CHAPTER TWELVE.
GIVES SOME ACCOUNT OF A GREAT LION-HUNT.
Although the lion's roar had been frequently heard by the settlers ofGlen Lynden, some months elapsed before they came into actual conflictwith his majesty. By that time the little colony had taken firm root.It had also been strengthened by a few families of half-castes ormulattos.
One morning it was discovered that a horse had been carried off by alion, and as his track was clearly traceable into a neighbouring kloof,the boldest men of the settlement, as well as some Dutchmen who chancedto be there at the time, were speedily assembled for a regular huntafter the audacious thief.
It was a great occasion, and some of the men who became noted forprowess in after years began their career on that day. George Rennie,who ultimately acquired the title of the Lion-hunter, came to therendezvous with a large elephant-gun on his shoulder; also his brotherJohn, fearless and daring as himself. Then followed the brothersDiederik and Christian Muller,--frank, free, generous-hearted Dutchmen,who were already known as among the most intrepid lion-hunters of SouthAfrica; and Arend Coetzer of Eland's-drift; and Lucas Van Dyk, a talldark muscular man of about six feet two, with a bushy black beard, andan eye like an eagle's, carrying a gun almost as long and unwieldy ashimself; and Slinger, Allie, and Dikkop, their sturdy Hottentotservants, with Dugal, a half-tamed Bushman, the special charge of MrPringle. These and several others were all armed with gun and spear andknife.
Soon our friend Sandy Black, who had been summoned from work in hisgarden, joined them with a rusty old flint-lock gun. He was followed byyoung Rivers, with a double-barrelled percussion of large calibre, andby Kenneth McTavish, accompanied by his wife and Jessie, both imploringhim earnestly, "not to be rash, and to keep well out of danger!"
"Oh! Kenneth," entreated Mrs M, "_do_ be careful. A lion is _such_ afearful thing!"
"My dear, it's _not_ a `thing', it's an _animal_," growled Kenneth,trying to induce his wife to go home.
"Yes, but it _is_ so dangerous, and only think, if it should get hold ofyou--and I _know_ your headstrong courage will make you do somethingfoolhardy--what is to become of me and Jessie?"
It was evident from the tone of McTavish's reply that he did not caremuch what should become of either wife or daughter just then, for he sawthat his male friends were laughing at him, but he was fortunatelyrelieved by Jerry Goldboy coming up at the moment--with the blunderbusson his shoulder--and informing Mrs McTavish that her "pet," a lambwhich had been recently purchased from one of the Tarka boers, was atlarge, with two or three hungry dogs looking earnestly at it!
The good lady at once forsook the old goat, and ran back with Jessie tothe rescue of the pet lamb.
"What have 'ee putt i' the 'buss?" asked Sandy Black of Jerry, with asly look, as the latter joined the group of hunters.
"Well, d'you know, I ain't quite sure," replied Jerry in some confusion;"I--I was called out so suddenly that I 'ad scarce time to think."
"Think!" repeated Black; "it doesna tak' muckle time to think hoo toload a gun, but to be sure _your_ gun is a pecooliar ane."
"Well, you see," returned Jerry, with the troubled look still on hiscountenance, "it does require a little consideration, because it wouldbe useless to load with my ordinary charge of gravel for a lion. Then Ifeared to put in large stones, lest they should jam in the barrel an'bu'st the hold thing. So I collected a lot of hold buttons and a fewnails, besides two or three thimbles, but--"
"Weel," said Black, as his friend paused, "thae sort o' slugs wull atleast gie the lion a peppery sort o' feeling, if naethin' waur."
"Yes, but, d'you see," continued Jerry, "there was a silver tea-spoon onthe table when I made the collection of things, and after I had loaded II couldn't find the tea-spoon, and I fear--"
Just at that moment Groot Willem galloped upon the scene and wasreceived with a hearty cheer.
The Hottentots were now sent on in advance to trace out the "spoor"--inother words, the track of the lion.
On the way one of the Dutchmen entertained those of the settlers whowere inexperienced with an account of the mode in which lion-huntsshould be conducted. The right way to go to work, he said, was to setthe dogs into the cover and drive the lion into the open, when the wholeband of hunters should march forward together and fire either singly orin volleys. If he did not fall, but should grow furious and advanceupon his assailants, then they should stand close in a circle and turntheir horses with their heads from the foe, horses being usually muchfrightened at the sight of a lion. Some should hold the bridles, whileothers should kneel and take careful aim at the approaching enemy, whichwould crouch now and then as if to measure his distance and calculatethe power of his spring. When he crouched, that was the time to shoothim fair in the head. If they should miss, which was not unlikely, oronly wound the lion, and the horses should get frantic with tenor at hisroars, and break loose, there was reason to fear that serious mischiefmight follow.
