay la down about 20 O milts miles from tho the wells ell they were making for No amount of stick slick would get set it on its Ita legs again and od Hassan was In de dc despair despair Ho He knew there thero were no vil villages villages 11 lages at the wells where he ho could coull get vessels In which to carry water back to the pony and It seemed as if noth nothing ng could be bo done to save it At last ho he thought of a plan Driving tho camels camel at top speed to lo the wells he ho gave gao them as much water ater na as they the could drink and hurried them back again He Ho found tho the pony In where he lie had hart loft It In a very ery bad bal way war but Immediately proceeding proceed InS to kill and cut open tho the camels he took tho the water vater out of or their stomachs and gave It to the pony pon |