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 THE LIBRARY 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/adventuresofgeraOOgrrich 
 
.He stretched the lion's^ slc,n on a_^nu„e, wi.). the h.a.l in fn.nt, an.l then mount.. 
 hlmBelf 5n this novel saddle "—Paok 847. 
 
rU^ ' 
 
 
 DERBY tc J A O K 3 O N 
 New York. 
 
THE ADYENTURES 
 
 Of 
 
 GEEAED, THE LION KILLEE, 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 A HISTORY OF HIS TEN YEARS' CAMPAIGN AMONG THE 
 WILD ANIMALS OF NORTHERN AFRICA. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH 
 
 BY CHARLES E. WHITEHEAD. 
 
 "At night he heard the lion roar, 
 
 And the hyaena scream, 
 And the ri^er horse, as he crashed the ree l3 
 
 Beaide some hidden Btream ; 
 And it passed like a gloriou* roll of druroa 
 
 Through the triumph of ht« dr«am." 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 DERBY & JACKSON, 119 NASSAU ST. 
 
 CINCINNATI : — n. W. DERBY it CO. 
 1866. 
 
Entkbkd according to Act of Congrresa, In the year 1S56, by 
 
 DERBY & JACKSON, 
 
 In the Clerk'B OflBce of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 w. n. TiHsoN. ncKBOTYrxiu a«o. xumbll a co., rRiNTBRa. 
 
TO 
 
 CAPTAIN JAMES Mo MoINTOSH, 
 
 UNITED STATES NAVY, 
 
 A TRUE HUNTER, AND A TRUER FRIEND, 
 
 ®t)ij5 Valumz 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY THE TRANSLATOR. 
 

 INTKODTJCTION, 
 
 One summer day while loitering under the trees by the river Seine, 
 where it flows through the Champs Elys^es in Paris, watching the 
 idle crowd, and speculating on its manners and meanings, some fancy 
 led me to the shooting gallery of Monsieur Devisme. 
 
 The usual number of habitues and loungers were sitting within, 
 talking and laughing together, and a man was standing opposite the 
 target, with rifle in hand ready to take his shot. As I joined the 
 group standing near him, he brought his rifle to his shoulder, and 
 hardly had the barrel attained its level, before the piece was dis- 
 charged, and the marker down at the other end of the gallery, called 
 out " mouche " (the centre), at the same time marking the bullet hole 
 with a white wand. 
 
 There was something so quick and decided in the motions of the 
 man, and as I fancied something of the air of the Mississippi scout in 
 his posture, that I crossed over to the other side of the gallery to see 
 his countenance. A heavy black beard and moustache trimmed to a 
 point, concealed the lower part of a bronzed visage. The turban of 
 the Spahi uniform shaded his forehead, his face was thin, and almost 
 the only uncovered feature of his countenance by which the spec- 
 tator might judge the character of the man was the. eye. This was 
 dark and remarkably piercing, seeming to concentrate heat and light 
 Uke a lens, and yet was not quick withal, but on the contrary, cahn 
 and slow in its movements. 
 
VIU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Before my observations were finished, the attendant handed to the 
 marksman another rifle. Dropping his right foot a step behind, he 
 raised the gun quickly as before, a scarcely discernible instant of 
 pause, and the report rang on the ear, while from the other end of 
 the gallery came back the marker's call " mariee." Another shot 
 and another, and always the same result, until a dozen shots had been 
 fired, and a dozen bullets had been married, or piled, as the more 
 literal Saxon would render it, in the centre of the target. The 
 marksman then bowed politely to the group of gentlemen standing 
 by, and passed out of the gallery. The buzz of conversation that had 
 been hushed, was renewed, and turning to one of the attendants, I 
 •sked, 
 
 ** Who is the gentleman who was just shooting here ?" 
 
 ' You don't know him ? That was Gerard the Lion-Killer." 
 ft more than a month I had seen that name placarded on all the 
 Cabinets de Lectures, and in the book-shops of Paris, and had never 
 had the curiosity to look at the work with which it was connected ; 
 now, on the contrary, I felt constrained to purchase the volume, and 
 seating myself on one of the benches beneath the embowering trees, 
 with all the great city pulsating around me, was soon away to the 
 cool hills of the Zerazer, or watching the spoor of the lions as they 
 came down to drink in the Mahouna valley. 
 
 The book is written in simple words, telling of great successes, and 
 hand to hand battles with the lion, and portraying a hunter's feelings, 
 his anxieties, and pleasures, with literal fidelity. The writer is rarely 
 diverted from his story. Onco in a while, the sound of a bugle 
 wakes his professional military ardor ; occasionally an oriental legend 
 heard under the Arab tent, comes to his memory, but the foray and 
 tale are soon ended, and he returns to the chase with more zest than 
 ever. 
 
 After a short sketch of the different kinds of wild game that roam 
 the plains of Sahara ; or prowl among the hills of Algeria, the writer 
 turns to his own peculiar game — the fiferce Sultan of Atlas, the 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 African Lion. Treating his subject in an earnest, simple manner, he 
 shows his kindly heart even in the battle for hfe or death that ho 
 daily fights, and protecting his game with sweeping sarcasm from all 
 poaching traps, pit-falls, and assassin's wiles, he wages none but an 
 equal and loyal warfare. The writer not only describes the chase 
 and death of his noble prey, but he in a manner writes his life. 
 Commencing with the courtship of the royal couple, he describes all 
 their murmuring words, their caresses and jealousies. He introduces 
 to us the infant cub under his wild olive bower, even before his eyes 
 have opened to the sunlight, and shows his appearance, his gradual 
 growth, and education ; the motherly tenderness that watches over 
 him, and the dawning intelligence that he evinces. The hunter, as if 
 to prove the truth of observation by. actual fact, goes to the very 
 den of the lion, and taking a cub from its cradle, wraps it in his 
 burnous, carries it to Guelma, and makes it his bosom friend and 
 comrade ; and the coldest reader cannot peruse the last scenes of 
 Hubert's Ufe without looking away from the book, and drawing a 
 long breath to repress the gathering tear. 
 
 Our author follows the young lion from his birthplace until he 
 takes his seat on the throne of his ancestors, and rules with undisput- 
 ed sway a territory of twenty square leagues. 
 
 It is no amateur's study that he gives the reader, but it is his daily 
 experience of nearly ten years. The intimacy is continued during the 
 sleeping as well as waking hours of the sylvan king, and at night at 
 well as in the day. Indeed in regard to an animal essentially noctur- 
 nal in his habits, the former noon-day acquaintance of natural histo- 
 rians was anything but satisfactory ; but Gerard stood sentinel on the 
 mountain side from sunset till daylight, listening for the jackal's bark 
 that heralded the coming of the master, or carefully following him 
 by his tracks under the light of the full moon to the half finished 
 banquet he had left on the previous night. Truly a royal game for 
 the hunter to play, and a pleasant tale for the reader who loves the 
 
 1* 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 chase as the noblest of all pastimes, and it is for such as they that I 
 translate this volume. 
 
 Brave hearts and true hunters, ye who scorn a snare and a battery 
 as you would scorn a dishonest act, ye who love the associations and 
 simple communings of the hunter's life, ye with whom I have hunted 
 in the wild rice swamps of the Great Lakes, or on the limitless prairies, 
 by " the plashy brink of weedy lakes " of Florida, or through the 
 hushed pine forests of the north ; ye who have shared with me your 
 bed and loaf, whether you were the owner of broad lands, or like 
 Mohammed-ben-Oumbark of our story, the possessor of nothing but 
 your gun and your hunting knife, in either case aUke simple in heart, 
 and true in purpose, it is for you' that I have translated the work I read 
 by the laughing Seine. A labor of love in remembrance of past 
 pleasures and future hopes. 
 
 And if the stories it contains can fill with profit an idle hour, or win 
 a kindlier regard for a noble sport, the translator's end is attained. 
 
 Nbw York Oitt, May \Uh^ 1856. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTKR Pi.aS 
 
 I. The Lion— His Education, Temperament, and Habits .... 18 
 
 II. The Arab fashion of Hunting the Lion 80 
 
 iii^ The Chase of the Panther 66 
 
 IV. The Hyena 88 
 
 V. Hunting the Wild Boar 92 
 
 VI. The Jackal . 104 
 
 vii. The Stag, Antelope, and Gazel 109 
 
 vin. The Porcupine and other small Game .*•.... Ill 
 
 IX. Hawking in Algeria 126 
 
 X. Advice to the Amateur Lion Hunter 149 
 
 XI. My Vocation 178 
 
 XII. A Sketch of African Warfare . * 187 
 
 xni. My First Experience in Lion Hunting 198 
 
 XIV. An Excursion into the Mahouna Country, and my Second Lion . . 270 
 
 XV. The Lion of Krou N6ga 282 
 
 XVI. The Lion a Mesmeriser 289 
 
 XVII. An Account of two Lions that " would not down." . . . .294 
 
 XVIII. A Lion Killed on his own Hearthstone 800 
 
 XIX. My Friend AbdaUah, the Minstrel 807 
 
 XX. My Friend Mohammed-ben-Oumbark, the Marauder . . . .810 
 XXI. The History of a Foundling 818 
 
 XXII. My Adopted Child leaves Guelma and Welcomes me at Paris . . 828 
 
 XXIII. Showing the Skill of the Lion in the Commissary Department . . 834 
 
 XXIV. A Digression for Variety's sake ^9 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHJlPTKK " PAOK 
 
 xxT. The Misfortunes of Lakdar. A Lion that Devoured, without Indiges- 
 tion, the Faculty of a College 848 
 
 XXVI. Showing how my Comrade, Rostain, Bearded the Lion of Mezez-Amar 84S 
 
 xxvir. The Duchess of Orleans, and my Lion-Hunting Brigade . . . 858 
 
 XXVIII. A Lion-Hunt among the Natives of Constantino 862 
 
 xxiz. A Double Shot among the Lions of Ferazar 866 
 
 XXX. A new kind of Bait for Lions, very Attractive, but DiflGlcult to Obtain 874 
 
 XXXI. My Old Friend, the Lion of Krenchela 879 
 
 xxxii. A Lion Hunt in the Valley of Orten, and the Tragical end of Amar- 
 
 ben-Sigha 882 
 
 xxxiii. A Hunt with the Arab Ladies 895 
 
 XXXIV. Another Push for a Lion-Hunting Brigade 403 
 
 XXXV. When the Cat's away, the Mice will play 403 
 
 xxxvr. A Night with the Arabs. With Several True and Instructive Legends 
 
 Adapted for Flirting Girls and Presumptuous Boys . . . 408 
 xxxvii. The Death of a Lioness, Illustrating the Fable of the Fly on the 
 
 Coach-Wheel 423 
 
THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE LION — HIS EDUCATION, TEMPERAMENT AND HABITS. 
 