No Red Indian of the backwoods ever followed the "trail" of beast or foemore unerringly than these Hottentots and mulattos tracked that lionthrough brushwood and brake, over grass and gravel, where in manyplaces, to an unskilled eye, there was no visible mark at all. Theirperseverance was rewarded: they came upon the enemy sooner than had beenexpected. At the distance of about a mile from the spot where he hadkilled the horse they found him in a straggling thicket.
From this point of vantage he would by no means come out. The dogs weresent in, and they barked furiously enough, but the lion would notcondescend to show fight. After some hours spent in thus vainly heatingabout the bush, George Rennie became impatient and resolved to "storm"the stronghold! In company with his brother John, and another man namedEkron, he prepared to enter the thicket where the lion was concealed,and persuaded three of the mulattos to follow in rear, and be ready tofire if their assault should prove abortive.
It was of no use that Lucas, Van Dyk, and the Mullers, and otherexperienced Dutchmen, tried to dissuade them from their enterprise byassuring them that it was a ridiculous as well as reckless mode ofattack, and would be almost certainly attended with fatal consequences.The brothers Rennie, as yet inexperienced, were obstinate. They werebent on attacking the lion in his den.
While this arrangement was being made the soul of Jerry Goldboy becameunfortunately inflated with a desire to distinguish himself.Spiritually brave, though physically nervous, he made a sudden resolveto shoot that lion or die in the attempt! Without uttering a word hecocked his blunderbuss, and, before any one could prevent him, made abold dash into the jungle at a point where the hounds were clamouringloudest.
"Save us a', the body's gane gyte!" exclaimed Sandy Black, promptlyfollowing. "Come on, freen's, or he's a deed man."
Sandy's impulse was suddenly arrested by a roar from the lion sotremendous that it appeared to shake the solid earth. Next moment Jerrybeheld a large animal bound with a crash through the brake straight athim. His heart leaped into his mouth, but he retained sufficientvitality to present and fire. A wild yell followed, as the animal felldead at his feet, and Jerry found that he had lodged the wholecollection of buttons, nails, and miscellaneous articles, along with thetea-spoon, in the head of the best hound, which had been scared by themonarch's appalling roar!
It is difficult to say whether laughter or indignant growls were loudeston the occurrence of this, but it is certain that the brothers Rennieentered the thicket immediately after, despite the almost angryremonstrances of the more knowing men, advanced to within about fifteenpaces of the spot where the lion lay crouched among the gnarled roots ofan evergreen bush with a small space of open ground on one side of it.
"Now then, boys," said George Rennie, casting a hasty glance over hisshoulder at the mulatto supports, "steady, and take good aim after wefire."
He put the elephant gun to his shoulder as he spoke, his brother andcomrade did the same; a triple report followed, and the three heavyballs, aimed with deadly precision, struck a great bl
ock of red stonebehind which the lion was lying.
With a furious growl he shot from his lair like the bolt from across-bow. The mulattos instinctively turned and fled without firing ashot. The three champions, with empty guns, tumbled over each other ineager haste to escape the dreaded claws--but in vain, for with onestroke he dashed John Rennie to the ground, put his paw on him, andlooked round with that dignified air of grandeur which has doubtlessearned for his race the royal title. The scene was at once magnificent,thrilling, and ludicrous. It was impossible for the other hunters tofire, because while one man was under the lion's paw the others werescrambling towards them in such a way as to render an aim impossible.
After gazing at them steadily for a few seconds the lion turned as if insovereign contempt, scattered the hounds like a pack of rats, and, witha majestic bound over bushes upwards of twelve feet high, re-entered thejungle. With a feeling of indignation at such contemptuous treatment,George Rennie re-charged his gun in haste, vowing vengeance against thewhole feline race--a vow which he fully redeemed in after years. Hisbrother John, who was injured to the extent of a scratch on the back anda severe bruise on the ribs by the rough treatment he had received,arose and slowly followed his example, and Groot Willem, growling in atone that would have done credit to the lion himself, and losing for themoment the usual wisdom of his countrymen in such encounters, strodesavagely into the jungle, followed by Sandy Black and Jerry, the latterof whom appeared to labour under a sort of frenzied courage which urgedhim on to deeds of desperate valour. At all events he had recharged hispiece of ordnance to the very muzzle with a miscellaneous compound ofsand, stones, and sticks--anything, in short, that would go down itscapacious throat,--and, pushing wildly past Groot Willem, took the lead.
