The Lion and the Elephant. Charles John Andersson
Читать онлайн книгу.
did not molest us.
"Having but a scanty supply of wood to keep up a fire, one man crept among the bushes on one side of the pool, while I proceeded for the same purpose on the other side. I had not gone far when, look- ing upwards to the edge of the small basin, I dis- cerned between me and the sky four animals, whose attention appeared to be directed to me by the noise I made in breaking a dry stick. On closer inspection, I found that the large, round, hairy- headed visitors were lions and retreated on my
A FORMIDABLE LION.
hands and foot towards the other side of the pool; when, coming to my waggon-driver, to inform him of our danger, I found him looking, with no little alarm, in an opposite direction, and with good reason, as no fewer than two lions, with a cub, were eyeing us both, apparently as uncertain about us as we were distrustful of them. They appeared, as they always do in the dark, twice the usual size. We thankfully decamped to the waggon, and sat down to keep alive our scanty fire, while we listened to the lion tearing and devouring his prey. When any of the other hungry lions dared to approach, he would pursue them for some paces, with a horrible howl, which made our poor oxen tremble, and produced anything but agreeable sensations in ourselves. We had reason for alarm, lest any of the six lions we saw, fearless of our small tire, might rush in among: us. The two Barolongs were grudging the lion his fat meal, and would now and then break the silence with a deep sigh and expressions of regret ' that a vagabond lion should have such a feast on their cow,' which they anticipated would have afforded them many a draught of luscious milk. Before the day dawned, having deposited nearly the whole of the carcase in his stomach, he collected the head, backbone, parts of the legs, the paunch, which lie emptied of its contents, and the two clubs which had been thrown at him, and walked oil, leaving nothing but some fragments of bones, and one of my balls, which had hit the carcase, instead of himself."
Again, "It is now more than two years ago,
F 2
THE LION.
and in the very place where we now stand," said Van Wyk, the Dutch colonist, to Professor Lich- tenstein, " that 1 ventured to take one of the most daring shots that ever was hazarded ; my wife was sitting within the house near the door, the children were playing about her; and I was without, near to the house, busied in doing something to a waggon, when suddenly, though it was mid-day, an enor- mous lion appeared, came up and laid himself down in the shade, upon the very threshold of the door. My wife, either frozen with fear, or aware of the danger of any attempt to fly, remained motion- less in her place, while the children took refuge in her lap. The cry they uttered attracted my atten- tion, and I hastened towards the door; but my astonishment may well be conceived when I found the entrance to it barred in such a way. Although the animal had not seen me, unarmed as 1 was, escape seemed almost impossible, yet I glided gently, scarcely knowing what I meant to do, to the side of the house, up to the window of my chamber, where I knew my loaded gun was stand- ing. By a most happy chance I had set it in the corner close by the window, so that I could reach it with my hand ; for, as you perceive, the opening is too small to admit of my having got in ; and still more fortunately the door of the room was open, so that I could see the whole danger of the scene.
The lion was beginning to move, perhaps with the intention of making a spring. There was no longer any time to think; I called softly to the mother not to be alarmed, and, invoking the name of the
A DARING SHOT.
Lord, fired my piece. The ball passed directly over my boy's head, and lodged in the forehead of the lion immediately above his eyes, which shot forth, as it were, sparks of fire, and stretched him on the ground, so that he never stirred more. Had I failed in my aim," Van Wyk went on to say, "mother and children were all inevitably lost. Had the boy moved he would have been struck, the least turn in the lion and the shot had not been mortal. To have taken an aim from without was impossible, as the shadow of anyone advancing in the bright sun would have betrayed him, and in addition to all these chances against me, the head of the creature was in some sort protected by the door-post."
Freeman tells a somewhat similar story.
"A native was fearful," says he, " that ere long he himself would be the victim of a lion that haunted the neighbourhood, and had already preyed on more than one of his family, unless he succeeded in getting him killed. He therefore placed a kid near to the door of his house to attract the beast, intending to shoot him while he was attacking the animal. The lion, however, leaped over the kid, as if of no value, or not sufficiently dainty to satisfy his wishes, and then walked deliberately into the house. The man, however, had taken higher views ; ho had climbed up outside, and was wait- ing with his loaded gun on the roof, and on the beast walking out of the house lie aimed his gun well and shot him dead on the spot, thankful, no doubt, at having saved himself and his kid."
THE LION.
However fabulous it may appear that a lion should actually make his way into a dwelling house, there can be little doubt that this has happened. Once, indeed, as recorded in "Lake Ngami," one of these beasts actually found its way into the church at Richterfeldt. The alarm being given, the Damaras, assegai in hand, rushed to the spot, and seizing- him by the tail and ears, dragged him bodily out of the sacred edifice. The poor brute was actually dying of starvation, and offered but a very feeble resistance. I myself saw his skin.
In further proof that the lion is not at all times shy of approaching the abodes of men, I may men- tion, in parenthesis, that I was informed by Mr. Rath, the Rhenish missionary at Richterfeldt, in Damaraland, that lions, as well as other beasts of prey, not seldom harboured in a tamarind grove near at hand, and that it was no uncommon tiling even for lions to proceed from thence into his gar- den, and to approach to within a few paces of the dwelling-house itself.
In corroboration of Mr. Rath, I may here state that when, many years ago, Mr. Galton and myself were encamped near to the tamarind grove just spoken of, the men on a certain occasion asked and obtained permission to spend the evening with an acquaintance whose kraal was not far distant, and as Mr. (jail on was then absent at the Mission House and the dogs had followed our people, 1 was thus left quite, alone. The night, though somewhat warm, was delightfully bright and still. To enjoy the beautiful weather I had taken my bedding out
GRAND APPEARANCE OF THE LION.
of the waggon and placed it on the ground along- side the wheels of the vehicle, which stood not more than twenty paces distant from the brake hi question. Being a bad sleeper I lay awake until a very late hour. All nature was hushed and silent, and the night so calm that I might have heard the falling of a leaf. Suddenly my attention was drawn to the tamarind clump, whence proceeded a low rustling noise, like that of some animal cautiously making its way through its mazes. Thinking it probable that a hyena or a jackal was about to pay me a visit, 1 sat up in my bed, and seizing my gun, which I invariably kept within reach, prepared to give the intruder a warm reception. Imagine my surprise, however, when, instead of one or other of these skulking animals, a stately lion stood sud- denly before me ! In an instant my gun was pointed at his breast, but hoping he would presently turn his broadside towards me, which would have given me a much better chance of destroying him, I refrained from firing. In this expectation, how- ever, 1 was disappointed, for on perceiving the waggon, he retreated a step or two, and uttering a low growl, vanished the next moment amongst the bushes.
There is something so grand and imposing in the appearance of the king of the beasts in his native wilds, more especially when he stands in an atti- tude of surprise or defiance, that it is impossible not to be more or less awed in his presence.
To proceed with my story, and further to show the great daring of the lion, I may mention an
THE LION.
incident that occurred when Mr. Galton and myself were travelling in company in Damaraland.
"With the exception of resting an hour or two by the way, we had pushed on with the two waggons (each, as is usual in Africa, drawn by twelve oxen) during the night, when at day-break, and just as we had reached the Swakop river, we were suddenly startled