 In the month of January, 1848, I met at Paris Adulphe 
 Delegorgue, the hunter and naturalist, who had passed seven 
 years of his life among the CafFres and Amazoulians, of 
 South Africa, living on steaks of hippopotamus and cotelettes 
 of rhinoceros. 
 
 I cannot describe the pleasure of this encounter, and not 
 content with having read the voyages of my brother hunter, 
 I pressed him with a thousand questions about his hunting 
 adventures, and above all, about the lion of the Cape of Good 
 Hope. I was so much struck with the slight analogy that 
 exists between this animal and that of Algiers, that 1 imme- 
 diately resolved to publish what I had learned concerning 
 the ways and habits of the latter during many years of 
 frequent intercourse with him. 
 
 Every one knows that the lion belongs to the feline race of 
 
 animals, and yet strange to say, the most eminent natural- 
 is 
 
14 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 ists, who have written upon this animal, have treated him as 
 if he lived in the day-time only, and none of them have raised 
 the veil that covers his nocturnal habits. 
 
 This grievous and inexplicable omission I vrill endeavor to 
 supply, by taking the lion at his birth, and following him, step 
 by step, to the hour of his death ; too happy if the acquain- 
 tance with him which I have formed can dissipate the false 
 ideas that I have heard a hundred times expressed in regard 
 to him in France, and even in Algiers where the natives 
 alone understand his character. 
 
 It is ordinarily at the end of January that the monarch of 
 Africa seeks his royal consort. 
 
 As the males are, by one third, more numerous than the 
 females, it is not an uncommon occurrence to find one of 
 these dusky belles accompanied by two or three pretendants, 
 who indulge in most desperate battles for her favor. She at 
 last becoming ennuy^d to find that these gallants do not 
 strangle each other to share her undivided love, leads them 
 towards the haunt of some brave old lion, whose valor is 
 known afar by the thunder of his voice. The disputing lovers 
 arrive with their mistress in the presence of the new rival, 
 and march bravely forward. The negotiations are not long, 
 and the result of the encounter is always certain. Attacked 
 by the three lovers at once the old lion receives them without 
 moving from his place ; he strangles the first with a grasp of 
 his jaws, the second is thrown aside with a broken leg, and 
 the third feels himself very happy if he can get away from 
 the battle with one eye, which he very hastily does, leaving 
 the other in the claws of his master. 
 
HABITS OF THE LION. 15 
 
 The place once clear, the noble victor shakes out his mane 
 to the wind, with a long roar, and then comes and stretches 
 himself at the feet of his love, who for the first mark of her 
 favor, licks the wounds he has received on her account with a 
 fawning grace that awakens the tenderest emotions in his 
 susceptible heart. 
 
 When two old lions meet upon the same adventure the 
 affair is not so gaily terminated. Mohammed, an Arab of the 
 tribe of Kesenna, told me of a combat of this nature where he 
 was a spectator, though much against his will. It was in the 
 stags' rutting reason, and Mohammed, a great hunter of every 
 kind of wild animals, perched himself at sunset in the boughs 
 of an oak tree, to watch for a doe that he had seen wander- 
 ing in the vicinity, accompanied by several stags. The tree 
 which he had climbed w^as situated in the middle of a large 
 clearing, and near a path that led into the neighboring forest. 
 Towards midnight he saw a lioness enter the clearing, followed 
 by a red lion with a full-grown mane. The lioness strolled 
 from the path, and came and laid herself down at the foot of 
 the oak, while the lion remained in the path, and seemed to 
 be listening to some noise as yet inaudible to the hunter. 
 
 Mohammed then heard a distant roaring in the forest, and 
 immediately the lioness answered it. Then the lion com- 
 menced to roar with a voice so loud that the frightened 
 hunter let fall his gun and held on to the branches with both 
 hands, lest he might tumble from the tree. 
 
 As the voice of the animal that had been heard in the 
 distance gradually approached, the lioness welcomed him 
 with renewed roarings, and the lion restless went and came 
 
16 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 from the path to the lioness, as though he wished her 
 to keep silence, and from the lioness to the path, as 
 though to say, " Let him come, the vagabond, he'll find his 
 match." 
 
 In about an hour a large lion as black as a wild boar 
 stepped out of the forest and stood in the full moonlight on 
 the other side of the clearing. The lioness raised herself to 
 go to him, but the lion divining her intent, rushed before her 
 and marched right at his adversary. With measured step 
 and slow they approached to within a dozen paces of each 
 other. Their great heads high in air, their tails slowly 
 sweeping down the grass that grew around them. They 
 crouched to the earth — a moment's pause — and then they 
 bounded with a roar high in air and rolled on the ground, 
 locked in their last embrace. 
 
 The battle was long and fearful to the involuntary witness 
 of this midnight duel. The bones of the two combatants 
 cracked under their powerful jaws, their talons strewed the 
 grass with entrails, and painted it red with blood, and their 
 roarings, now guttural, now sharp and loud, told their rage 
 and agony. 
 
 At the beginning of the contest, the lioness crouched her- 
 self on her belly, with her eyes fixed upon the gladiators, and 
 all the while the battle raged, manifested by the slow cat- 
 like motion of her tail, the pleasure she felt at the spectacle. 
 When the scene closed, and all was quiet and silent in the 
 moonlight glade, she cautiously approached the battle-ground, 
 and snuffling the dead bodies of her two lovers, walked 
 leisurely away, without deigning to answer the gross, but 
 
HABITS OF THE LION. 17 
 
 appropriate epithet that Mohammed hurled at her as she 
 went, instead of a bullet. 
 
 This example of the conjugal coquetry and fidelity of the 
 lioness, is applicable to all her species. What she desires is 
 a lover full grown and brave who will drive away the young 
 lions, whose beardless chins and constant quarrels ofiend her de- 
 licacy and trouble her repose. Such a lover she is sure to find, 
 although she may not keep him, for the moment that a braver 
 lion appears she gives him always a ready welcome. From 
 what I have seen of the lion, I am led to believe that he has 
 a more faithful heart than his fickle spouse, and never, unless 
 forced to do so, changes his mistress, but takes her for better 
 or for worse, during the whole term of his matrimonial con- 
 nection, and he shows for her an afiection and care that is 
 worthy of a better return. 
 
 "When the royal couple leaves its lair, both in going and 
 returning, the lioness always leads the way, and when she 
 pauses in her walk, the lion stops till she is ready to go on. 
 After arriving at the Arab encampment where their supper is 
 to be procured, the lioness lies down at a short distance ofi^, 
 while the lion bounds bravely into the enclosure, and selects 
 for her whatever is best to her taste, and lays it down at her 
 feet. He watches her with great pleasure while she makes 
 her repast, and never thinks of eating himself until she is 
 satisfied. In a word, there is no form of tenderness that he 
 does not manifest for her, either during or after the honey- 
 moon. 
 
 When the lioness becomes heavy with yoimg, which occurs 
 during the latter part of December or the first of January, 
 
18 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 she seeks a dense and impenetrable ravine, where she may 
 deposit her offspring. The litter varies in number from one 
 to three, depending upon the age and the vigor of the lioness 
 but there are ordinarily two cubs, one male and one female. 
 
 During the first few days after becoming a mother, she 
 never leaves her cubs, even for an instant, and the father pro- 
 vides for all their wants. It is only after they have reached 
 the age of three months, and have finished teething that the 
 mother goes out to get food for them, and then is absent only 
 a few hours each day. On her return she brings them mut- 
 ton or some other simple food, carefully skinned, and torn in 
 small pieces. The crisis of teething is a very important era 
 in the life of the lion cubs, and a large number die at that 
 period. 
 
 The male lion, who is of a very grave, and reserved character 
 when old, does not love to stay by his offspring, whose child- 
 ish gambols offend his dignity, and in order to be more tran- 
 quil, he selects a sleeping apartment in the jungle near that 
 of his wife, and where he may be called in case of need. 
 
 The Arabs, when they find out a litter of lion cubs, by first 
 seeing the lioness heavy with young, and afterwards by find- 
 ing that their stolen cattle all take the same road, sometimes 
 take advantage of the moment when the lioness is abroad in 
 search of food, to rob her of her family. 
 
 To accomplish this end, they post themselves on a high 
 cliff, or a tree overlooking the lair, and when they see the 
 lioness go down to the plain, being sure the lion is not near his 
 whelps, they creep under the jungle to the lair, they envelop 
 the young they find in the nest in the folds of their boumous 
 
HABITS OF THE LION. 19 
 
 to smother their cries, and carry them to the edge of the 
 woods, where men are awaiting them with horses, and then 
 putting the cubs before them on the saddle, they fly like the 
 wind towards the open country. This Mnd of poaching, as 
 well may be imagined, is no very safe amusement Among 
 other examples I will cite the following : — 
 
 During the month of March, 1840, a lioness had deposited 
 her little ones in a wood called El Guila, near the mountain 
 of MeziouTiy in the country of Zerdezahs. The chief of the 
 country, Zeiden^ made an appeal for help to his neighbor, 
 Sedek-ben — Oumbark sheik, of the tribe of JBeni Fourral^ and 
 upon a given day, thirty men from each of the two tribes 
 came together upon the peak of Mezioun, at the break of day. 
 These sixty Arabs, after having surrounded the woods, and 
 vainly attempted to rouse the lioness, by repeated hurrahs, 
 penetrated the thicket where she had concealed her offspring 
 and brought out two young whelpa. 
 
 This wonderful success pleased the Arabs greatly, and they 
 were retiring carelessly to their tents, carrying the cubs with 
 them, and thinking that they had nothing more to fear, 
 ■when the sheik JSedek^ being a little behind the others, saw 
 the lioness rushing out of the woods directly at him. He 
 hastily called his nephew, Mecaoud^ and his friend, Ali-ben- 
 Braham, who ran to his assistance. The lioness, instead, of 
 attacking the sheik, who was on horseback, bounded on the 
 nephew, who was on foot. The young man bravely faced the 
 coming foe wdth his gun to his shoulder, and did not press 
 the trigger until the animal was at gun's length, but the cap 
 exploded without firing the piece. 
 
iU THE LION KILLER. 
 