It was perhaps well for these strangely-assorted hunters that the lionhad made up his mind to quit the jungle. A few minutes later he wasseen retreating towards the mountains, and the chase was renewed, withhounds and Hottentots in full cry. They came up with him in a shorttime at bay under a mimosa-tree by the side of a streamlet. He lashedhis tail and growled fiercely as he glared at the dogs, which barked andyelped round him, though they took good care to keep out of reach of hisclaws. While they stirred up his wrath to the boiling point, they atthe same time distracted his attention, so that a party of Hottentots,getting between him and the mountain side, took up a position on aprecipice which overlooked the spot where he stood at bay. Suddenly thelion appeared to change his mind. Turning as before, and clearing allobstacles at a bound, he took refuge in a dense thicket, into which aheavy fire was poured without any effect. Again George Rennie lostpatience. He descended from the height accompanied by a favouritelittle dog, and threw two large stones into the thicket. His challengewas accepted on the spot. The lion leaped out with a roar, and was onthe point of making another bound, which would certainly have been fatalto the hunter, but the little dog ran boldly up and barked in his face.The momentary interruption saved Rennie, who leaped backward, but thedog was instantly killed with a flashing pat from the royal paw. At thesame moment a volley was fired by the Hottentots from the heights.Unfortunately the position of Rennie rendered it impossible for theMullers or any of the other expert shots to fire.
Whether the volley had taken effect was uncertain, but it at all eventsturned the lion from his purpose. He wheeled round, and, abandoning thebush, took to a piece of open ground, across which the hunters and dogsfollowed him up hotly.
The lion now took refuge in a small copse on a slight eminence.Diederik and Christian Muller were in advance, Groot Willem on hismighty charger came next. Van Dyk was running neck and neck with JerryGoldboy, who flourished the blunderbuss over his head and yelled like avery demon. It was obvious that he was mad for the time being. Therest came up in a confused body, many of the men on foot having kept upwith the horsemen.
The Rennies, having by that time become wiser, gave up their recklessproceedings, and allowed Christian Muller, who was tacitly acknowledgedthe leader of the party, to direct. He gave the signal to dismount whenwithin a short distance of the copse, and ordered the horses to be tiedtogether as the different riders came up. This was quickly done, and ofcourse all possibility of retreat was thus cut off. The plan was toadvance in a body up the slope, leaving the horses in charge of theHottentots.
The preparations did not take long, but before they were completed agrowl was heard, then a terrific roar, and the lion, who had made up hismind to act on the offensive, burst from the thicket and bore down onthe party, his eyeballs glaring with rage. Being thus taken by surprisethey were unprepared. His motion was so rapid that no one could takeaim--except, indeed, Jerry, who discharged his piece at the sky, and,losing his balance, fell back with a wild halloo. Selecting one of thehorses, the lion darted furiously at it. The affrighted animal sprangforward, and, in so doing, wheeled all the other horses violently round.The lion missed his aim, but faced about and crouched at a distance ofonly ten yards for another spring. It was a terrible moment! While themonster was meditating on which victim he should leap, Christian Mullerwas taking quick but deadly aim. If he should merely wound the brute,certain death to some one of the party would have been the instantaneousresult. Most of them knew this well.
Knowing also that Muller was cool and sure, they breathlessly awaitedthe result. Only three or four seconds were spent in aiming, butinstants become minutes in such a case. Some of the men almost gaspedwith anxiety. Another moment, and Christian fired. The under jaw ofthe lion dropped, and blood gushed front his mouth. He turned roundwith a view to escape, but George Rennie shot him through the spine.Turning again with a look of vengeance, he attempted to spring, but theonce powerful hind-legs were now paralysed. At the same moment, GrootWillem, Van Dyk, Sandy Black, and McTavish put balls into differentparts of his body, and a man named Stephanus put an end to his existenceby shooting him through the brain.
It was a furious combat while it lasted, and a noble enemy had beensubdued, for this lion, besides being magnificent of aspect even indeath, measured full twelve feet from the point of his nose to the tipof his tail.