 Mecaoud threw aside his useless weapon, and presented his 
 left arm wrapped in his houmous. The lioness seized the 
 arm, and the bones crashed in her powerful jaws; but 
 Mecaoud^ without retreating a step or making a single cry, 
 drew his pistol that he carried under his houmous, and forced 
 the lioness to leave her hold by driving two balls in her 
 breast She then bounded on Ali-hen-Braham, who fired a 
 ball down her throat as she rushed to the charge. He was 
 seized by the shoulder and thrown down, his right hand 
 ground to pieces, and he was torn in many places, only 
 owing his rescue to the death of the lioness, that expired on 
 his body. Ali-hen-Braham lived, but was crippled by the 
 encounter, and Mecaoud died twenty-four hours after. 
 
 At the age of from four to five months the lions' whelps 
 follow their mother during the night to the edge of the 
 woods, where they wait for the lion to bring them their 
 dinner. 
 
 At the age of six months, and during a dark night, the 
 whole family change their domicil ; and from this moment 
 up to the time they leave their parents, the young lions 
 constantly follow the old ones in pursuit of prey. From 
 eight months to one year old they commence to attack 
 the flocks of sheep or goats, that may be found wandering in 
 the vicinity of their retreat. Sometimes they try their hand 
 at catching homed cattle, but they are yet so awkward that 
 there are often ten wounded for one killed, and their father is 
 obliged to come in and interfere, lest they go supperless 
 to bed. 
 
 It is not until they are two years old that they know how 
 
HABITS OF THE LION. 21 
 
 to strangle a horse, an ox or camel, with one grasp of the 
 jaw at the throat of the animal, and to leap the hedges seven 
 feet high, that are reputed to protect the Arab douars. 
 
 This period, from the time of the birth of the cubs imtil 
 they are two years old, is truly ruinous for the people of the 
 country inhabited by one of these happy families. Indeed 
 they not only Mil to eat, but they kill to learn to kill. It is 
 easy to understand what such an apprenticeship must cost to 
 those who furnish the materials for the clumsy tyros. 
 
 But it might be said, why do the Arabs let themselves be 
 eaten by lions, without hunting and killing them ? To this I 
 would answer, read the details of the following chapter, and 
 then if you ever pasture cattle in Africa, you will herd them 
 at night behind walls fifteen feet high, or you will do as the 
 Arabs. 
 
 When the lion's whelps reach the age of three years they 
 leave their parents in order to get married; and the old 
 couple, unwilling to remain alone, replace them by a new 
 family. 
 
 The lions are not full grown until their eighth year, and 
 then they attain their full strength and size, and the male, a 
 third larger than the female, grows his fiill mane. We 
 should not judge the lion living in his wild state, by his 
 degenerate brother confined in a menagerie. The latter has 
 been taken from its mother before being weaned, and has 
 been raised like a rabbit, deprived of the maternal milk, and 
 debarred from the desert life of liberty, and the living food its 
 bravery conquered. From his seclusion arises his meagre 
 form, his unhappy look, his unhealthy shape, and his lack of 
 
22 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 mane which gives him the appearance of a spaniel, and 
 makes him an alien to his forest brother. 
 
 There are in Algiers three species of lions : the black lion, 
 the red or tawny lion, and the grey lion, and they are 
 styled by the Arabs, el adrea^ jcI asfar^ and el zarzouri. 
 
 The black lion is a much rarer animal than the others, and 
 has a more powerful head,' neck, shoulders and legs. The 
 lower part of his body is clad in a robe of the color of a 
 dark bay horse, and the shoulders are covered by a long, 
 heavy black mane, that falls down on either side almost to 
 the ground, and gives to him an air not at all reassuring. 
 The breadth of his forehead is eighteen inches, the length 
 of his body, from the tip of his nose to the root of the tail, 
 measures five cubits,* or seven feet and a half, and his tail, 
 three feet. The weight of his body varies between six 
 hundred and six hundred and sixty pounds. 
 
 The Arabs are more afraid of this lion than the two others, 
 and they have good reason to be. 
 
 Instead of migrating from place to place, the black lion 
 takes up his residence in some favorite retreat, and remains 
 there sometimes thirty years. He rarely descends into the 
 plain to get his food in the Arab camps, but in revenge for 
 this forbearance, lies in wait for the herds as they descend 
 the mountain, and kills four or five beasts, merely for the 
 pleasure of drinking their blood. In the summer season 
 when the days are long, he goes out at the setting of the sun, 
 and crouches by some frequented path, where " the tinkling 
 
 • The Arabs call a cubit the distance from the elbow to the end of the open hand. 
 
HABITS OF THE LION. 23 
 
 caravan descends the mountain road," or watches for a 
 traveller with his horse, or some belated herdsman. I know 
 an Arab, who once, while riding home, met with such a ban- 
 dit crouching by the road-side. The man sprang to the 
 ground, stripped the saddle and bridle from his horse, and 
 ran away, leaving his poor beast as a hostage in the grasp of 
 the enemy. But these adventures are rarely terminated so 
 pleasantly, and seldom does a man, either on foot or on horse- 
 back, regain his tent, who has met in his wanderings face to 
 with the black lion. 
 
 The tawny lion and the grey lion, do not differ from each 
 other, except in the color of the mane, and are a little larger 
 than the black lion, and not so short. With the exception 
 of the differences we have just shown, all the three species 
 have the saaie character and habits. The life of this animal 
 may be divided into two distinct eras, in which he seems to 
 be, after a manner, an entirely different being, which differ- 
 ence has given rise to a thousand errors respecting him; 
 these two eras are the day and night. 
 
 In the day-time he is accustomed to retire into the depths 
 of the woods, at a distance from all noise, to sleep and digest 
 his meals at his leisure. In the night he roams abroad, the 
 king of the universe. It has been said that the lion will not 
 attack a man, because perchance a man has found himself 
 face to face with one, that the flies or the sun has obliged to 
 change his lair, or that has come down to the water to drink, 
 and yet escaped with impunity, without remembering that the 
 drowsy epicure was half asleep, and sated with food. He does 
 not kill for the pleasure of killing, but to satisfy his hunger, or 
 
24 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 to defend himself when attacked. In a country like Algiers, 
 literally covered with herds, he is never fasting, except during 
 the day, while sleeping ; and the natives, knowing this, take 
 care to stay at home when he quits his lair, or, if they are 
 obliged to travel at night, they never go on foot or alone. 
 
 As to myself, I will say that if I have noticed an indiffer- 
 ent expression on the countenance of several lions whom 1 
 have met abroad early in the evening, I never saw those that 
 I met at night exhibit other than the most hostile disposi- 
 tion. I am so sure that a single man is inevitably lost if he 
 meets with such an encounter, that when I am bivouacking 
 in the mountain, I never leave my tent after sunset for an 
 instant, except with my carbine in my hand. 
 
 A large number of recent examples of Arabs who have 
 been devoured in this manner, have come under ijpy observa- 
 tion, but I will mention only the following, because it is 
 known to all the natives of Constantine, and because the 
 circumstances attending it were fearfully curious. 
 
 It occurred a few years previous to the occupation of this 
 city by the French troops, that two brothers condemned to 
 death, were confined in the city prison, awaiting their exe- 
 cution on the morrow. They were bandits of great renown 
 for strength and courage ; the Bey, fearing they might escape 
 by their address and hardihood, gave orders that they 
 should be ironed with entraves, that is, an iron ring which 
 is bound around the right leg of one prisoner, with the left 
 leg of another, in such a manner that the two legs are 
 fastened close together, and then the iron band is welded. 
 
 This was done, and yet on the morrow, the executioner, 
 
HABITS OF THE LION. 25 
 
 on visiting their cell, found it empty, and no one knew how 
 they had escaped. The two brothers, as soon as they were 
 free from the prison enclosure, made unavailing efforts to cut 
 or pry off their cumbersome ornament, but finding it impos- 
 sible, fled across the country, avoiding as much as possible 
 the frequented paths. When daylight came they hid them- 
 selves in the rocks, and only resumed their flight with the* 
 evening, being lighted on their way by the faint rays of a 
 crescent moon, and the bright hope of freedom. Thus they 
 had already travelled a long distance, when, in the middle of 
 the second night, they suddenly came upon a lion. 
 
 The two robbers commenced by throwing stones at him, 
 and calling out as loud as they were able, in order to make 
 him flee, but the animal crouched down before them and did 
 not move. Seeing that the stones and menaces were of no 
 avail, the frightened men commenced their prayers; but 
 before they were finished, the lion sprang upon them, and 
 throwing them to the ground, devoured the elder while still 
 chained to the body of his younger brother. The living man, 
 as he heard the lessening moans of his relative, and the craunch- 
 ing of the lion at his hideous meal, had no trouble in counter- 
 feiting death, but swooned where he fell. When the animal 
 had eaten the body down to the shackle, finding a substance 
 he could not masticate, he bit off the leg of the brother he 
 was eating below the knee, leaving the lower part of the 
 limb still confined in the iron link. Then, either from thirst 
 or from being satisfied with what he had eaten, he left the 
 living man, and walked down to a brook, a little distance off. 
 
 The poor devil, once alone, sprang to hig feet, and dragging 
 
 2 
 
26 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 with him the mangled limb, crept into a crevice of a rock 
 that he was fortunate enough to discover. 
 
 A few moments after, the insatiate beast arrived on his 
 track, roaring with anger, and passed around and above the 
 hole in which he had sought refuge, but being unable to 
 reach his prey, he left for the woods with the first dawning 
 of the day. 
 
 The trembling fugitive, a second time saved, crawled out 
 of his hiding-place to renew his flight, when he was captured 
 by some of the horsemen of the Bey, who had been following 
 his traces, who, putting him on the crupper of the saddle, 
 carried him back to Constantine, where he was again thrown 
 into prison. The Bey, astonished at the tale his soldiers 
 brought back to him, ordered the man in his presence to 
 certify to the truth of the story, and the culprit was led out, 
 still dragging after him the leg of his brother. Ahmed Bey 
 was so moved by the strange spectacle and wild narrative, 
 that, although bearing the reputation of a cruel ruler, he 
 ordered the entrave broken, and the prisoner to be set at 
 liberty. 
 
 Although the lion of Algiers is endowed with great speed, 
 and an unequalled agility, yet he is never known to chase 
 his prey. Sometimes when he sees either a single boar, or a 
 herd of wild hogs, he will steal forward with the tread of a 
 cat to surprise them ; but the moment he is heard or dis- 
 covered, the black brutes scamper away; and he, giving 
 up the chase, walks down to the plain to select his supper in 
 the Arab enclosures, which he finds infinitely more to his 
 taste, and, at the same time, more certain. I have sometimes 
 
HABITS OB^ THE LION. 2*7 
 
 seen a troop of wild hogs suddenly quit a neighborhood in 
 the middle of the day, where one of their friends had been 
 munched up ; but I have often seen the lion and the hogs 
 residing in the same forest without paying any attention to 
 each other. 
 
 I have had occasion during many a night to study the 
 voice of the lion, and I will give to my readers my impres- 
 sions and experience upon this subject. 
 
 When a lion and a lioness are together, the female always 
 roars first and at the moment when the couple is leaving its 
 lair. The roar is composed of a dozen distinct sounds 
 which are commenced by low sighing, and then go on cres- 
 cendo and finish as they began, leaving an interval of a few 
 seconds between each sound ; the lion then alternates with 
 the lioness. They roar in that manner every quarter of an 
 hour up to the moment when they approach the encampment 
 that they are about to attack, when they both keep silence ; 
 but after they have taken and eaten their food they recom- 
 mence their melancholy music and continue it until morning. 
 
 A solitary lion generally roars as he rises from his slumber 
 at the commencement of the night, and will often continue 
 his thundering challenges without cessation until he reaches 
 the encampments. During the great heats of summer the 
 lion roars but little, and sometimes not at all ; but as the 
 season of his amours advances he makes up for the time lost 
 in silence. The Arabs, whose language is rich in comparisons, 
 have but one word for the roaring of the lion, and that is 
 rad, thunder. 
 
 Among other foolish questions I have had asked me, is, 
 
28 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " Why does the lion roar ?" I would say that the roaring of 
 the lion is to him what to the bird is his musical song, and 
 if the questioner does not believe the fact, if he will go to 
 the forests and pass several years in his company, he may 
 perchance find a better explanation. 
 
 I have fancied that the statistics made by me of the losses 
 that the Arabs endure by reason of the visits of their leonine 
 neighbors, would interest my readers and with them I will 
 end this chapter. 
 
 The length of the life of the lion is from thirty to forty 
 years. He kills or consumes, year by year, horses, mules, 
 horned cattle, camels and sheep to the value of twelve 
 hundred dollars, and taking the average of his life, which is 
 thirty five years, each lion costs the Arabs forty-two thousand 
 dollars. The thirty animals of this species living at this present 
 moment in the Province of Constantine, and whose loss is 
 replaced by others coming from Tunis or Morocco, are sus- 
 tained by an annual cost of thirty-six thousand dollars. In 
 the countnes where I have been accustomed to hunt, the Arab 
 who pays an annual tax of five francs, pays another of fifty 
 francs to the lion. The natives have destroyed more than 
 one half of the woods in Algiers in order to drive away 
 these noxious animals, and the French authorities hoping to 
 stop these fires that threaten to destroy all the woods in the 
 country, have passed laws inflicting a fine upon the natives 
 detected burning the woods. But what is the result ? The 
 Arabs assess the tribe to pay the fine, and burn as before. 
 And it will always remain so until the government takes 
 efficacious means to protect the people, as they have taken 
 
HABITS OF THE LION. 29 
 
 in France, concerning tlie wolves, which have been driven 
 away, although a much less dangerous animal than the 
 lion. 
 
 The most remarkable points of character in the lion are 
 his laziness, his assurance and boldness. As to his magnani- 
 mity I will say with the Arab proverb : WTien thou goest on 
 a journey^ do not go alone^ and arm thyself as if thou wert 
 gohig to meet a lion. 
 
30 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 
 
 The Arabs, after they liave suffered for a long time from 
 the ravages of the lion among their herds, are at length 
 forced to guard themselves from his attacks and repay his 
 insults. 
 
 Since experience has shown them that the gun alone is a 
 an instrument productive of more danger to themselves than 
 to the animal they attack, they oppose cunning to his 
 audacity, which is so great as often to cause him to fall into 
 the trap prepared for his destruction. It is true that they 
 bring the gun to aid them in their work of death, but it is 
 only when the animal is made incapable of doing any injury, 
 that they level at him their balls and insults. Before speak- 
 ing of the tribes who, in open fight, from time to time, will 
 kill a lion, and of the manner in which they do it, I will first 
 treat of the simpler methods of chase that are practised by 
 the Arabs without any danger to themselves. 
 
 I will place the pit-fall, or zonahia^ as it is called by the 
 Arabs, first in order, because it is the plan most generally 
 practised, and the principal number of skins sent by the 
 Arabs into market, are secured by this method. As T treated 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 81 
 
 of the habits of the lion in my last chapter, I will not enlarge 
 upon that subject at this place, except for the purpose of 
 explaining what is to follow. 
 
 In order to avoid the neighborhood of the lions, who are 
 always to be found on the sides of the wooded hills, the Arabs 
 remove their tents, and remain at a distance from the highlands 
 during the spring, summer, and autumn. The lion never going 
 abroad before sunset, the encampments established at eight 
 or ten leagues from the mountain, are comparatively safe 
 from his attacks during these seasons, as he always returns to 
 his lair with the day dawn. 
 
 It is true that each tribe having a limited territory, there 
 are but few that can remove so far from their dangerous 
 neighbors, and therefore there are some tribes that pay all 
 the contributions, while others sleep in peace. 
 
 At the commencement of winter the Arab population 
 is forced to draw nearer the mountains, to gain shelter for 
 their cattle and procure fuel for burning, and it is at this 
 period that the lions, with appetites sharpened by the cold, 
 live on the fat of the land. 
 
 In the countries usually inhabited by these animals, the 
 Arabs, too lazy to work themselves, hire the Kabyles, who 
 for a small recompense, dig a ditch of the depth of thirty 
 feet, and from thirteen to sixteen feet wide, in the form 
 of wells, larger at the bottom than at the top. This ditch 
 is always dug on the upper side of the place to be 
 occupied by the douar * during the winter season. The 
 
 * Douar, an Arab name, which signifies a collection of tents, varying from ten to 
 wenty. 
 
32 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 tents are arr.anged within tlie ditch, and a hedge is raised 
 ou the outside of branches of trees, and so placed that the 
 ditch is concealed from those without. To prevent the 
 cattle falling into it during the night, an interior hedge is 
 raised, which encompasses the tents, and the evening coming 
 on, the herds are gathered into the enclosure, and the herdsmen 
 watch during the night that they keep close to the edge of 
 the ditch on the upper side of the douar. 
 
 The lion," who is accustomed to clear the hedge with a 
 bound, always coming for his greater convenience down the 
 highest ground, arrives near the encampment in search of 
 his evening meal. He hears the lowing, and scents the 
 exhalations of the animals that are separated from him but 
 by a few feet ; he crouches for a moment, then springs into 
 the air, and falls, roaring with rage, into the hidden pit, 
 where he will be insulted and mutilated — he, the emblem of 
 strength and courage — he whose regal voice made hill and 
 valley tremble, dies miserably under the weapons of women, 
 of children, and cowards. 
 
 The moment that he cleared the hedge, and the frightened 
 herds ran about trampling the kee2:)ers under their feet, the 
 whole population of the encampment rushed to arras; the 
 women shriek with joy, the men fire their guns to arouse the 
 neighboring encampments, and the children and dogs make 
 an uproar like pandemonium. It is a triumph that almost 
 amounts to delirium, and each joins in the exultation, for 
 each one has some particular loss to avenge. Whatever 
 may be the hour of -the night, there is no more sleep in 
 the camp. Fires are lighted, sheep are killed for- the 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 33 
 
 coming banquet, tlie wives prepare the couscoussou, and high 
 feast is held until daybreak. 
 
 During this time the lion, who at first had made several 
 immense leaps to get out of the ditch, becomes resigne<l to 
 his fate. He hears all the noise, and the jabber of strange 
 voices, and jeers, and laughter. He knows that his hour is 
 come, and that he is doomed, without hope of succor from 
 his kindred, to die amid insults and blows ; but for all that he 
 will receive the bullets of his foes without the winking of an 
 eye, or a murmur of complaint, and die, if die he must, 
 as he has lived, the bravest being from the Niger to the 
 sea. 
 
 With the earliest light the Arabs from the neighboring- 
 encampments, invited by the sound of the guns and the 
 hurrahs, pour in with their wives, children, and dogs, fearful 
 lest any of the performance should occur before their arrival. 
 It is a glorious thing to make an enemy suffer when he can 
 cause us no more harm, and when we can strike and insult 
 him from a safe distance. 
 . It is to be remarked that on all these occasions the w^omen 
 and the children, but particularly the women, are the most 
 cruel and fierce. Whether this is the characteristic of their 
 savageness or a trait of their weakness, I cannot answer ; but 
 I hope it is not the same with the women of France, and that 
 there are to be found among them, those who will sue for 
 grace for the lion, if it is even that he may be attacked in 
 coming out of the pit, fairly, face to face. 
 
 At last the day so anxiously expected dawns on the Arab 
 camp with its circle of tents, and crowds of turbaned men, and 
 
34 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 lowing herds, its tethered horses and barking dogs. Some of 
 the boldest men approach the ditch, and pull away the 
 interior hedge to get a fair sight of the prisoner, and judge of 
 his age and sex. As the evil that he does is in proportion to 
 his size and valor, so is the joy at his capture ; therefore if it is a 
 lioness or a young lion, the first comers move away, making 
 faces of disappointment ; and the others prepared by the dis- 
 pleasure they see on the countenances of their elders, take 
 their places to see the captive. But if it is an old lion with a 
 full mane, they give way to frantic gestures and cries. The 
 news flies from mouth to mouth, and the spectators who are 
 nearest have to take good care to save themselves from being 
 pushed into the pit by the impatient crowd behind. After 
 the curiosity of all has been gratified, and they are satisfied 
 •with casting imprecations and stones at the noble animal, the 
 men take their guns and fire on him until life is extinguished. 
 
 Ordinarily after he has received a dozen balls without 
 moving or groaning, he lifts his great head, and with a glance 
 of scorn at his prudent enemies, lies calmly down and dies. 
 
 Some time elapses, and when he shows no more signs of 
 life, several men descend into the ditch by means of 
 cords, and attach ropes to his body to draw him out. 
 These ropes have to be of great strength, for a full-grown 
 lion seldom weighs less than six hundred pounds. After 
 the cords are secured to the lion, they are fastened around 
 a post fixed in the earth near the ditch, and all the 
 strongest men in the camp draw the dead body, hand over 
 hand, to the surface of the ground. After this tedious opera- 
 tion is finished, the heart of the animal is taken out and cut 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 35 
 
 into small pieces, and each mother of a family receives^ a 
 piece to give to her sons, in order to make them strong and 
 courageous. They pull out the hair from his mane to 
 braid into amulets for the same purpose ; and then after the 
 skin has been taken off, and the flesh divided among all the 
 people present, each family goes to its tent, where, when the 
 evenings are long, the events of the day will form the theme 
 of many a tale and children's lullaby. 
 
 After the pit, the next manner of destroying the lion is the 
 melbeda, which signifies in our language, a hiding-place, and 
 of which there are two kinds, the melbeda in the earth, 
 and the melbeda in the trees. 
 
 For the first sort of hiding-place, a hole is dug in the 
 earth of about a yard in depth, and three or four in width. 
 After covering it with the trunks of trees, and heavy 
 stones, the earth that was taken from the hole is piled on 
 the roof, two or three port-holes are cut in one end from 
 which to point the guns, and a door-way in the other, 
 which can be closed with a large stone from within. These 
 kinds of blinds are built along a path generally travelled 
 by the lion. As it would be difficult to take good aim 
 on the animal while walking, a wild hog is killed and placed 
 in the path at the proper distance in front of the port-holes, 
 and at the moment when the lion stops to smell the dead body, 
 the hunters fire altogether. It is seldom that he is killed on 
 the spot. Generally after receiving the balls of his adversaries, 
 he rushes with tremendous bounds in the direction of the 
 
36 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 blirfd, and passes over it without suspecting that his enemies 
 are under it ; and then after a few useless efforts to discorer ~ 
 his foes, he takes to the nearest woods in the neighborhood, 
 to die of his wounds or recover in quietness. 
 
 Sometimes the Arabs who have wounded a lion in this 
 manner, call their tribe to hunt him by following the traces 
 of blood he left in his flight, but as such a chase always ends 
 in the death of one or more of the pursuers, they generally 
 leave the animal either to cure himself of his wounds, or die 
 in his solitary fastness. 
 
 The blind in the trees is constructed after the same plan, 
 only branches are used instead of stones to hide the hunter. 
 A young tree is chosen of a middle size growing near a path, 
 and the hunter fixes his ambush in the middle of its clustering 
 branches, these blinds are usually permanent, and serve for 
 many generations. It sometimes happens that when a lion 
 has killed a beef or a horse, in the neighborhood of a camp 
 the Arabs construct in haste a melbeda, from which to kil^ 
 the animal when he comes to his prey on the succeeding 
 night. Often, however, they have their trouble for their 
 pains, for the lion dainty in the matter of meat for his own 
 stomach, gets his dinner in other quarters, leaving the rem- 
 nants of his first repast, like a royal prince as h« is, to the 
 hyenas, the jackals, and the vultures. 
 
 There are in the province of Constantine, portions of three 
 different tribes that hunt the lion in tho open field. They 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 37 
 
 chase not only those lions that come into their own lands, 
 but sometimes follow the hunt into the territory of their 
 friends, who are decimated by the ravages of these animals. 
 
 These tribes are the Ouled-Meloul, living in the land of 
 the Haractah ; the Ouled Cessi, of the tribe of Segnia ; and 
 the Chegatma, a foreign branch that has settled within the 
 last forty years in the limits of Ain Beida. 
 
 As the hunting of the lion becomes noble only in the pro- 
 portion that the hunter bravely dares the teeth and claws of 
 his adversary; and as the manner of hunting by the tribes of 
 Ouled Meloul and Ouled Cessi appears to me to be much 
 superior to that of the Chegatma, I will speak of these latter 
 second in order. 
 
 The tribe of Ouled Meloul numbers about eighty hunters 
 and lives at the foot of Sid Reghis, and on the southerly 
 slope of Chepka. The Ouled Cessi, who have about the 
 same number of men, pass the summer on the plain of 
 Kercha and the summits of Guerioun, one of the highest 
 mountains of the province of Constantino, which can be seen 
 from the city of Constantino, rearing its head from the plain 
 about twelve leagues to the south. In the winter they 
 remove to another mountain, named Zerazer, about two 
 leagues to the south of Guerioun. 
 
 The Guerioun seldom harbors a lion, unless it is some 
 wandering sojourner who makes it a halting-place for a 
 night on his journey, and continues his march across the 
 plains on the next evening. 
 
 It is not the same with the Zeragar, which every 
 year, when the Aures, the Bouarif, and the Fedjovdj are 
 
38 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 covered with snow, becomes the home, sometimes, of an 
 old lion chilly with age, sometimes of a lioness in search 
 of winter quarters for her cubs, aud sometimes of a whole 
 family. The Zerager is a mountain scantily wooded, but 
 with its sides and peak covered with enormous rocks, whose 
 crevices afford excellent lairs for the lions, being protected 
 on all sides from the winds. At the foot of the mountain 
 gleam the white tents of Ouled Cessi, and their numerous 
 herds dot the plain as far as the eye can reach. As one 
 may easily imagine, these are all the requisites of an agree- 
 able home to the royal emigrants, it may be sure they will 
 not readily leave it when contrasting their former hardships 
 with their present ease, and while they see their old resorts 
 covered with snow. 
 
 When a lion first gives indications of his presence, either by 
 the robbery of the cattle-pens, or by the sound of his voice in 
 the evening on the hills, the news is spread from mouth to all 
 the encampments, although the knowledge of the presence of 
 the new-comer does not prevent hig eating their families before 
 their noses for eight or ten days, and taking whatever he likes 
 in the land. It is not until he has sensibly thinned the herds, 
 and seems to have permanently located himself in the neigh- 
 borhood, that they give the signal for the hunt. 
 
 These assemblages, many of which I have seen, are of the 
 greatest interest to those who can understand the native 
 dialect and appreciate the importance of the object that 
 calls them together. 
 
 Instead of a beautiful park shaded with century oaks, or a 
 hunting-lodge, which in France is the habitual rendezvous 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 39 
 
 of the gentry huntsmen, here the children of the desert 
 assemble around an open fire kindled on the bleak mountain 
 side. Instead of the beautiful carriages and brilliant dresses 
 which attract the curious and impertinent, there come 
 together quietly, from mountain douar or desert tent, about 
 fifty men, whose united undress would not equal in value the 
 livery of one keeper of hounds. Each one comes to the 
 signal with his gun thrown over his shoulder, a pistol and 
 dagger at his girdle, and takes his place in the circle that 
 surrounds the fire. A dozen dogs, with long rough hair and 
 sullen countenances, wander around the circle, amusing 
 themselves with fighting and tearing each other, without 
 their masters even noticing their battles. I have seen a 
 dog killed and eaten by his fellows, without a single Arab 
 present deigning to quit his place, or to turn his attention 
 from the subject under consideration, though it should be 
 added that this occurred at the moment that the spies were 
 making their report of two old lions, whose traces they had 
 discovered not far off*. 
 
 The moment of the arrival of the men who have been 
 examining the woods, is one of breathless interest — for they 
 are not treating with a wolf, or a stag, or a wild boar that is 
 killed by a shot from fowlers, who have taken the place of 
 hunters in these later days. But the challenge is given to an 
 animal that has the strength of forty men, the power of whose 
 teeth and claws some of the members of the hunt are destined 
 to feel ; and many have seen exercised on the body of some 
 unfortunate relative, seized in the jaws of death, from which 
 all the valor and devotion of his tribe were unavailing to save. 
 
40 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 Although the Arabs are very iinimpassioned, it is easy to 
 judge of their individual valor at this moment, and how 
 each one will bear himself in the battle. I must render 
 them the justice to say, that even among the youngest, and 
 there are many beardless youths who follow the hunt, one 
 never encounters braggadocios. This is the result, without 
 doubt, of the fact that each one has to pay with his own life 
 for any imprudence, and that those who have proved them- 
 selves unworthy, are forced to stay at home, the butt of the 
 women and children, who do not hesitate to visit upon them 
 their maledictions for what is most generally sure to occur 
 on the hunt, the death of one or more of the hunters. 
 
 As soon as the men who tracked the animal have come in 
 with their report concerning his sex, his age and lair, which 
 knowledge they gain from his tracks alone, the hunters take 
 the necessary steps for opening the attack. The trackers 
 retire to one side with some of the old men of the tribe, 
 whose white beards, and bent forms tell their age and wis- 
 dom, but who have for the occasion resumed all the energy 
 of youth. 
 
 After a long council in which each one gives his opinion 
 on the best plan of attack, they unanimously select one which 
 they communicate to the assembly, and which is executed 
 without opposition. 
 
 The guns are discharged and reloaded with the greatest 
 care. Five or six of the youngest hunters are sent to the 
 ridire of the mountain, with orders to follow all the motions 
 of the lion, from the moment of attack to the final result, and 
 to communicate them to their comrades by means of signs 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 41 
 
 agreed upon, which signals, although totally incoraprehensi- 
 ble to the Europeans who do not have the key, are very 
 simple to the natives. When the spies have reached the 
 points that they are to occupy, the rest of the troop, with 
 the trackers at the head, ascend the declivities that intervene 
 between them and the place where the lion has hid himself. 
 As the lioness accompanied with her cubs, or the young 
 lions, do not follow the same course of defence when attacked, 
 as the old lion, and each require a different description, we 
 will assume the lion in question to be an old male, because 
 he is more difficult to be killed, and more dangerous in bat- 
 tle than the young lions, and even than a lioness with cubs. 
 
 It is true that in hunting, an animal properly attacked is 
 almost always killed or captured, but it is equally true that 
 the hunter's success depends in this case, in addition to divers 
 other causes, principally upon the manner of the attack. 
 When following a hound, the hunter has only to fear lest tho 
 animal should take the wind and flee ; but the man who is 
 endeavoring to track a lion, as one may well imagine, has a 
 hundred reasons for keeping at a distance from the rock or 
 the hill under which the animal has crouched, and thus 
 it is that he is rarely able to designate the exact spot where 
 the beast is crouched. 
 
 The hunters, after arriving within gun-shot of the supposed 
 lair, climb the side of the mountain as silently as possible, 
 and come to a halt as soon as they overlook the cover. As 
 the lion's sense of hearing is very quick, it oftens happens 
 that he catches the soynd of a foot-fall, or the rolling of a 
 stone, and. then he rouses himself and marches in the direc- 
 
42 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 tion of the noise. If any of the lookouts sees him, he takes 
 the skirt of his burnous in his right hand and draws it before 
 him, which is a signal to the hunters for, / see him. 
 
 One of the hunters then stepping out from the ranks to 
 communicate with the lookout, moves his burnous from the 
 right to the left, which signifies. Where is he ? What is he 
 doing? If the lion remains standing still, the lookout • 
 answers by gathering the two folds of his burnous in his hand, 
 raising them to the height of his head, and then dropping 
 them while walking one or two steps forward, which signi- 
 fies, He is motionless a short distance before you. If the lion 
 moves to the right or to the left, he marches in the direction 
 of the lion, movinor his burnous either from the left to the 
 right, or from the right to the left, as the case may be. Or 
 if the lion is seen going directly towards the hunters, the 
 lookout fronts them, and shaking his burnous up and down, 
 cries as loud as he can, Aou likoumf Look out! 
 
 At this signal the hunters form in order of battle, all in a 
 row, and if they can, they arrange themselves against a rock, 
 so that they may not be attacked from behind. Wo to the 
 luckless wight who has not heard the warning cry, or remains 
 at a distance from his comrades. The moment that the lion 
 perceives him, whether he is fleeing to the shelter of a tree 
 or rock, or whether he is standing his ground boldly, and 
 meeting his foe with his gun to his shoulder, he charges 
 home with a bound. The hunter is lost, unless by a provi- 
 dence of God, he happens to kill the animal dead in his 
 tracks. 
 
 As is seen, the tactics of this warfare are very simple. 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTINa THE LIOX. 43 
 
 They consist merely in opposing to the lion as many guns as 
 he has teeth and claws ; but in order that the two parties 
 remain equal, it is absolutely necessary that the hunters pro- 
 tect each other, that they never scatter, and that each one is 
 ready to save the life of another with the sacrifice of his 
 own. 
 
 "When the hunters have had the opportunity to unite their 
 forces, with theii* backs to a rock, the lion will march majes- 
 tically before them, wuth a menacing air, hoping by this 
 means to throw their ranks in confusion. If he should suc- 
 ceed in this, he bounds upon the scattered troop, which flee 
 like sheep before him, and leaves two or three of its number 
 under his paws. 
 
 If no one of the company moves from his place, and the 
 animal feels their confidence in their own powers, he passes 
 with a triumphant air directly before their levelled carbines, 
 and within thirty paces from them, uttering a low growl of 
 angry menace, and lashing his sides with his tail. This is 
 the decisive moment. The word of command is given by 
 one of the eldest of the party to fire. Each one discharges 
 his gun with the best aim he can, and dropping his weapon, 
 draws his pistol and yatagan. 
 
 It may seem strange to European sportsmen, that thirty 
 balls fired at twenty paces against an animal that presents 
 his side for a target, should not invariably kill him as he 
 stands : nevertheless, it does not occur four times out of t&R. 
 The lion is so tenacious of life, that he does not die under 
 any number of balls, unless he has been pierced in the brain 
 or heart. If, however, he has fallen under this leaden hail, 
 
44 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 the hunters spring upon him, some armed with pistols, others 
 with knives ; they fire at, and strike their follen foe until life 
 is extinguished, and the old lion gives up the ghost with his 
 face to his foes, and his teeth and claws fidl of clothino: 
 and pieces of flesh. 
 
 The nearer the lion draws to his death the more dangerous 
 he becomes. If during an action of this kind, but before he 
 has been wounded, he happens to overtake a man, he over- 
 throws him as he would an obstacle in his way, and the man 
 gets off free with the exception of some scratches from his 
 enemy's claws which are not of much moment, providing he 
 was protected with a good burnous. 
 
 If, however, the lion should have been hit by one or two 
 balls, he will kill or tear to pieces whomsoever he may catch, 
 sometimes carrying the body in his mouth and shaking it 
 until he overtakes another one, whom he in turn catches, 
 dropping his first prey. 
 
 But if badly'wounded and still able to reach a man, he 
 will draw him towards him with his powerful claws, and 
 after having turned up the face of his victim under his nose, 
 will seeifi to delight in his agonies like a cat with a mouse. 
 While with his claws he slowly tears away the flesh of his 
 victim, his burning eyes are fixed on those of the fallen hunter, 
 who under the fascination of their magnetism dares not 
 beseech or moan. From time to time he will lick the face 
 of the miserable man with his huge rough tongue, and then, 
 wrinkling his eyebrows, will bare his teeth with the air of a 
 tiger. In the meantime, the relatives of the victim, appeal- 
 ing to the company, the most courageous of the party advance. 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 45 
 
 side by side, their guns to their shoulders, and their fingers 
 on the triggers, while the lion with a watchful eye awaits 
 their coming. 
 
 As the balls that are fired at him might hit his victim, it 
 is necessary to approach so close as to be sure of the aim, 
 and it is generally a near relative of the hunter who under- 
 takes this perilous duty, leaving the main body of the hunters 
 at about a dozen paces behind him. If the lion is near 
 his last agony he will crush the head of his prostrate prey as 
 he sees the hunters approach, and when the guns are levelled 
 at his head he will close his eyes and aw^ait his fate ; if on 
 the contrary he is strong enough to fight, he hastens to kill 
 the hunter he has under him, and bound on the daring friend 
 who comes to his rescue. 
 
 As it may be readily imagined, the role to be played by 
 the new comer in the drama is none of the safest, for the lion 
 being crouched on the body of the prostrate man, in a state 
 of perfect stillness, gives no indications whatever of his inten- 
 tions. It may be, the desert matador can place the muzzle of 
 his gun to his ear and fire, or it may be, the very next step 
 he is dashed to the earth, and crushed to pieces without hope 
 of help from his friends at his back. 
 
 The Arabs only send one marksman to do this duty, as 
 otherwise there is confusion, and by that manner the bullets 
 might reach the man instead of his destroyer. It is true that 
 the man is almost a corpse before that happens ; yet still it 
 is always hard to think that he was shot by his friends, and 
 there always remains a thought that he might have been 
 saved, if he had not been hit by these stray shots. Therefore 
 
46 ' THE LION KILLER. 
 
 it is that but one man steps forward for the honorable duty. 
 I would say, honorable, for he who can execute it with success 
 and assurance, I would consider a man capable of performing 
 the greatest deeds. 
 
 What we have seen in this instance is, however, exceedingly 
 rare; the lookouts are generally unable to inform the hunters 
 of the approach of the lion, and the company are obliged to 
 seek his majesty, instead of being sought by him. 
 
 Ordinarily, the animal is lying down in his close covert, 
 and if he does not move upon hearing the noise around him, 
 he will remain completely concealed. Then he must be 
 attacked in his fortress and taken by assault. 
 
 Whatever may be the bravery of the hunters who are 
 marching so boldly to death, it is only in the last extremity, 
 and when they are not able to come to battle by any other 
 means, that they decide upon attacking him in his den. 
 
 When they reach the edge of the woods in which the 
 animal is concealed, without the lookouts signalling, they 
 hurrah, and call out to the lion, in terms of the bitterest 
 reproach, so insulting that they think he must out to avenge 
 it. If he gives no heed to the challenge, they fire several 
 shots in the direction of his retreat. 
 
 These operations last sometimes several hours, and the 
 longer the lion keeps himself concealed, the more the hunters 
 hesitate to attack him. They know full well that he who 
 remains deaf to so many insults and the reports of their guns 
 understands well what he is about ; that he has already been 
 hunted, and knowing the danger of leaving his shelter, only 
 waits until they enter it to rush upon them. 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 47 
 
 It can be easily imagined that the prospect ahead, causes 
 some hesitation among the hunters, and more particularly 
 among those who have already felt the power of their adver- 
 sary. 
 
 While the Arabs, some standing and some reclining, are 
 discussing with great vehemence the course they are to follow 
 at the edge of the wood, I invite the reader to come with me 
 into the dusky recesses of the thicket to see how the forest 
 monarch is awaiting his guests. 
 
 Under the arching roof made by the interlacing branches 
 of the wild olives and mastic trees, we enter several apart- 
 ments destined for the use of his majesty duiing the different 
 hours of the day, or temperature of the season. They are 
 all shaded to a pleasant twilight, and the clean and luxu- 
 riant beds of fragrant leaves invite to repose. Here it is 
 that w^ith the dawning of the sultry day, retires the lordly 
 tenant, to digest his meal or toy with his dusky spouse, 
 and where, at the time of the arrival of the hunters, he was 
 stretched on his couch, dreaming in the pauses of his cat-like 
 slumber. 
 
 With the first sound that reached his ear, he listlessly- 
 opened his eyes in a dreamy state, without even moving his 
 head ; but as the noise comes to him, more and more distinctly, 
 he raises himself on his belly, and listens with an attentive 
 air. 
 
 At the first hurrah of the hunters, he springs to his feet 
 with a bound, and, shaking his mane, answers the challenge 
 with a roll of thunder, that bids the imprudent huntsmen to 
 tremble at having disturbed the rest of their master. Then 
 
48 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 cemes the sound of a gun, and a ball ricochets from tree to 
 tree, with a whistling noise, and he furiously rushes from his 
 room to met the invaders. 
 
 He hears the cries and menaces of the Arabs, and stops in 
 his course, trembling with wrath and impatience. The 
 gleaming eye, the dilated nostril, and swelling limbs, all 
 mark the warrior's joy in the coming battle. He remembers 
 having heard these same cries and assaults once before, and 
 how he recklessly rushed out to met the foe, to be received 
 with a tempest of balls, the marks of which still remain on 
 his body, and the past experience gives him prudence. So 
 the voices call, and the guns sound in vain ; he controls his 
 ardor, and bides the proper moment for making the charge. 
 With a restless step, he roves around his domain, now 
 walking fast, with uplifted head and a long step, now pausing 
 to listen to the gathering storm around him ; and then he 
 rears himself on his hind feet, and with his fore paws tears the 
 bark from some tree, in long strips, as though it was a 
 living foe. 
 
 So passes the time beneath the greenwood ; while, on the 
 open plain, the baffled hunters hold council how to bring the 
 foe to terms, and whether to advance or retreat. 
 
 It is seldom that a party of this kind disbands without 
 attempting the assault, if it is only for the purpose of quiet- 
 ing the ridicule of the women at the camp, or of saving the 
 honor of the tribe, by bringing home one or more dead or 
 wounded, in proof of their daring. 
 
 In these kind of conclaves, the old men are always the 
 most prudent, while the young are reckless and ardent. 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 49 
 
 I remember an occurrence that happened in a hunt made 
 by the tribe of Ouled-Cessi, in the month of February, 1850, 
 and I give it here, if only to save from oblivion the names of 
 these brave men. Being about to hunt with a man who had 
 killed lions single handed, their emulation was aroused, and 
 they called together their tribe, and not a warrior neglected 
 the summons. 
 
 When we reached the hunting-ground, we found two lions 
 entrenched in a close thicket of mastic trees, so small that 
 from time to time we could catch glimpses of them from the 
 place where we were gathered. Although I had decided not 
 to accept the aid of this assemblage of Arabs when I came 
 to the attack, yet still I was glad of the party, hoping at 
 once to glean some ideas of Arab life and habits, and to show 
 them the power of the dog of a Christian^ as they call the 
 French. 
 
 Before sending them on the heights to look out, as I 
 usually did, I let them hold their caucus, and listened as 
 earnestly as though I was to take part with them in their 
 plan of operations. The discussion was long and tumultuous. 
 The old men thought I should march in advance, at two or 
 three paces ahead of the main body, which should be formed 
 in a single line ; the young men thought they should march 
 at the head, with me between them, and that the old folks 
 should form a corps of reserve, in case the lions should 
 make a break in the first line. I let the difierent parties 
 urge on their different plans to see to what conclusion they 
 would come. During the argument, a young man baring his 
 arm and leg all torn by a lion which he had encountered, 
 
 3 
 
60 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 was crowed over by a young man in the assembly, who 
 said : 
 
 " Ha ! those are only scratches. I could show you some- 
 thing more dreadful than that, if I dared." 
 
 At these words ; if I dared, the whole party turned in a 
 moment, from the consideration of the greatest importance, 
 and changing their air of solemn gravity, to childish hilaritv, 
 began to cry 
 
 " If he dared !" 
 
 « He will dare !" 
 
 "He will not dare I" 
 
 " He will show us 1" 
 
 " He will not show us, his wife has seen it, but we can't." 
 
 All this time, the poor devil, all abashed and confused, 
 turned around in the middle of the circle, desiring, but not 
 able, to get out of the trap he had so unwittingly sprung. 
 Turning away, I noticed standing near me, an old man and a 
 boy, who seemed to be taking no part in the discussion 
 ground them, but who were talking together with great ani- 
 mation. At the first word I was able to hear, I understood 
 that it was a father and son. 
 
 " My child," said the old man, " you know I am growing 
 old, that you are my only son, and if you should meet with 
 \ny misfortune to-day, I should die of grief." 
 
 " Am I not a man ?" replied the boy. 
 
 " Yes, you are a man," said the father, with a smile, " and 
 I am proud of you ; child of my own heart. But your brother 
 was a man as well as you ; nevertheless, he was killed by a 
 lion last year, on this very mountain, and I was there — I 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 61 
 
 his father, at his very side, and yet could not save him. The 
 lion's eye is fearful, my boy, when he is charging ; a man's 
 becomes dim in looking at him ; his heart beats, and his hand 
 trembles ; and the shot, even if sped with a true aim by the 
 trembling hand, may hit without killing, for the lion carries 
 off many balls." 
 
 " But, father, why did you bring me here, if I am not to 
 burn a cartridge ? am I to return like a coward ?" 
 
 " I let you come, because at first I did not know we had to 
 deal with two lions, which makes the affair doubly danger- 
 ous, and then again, because T knew you wanted to see the 
 lion killer, and I knew the tribe had taken up arms at his 
 request. Stand still, look there near you, do you see him 
 now, look your fill, and when you are done, and can describe 
 to the people of our camp how he looks, we will go homo 
 again." At the words " we will go home again," the boy 
 answered in a deliberate manner :— " You can go home if 
 you wish to, father ; as for me, I will stay, for if he sees me 
 going he will think I am afraid, and I want him to know 
 that I am a boy of the tribe of Cessi." 
 
 The father finding his son immovable, tried a strange 
 argument. " Listen, you have been wanting a horse for a 
 long time, come with me and to-morrow you shall have it." 
 
 " What good will the horse do me," cried the young man, 
 with pride, " if they should say when they see me pass, what 
 a pity that such a pretty animal should be ridden by such a 
 timid rider !" 
 
 Being reduced to his last argument, the father said, " Come ! 
 
52 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I'll give you, besides the horse, the girl you love in mar- 
 riage." 
 
 This offer shook, for an instant, the determination of the 
 boy, but only for an instant, and raising up with pride in his 
 glance, he replied : 
 
 " My fatl^r, you know that in our country, and more par- 
 ticularly in our tribe, the women despise a man who is a 
 man only in name, and who is good for nothing except to 
 beget children like himself. If I am of the tribe of Ouled 
 Cessi, and the son of your loins, the woman who will marry 
 me must be proud of me. Now this is my final decision, if 
 you do not let me hunt the lion to-day, I not only will refuse 
 your offer of wife and horse, but I will also leave your tent, 
 and go away where I can conceal my shame from the eyes 
 of my friends." 
 
 "Whether it is the effect of the education of these half 
 ^ savage men, or it is an instinct imbued in their minds by 
 the associations of their desert life, to produce so much 
 bravery in a beardless boy, I cannot tell ; but at least it is 
 noble, and the reader, when entering on a dangerous hunt, 
 would do well to chcfose such a boy as his comrade. 
 
 I put an end to the scene by reassuring the father upon 
 the success of the day, and at the same time complimenting 
 the boy for his courage. I then informed the company of 
 the plan of attack I had adopted, and I invited the poor 
 devil, who had been so mercilessly ridiculed by his comrades, 
 to stay by me and carry my second gun, and gain a better 
 title to fame than the mishaps that had occurred to his own 
 person. 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 63 
 
 Hardly had the Arabs left the ground to take the place 
 that I had indicated to them, before a lion came out of the 
 thicket, and seeing me comparatively alone, walked straight 
 towards me, the other one following him at about sixty paces 
 in his rear. I was sitting upon a pile of rocks that over- 
 looked the place, and which were accessible by successive 
 ledges, cut up by crevices. 
 
 The Arab I had selected was at my side, holding my 
 carbine at half-cock, ready for me to take it after having 
 discharged both barrels of the one I held in my hand. 
 
 The first lion, in coming towards me, sprang up on the 
 lower ledge of rocks, and then paused. I covered him with 
 my carbine, and just as he turned towards his comrade, 
 exposing his right shoulder, I fired. At the report of the 
 gun he fell, then raising himself, attempted to spring at me, 
 but fell again. I saw that he had both shoulders broken. 
 The second lion came bounding to the foot of the rocks, 
 with his tail to the wind and his voice sending vengeance to 
 his foes. I fired as he was passing his prostrate comrade, 
 aiming just behind the shoulder ; he stumbled for a second, 
 but regaining his feet, with one bound, was on the edge of 
 the rock where we were standing. I seized my second gun 
 from the hands of my trembling Arab, and fired at the 
 temple of the animal, and he fell dead at four steps from our 
 vei^ feet. I then gave the coup de grace to the first lion 
 and the battle was won. 
 
 Let us now return, without further digression, to the 
 assembly of hunters preparing for an attack, and illustrate 
 their usual manner of proceeding, after they are satisfied 
 
64 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 the lion will not come out of his lair. After a great many- 
 useless gestures and speeches, the counsels of the old men of 
 the party have yielded to those of the young ones, and it is 
 agreed to attack the lion, wherever they can find him, and as 
 best they may. 
 
 Every one takes off his bournous, which he hangs on a tree, 
 and pulls off his shoes, if he happens to have any, and the 
 entire party, clad only in a shirt that comes down to the 
 knee, goes forward frisking and capering, and treading on 
 each other's heels, to battle against the lion. 
 
 There is the place where the lion has entered under cover, 
 leaving his heavy tracks on the sand, and they must follow 
 his trail without losing it for a single moment, so that the 
 animal will be always in front. 
 
 As the woods are so dense, the party must march in single 
 file, and it is usually some young dare-devil, who has never 
 been on a hunt of this kind, that takes the lead of the 
 column, no matter what his elders may say to oppose him. 
 
 Every time they come across an open glade in the thicket, 
 they take the opportunity to form in order of battle, and 
 invoke the lion to come out, and on his non-appearance, 
 hurl at him whatever, in Musselman tongue, can be con- 
 sidered the most provoking. But the lion, according to his 
 better tactics, though fully conscious of all these insults, 
 retires to the thickest of the cover, and, crouching on his 
 breast, awaits the proper moment. 
 
 The party again resumes its march, still led by the young 
 scapegrace, who, presently stopping, and pointing to the 
 track before him, says : 
 
ARAB FASHION OP HtJNTINa THE LION. 55 
 
 " The lion is not alone, for here are tlie marks of another 
 lion, larger than the first one." 
 
 Then one of the trackers comes forward, and shows that 
 they are both the tracks of the same lion, but the one is 
 fresher than the other, and points to where he has crossed the 
 first track, and gone to seek a securer covert. At length they 
 find the traces so numerous and complicated as to be no 
 longer able to follow ihem. Here is one trail going this way, 
 and there is another going in an opposite direction, which is 
 the one to be followed ? 
 
 This is a difficult question to judge, for both are so fresli 
 that one would think that the animal had just passed as the 
 hunters arrived. The difficulty is so serious that they go 
 back to the open space they have left, in order to debate the 
 question, while one or two keep watch. Then the elders pro- 
 pose that they shall all go home, and come on the morrow 
 with some wise man or diviner, to conjure the lion, and 
 make him leave that part of the country. Others propose to 
 build a fire at the edge of the woods, as a signal for assistance. 
 Yet still the majority are in favor of a fight, and only discuss 
 the manner of bringing it about, and whether it is best to 
 follow one of these paths, or, dividing into two parties, to 
 follow them both. After discussing the two plans, they 
 adopt the latter, and commence the division of the company 
 into two parts. 
 
 This operation is as shrewd as it is curious : 
 
 Instead of dividing the whole number of hunters into two 
 equal bands, and placing men of equal experience in each 
 party, as would probably be done with us, they divide them- 
 
66 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 selves by village, by tent, and by family ; so that if there are 
 thirty hunters present, one troop would number twenty, and 
 the other but ten ; yet these ten, in spite of their nume- 
 rical, and sometimes personal, inferiority, will, nevertheless, 
 be more eflfective than the other twenty ; because, they are 
 all brothers, or fathers and children, or at most, near relatives, 
 who can safely rely on each other in moments of danger. 
 The two parties once formed, retire to the forks of the trail 
 they left, and each follows a different track, agreeing to come 
 together at the first cry or sound of a gun. 
 
 After having gone a little way, stopping ever and anon, to 
 catch the meaning of different signs or sounds ; the party 
 taking the right hand path meets with a tree all furrowed 
 with the claws of the lion. Every one stops to examine it, 
 and to give his opinion ; or, it may be, to let the left hand party 
 have time to attack, if they meet with their prey, or to return 
 if they have run out their path. But the others are follow- 
 ing their trail without any difficulty or hesitation ; for at their 
 head marches the famous Abdallah, the giant of the chase ; 
 who, when a man is overthrown by a lion, is always by to 
 rescue or revenge ; who, when there is a flight or a panic 
 remains ever at his post ; who has been seen, after having 
 discharged all his weapons, and broken his yatagan in the 
 head of a wounded lion, that was crushing one of his rela- 
 tives, to throw himself on the beast, and grasping him in his 
 powerful arms, attack him with his teeth, and let himself be 
 torn and wounded, still holding his own, until a ball has 
 entered the temple of the lion, passing between him and the 
 body of his friend. 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 57 
 
 While I am giving this hunting sketch, will the reader 
 pardon me for digressing again to narrate an act, showing the 
 pride of this man, who, though as poor as Job, was the 
 model of a knight, sans peur et sans reproche ? He was proud 
 only of what he had done, and what he could do. 
 
 In the month of May, 1852, I was sent as mediator with 
 French troops, who marched under the orders of General de 
 M , into the province of Kabylie, to quell the insurrec- 
 tions that had recently broken out. General de A. was 
 detached from the invading column, with a few battalions, 
 into the country of the Haractahs, and I accompanied the 
 general, who was one of the most enthusiastic, and best hun- 
 ters I have ever known. After a five days' march, we 
 arrived and encamped at the foot of the mountain called Sidi- 
 Reghis, which has the honor of being the dwelling-place of 
 Abdallah, the charcoal burner. 
 
 As it was early when we arrived, the general wanted to 
 try a little sport in the neighborhood of the camp, and I 
 mentioned to him the name of Abdallah, and asked if he 
 would like him for a guide. A messenger was, accordingly, 
 sent up the mountain, and in a little while returned with our 
 friend of sporting notoriety, armed cap a pie. After he 
 had been received with the customary ceremonies in front of 
 my tent, I asked him if there were many hares in that part 
 of the country. At this question, he looked at me for a 
 moment, with an air of astonishment, and then without say- 
 ing a word, turned to a group of Arabs, who were squatted 
 near by, and leading one of them forward to me, he replied, 
 
 3* 
 
68 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 with an air of utter disdain, while indicating the man with a 
 graceful gesture, 
 
 " There is a catcher of hares." 
 
 " But you," I said to him, a little piqued by what he had 
 done, " you are of the same place as he, and ought to know if 
 there are any." 
 
 " I," he replied in the same frank tone, " I live on the 
 mountain, the hares live on the plain." 
 
 " You say then there are hares on the plain about here ?" 
 
 " All that I can say is, that I only descend to the plain 
 during the night either to see my mistress or gather a sheep 
 for my flock, and if perchance I encounter wild beasts in my 
 path, most assuredly they are not hares." 
 
 As I hoped to present him to the General, and induce him 
 to serve as guide, I cut short this conversation before witnesses 
 and lead him to my tent. Once there we talked lion to his 
 heart's content, and when I thought he had become sufiiciently 
 mollified, I explained to him what I wanted. I should add 
 that he consented only with great reluctance, and he took such 
 good care not to compromise his reputation, that the sports- 
 man accustomed to come home usually with his game-bag 
 loaded with game, returned that day with nothing. 
 
 I have not seen Abdallah since that time, but in August 
 last while stopping on my way from the south, with the shiek 
 of his tribe, I learned that Abdallah had again saved one of 
 his kindred from the jaws of a lion, who, thanks to his timely 
 succor, came off with only the loss of a leg. 
 
 But while we are engaged with the prowess of this hunter, 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 69 
 
 the leader of the party we left in the thicket has reached the 
 end of the trail. 
 
 A fierce roar resounds through the woods a few paces 
 ahead. 
 
 "Down!" cries a voice like the leader of an army, 
 " Remember you are men, children of Cessi, and that I ani 
 with you." 
 
 Immediately the party congregate together around their 
 chief, some seated, some kneeling, some stretched on the 
 ground, the better to see under the leafy cover. Their guns 
 are all cocked with the breech to their shoulders and the 
 muzzle to their foe. 
 
 The lion has crouched to the earth like a cat, so that he 
 can be more ready for the spring, and present a smaller front 
 to his adversaries. 
 
 The men are so closely banded together, that a single 
 burnous would cover them all. 
 
 It is a solemn moment under that pall of leaves, with not 
 a sound in the sultiy air. The lion and the Arabs, face to 
 face, only a step apart from the wary beast, and yet they can- 
 not see him. 
 
 Suddenly one of the men indicates with his finger that he 
 sees the lion. His neighbor following the direction of his 
 finger makes tbe same motion. Then they all lean forward 
 the better to take aim. 
 
 One moment more of silence, and the woods will echo with 
 the ringing of twenty carbines, but no — they are too late — 
 the lion sees he is discovered, a crash of underbush, a short 
 hollow roar, and he is upon them. He crushes the head of 
 
60 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 one, and "breaks the arm of another, and cleaving down the 
 flesh of a third, with a bound is off in the woods again, leav- 
 ing the discomfited troops without they having fired a 
 gun. 
 
 Then follow the most deafening shrieks, and an uproar 
 beyond conception. Every one charges his neighbor with 
 the result of what has just happened, and the poor soul who 
 first pointed out the lion, if he happens to have been neither 
 killed nor wounded, is blamed and reproached as though he 
 had said to the lion, " Come quick, now is the moment." 
 
 Then comes up the other party and they count their losses. 
 One killed and two wounded. That is too bad! What, 
 without firing a shot ! This must be revenged. Where has 
 he gone, the coward ! And the party get so- excited as no 
 longer to listen to reason. 
 
 Very good, my braves, you need not go far to search the 
 enemy, he will come to you. You have made too much 
 racket here on his domains, you have injured his nerves, look 
 out for yourselves, the day badly commenced badly ends. 
 
 And there he comes, or rather returns ; stand clear, the lion 
 charges. 
 
 In truth, the animal excited by the noise, and allured by 
 the blood that he has drawn, comes crashing through the 
 underbush, roaring with a heavy voice and with his head 
 high in air and mouth open, charges upon the troops. This 
 time the hunters are not taken unprepared, and thirty balls 
 are buried in the living target. The lion crippled with 
 wounds falls in the midst of the Arabs, seizing with his claws 
 and teeth and tearing in pieces all that he can reach, until he 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 61 
 
 dies of his wounds, or is finished by a death shot from a 
 pistol fired in his ear. 
 
 The animal at length being dead they turn their attention 
 to the hunters who are lying under and about him. When 
 gathered together and examined, they are found to number 
 two dead and four injured, of whom two are mortally 
 wounded. 
 
 " We would regard such a day's adventure as very sad, and 
 would have our attention more occupied with the dead arid 
 wounded, than with the lion, but here it is just the contrary. 
 With the exception of the near relatives of the victims, no 
 one notices them ; but the lion — the lion is centre of every 
 attention and admiration. 
 
 After having carried the wounded aside, and set the dead 
 bodies against some neighboring clump of trees, a ghastly 
 group, one or two men are dispatched to the nearest 
 encampment to bring mules to transport them ; then drawing 
 their knives they all fall to upon the lion, and commence 
 skinning and quartering him, all talking at once in their 
 loudest tones, and recounting over and over the varied 
 adventures of the day. 
 
 After this operation is completed, and the mules have 
 arrived from the douar, the hunters form in order, and the 
 caravan winds down the mountain to the plain. First 
 marches the man who has given the coup de grace to the 
 lion, covered with his skin. Then follows a mule bearing 
 astride his back two of the wounded men. Then another 
 mule with another of the wounded men, and holding in front 
 of him on the mule one of the corpses astride in the same 
 
62 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 manner as himself, and surging from side to side with the 
 motion of the mule. Then another mule with the other 
 wuonded man and the other corpse, and then the body of 
 the lion quartered, and suspended by branches and sur- 
 rounded by the hunters. 
 
 Arriving at the point of separation between the different 
 douars, the hunters are welcomed by cries of joy and grief, 
 by stamping of feet and hurrahs of triumph, and barkings, 
 sounded by a crowd of men, women, children and dogs, who 
 are awaiting their return. The men mingle with the hunters 
 to gain tidings of the chase and accounts of individual 
 prowess. The women rejoice or weep as their kindred or 
 lovers have come back safe or wounded ; and the children, in 
 spite of their fears, with screams and laughter, pursue the 
 man who runs around covered with the skin of the lion, and 
 roaring with mimicked thunder. At last, when every one is 
 hoarse with shouting, with weeping and barking, the party 
 separates to take each one his individual path, and to try the 
 hunt again on the first favorable opportunity. 
 
 It is after this manner do hunt the Arab tribes of Ouled 
 Meloul and Ouled Cessi. 
 
 The hunting spirit of these people has changed very much 
 within the last few years, and I will give a short history of 
 the causes. 
 
 Before the capture of Algiers by the French, and during 
 the dominion of the Turks, the Beys exempted these two 
 tribes from the payment of all taxes, and gave them honorary 
 titles for their prowess. In addition they paid them well in 
 proportion to the number of men they had lost, for every lion 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 63 
 
 skin that was brought to the Pacha of Algiers, and these 
 robes were afterwards sent as royal presents by the Pacha to 
 the Sultan. 
 
 After the subjugation of the country by the French, these 
 tribes came forward with their titles and exemptions received 
 under the former government, but they bore no weight with 
 the new rulers, and the bearers were treated and taxed pre- 
 cisely as the other tribes. But besides all this, when any of 
 these Arabs brought to the French authorities the skin of any 
 lion they had captured, the officers, regarding the gift only as 
 the skin of a wild beast, without any thought of what it had 
 cost the hunters or of its prescriptive value, handed out the 
 contemptible sum of fifty francs, which was allowed by the 
 state for such services, and informed the hunters that they 
 might keep their proflfered skin. The Arabs, indignant at 
 being treated as mere traders in peltry, and estimating higher 
 than this the value of the blood they had shed to earn the 
 trophy, left the skin where it was lying, and without a word 
 or gesture, retired proudly to their tents to hunt no more. 
 
 It is now only after having suffered for a long time, and as 
 a matter of personal defence, that these tribes ever attack a 
 lion. It has occurred several times within the last three or 
 four years that they have sent to Constantine for me, and 
 when they have not found me they have remained quietly 
 idle for a month or more, allowing the lion to decimate their 
 herds rather than take up arms in their own defence. 
 
 I neither praise nor blame the course pursued by the French 
 authorities towards these two tribes, but I merely narrate for 
 the benefit of the world, these facts, to illustrate the bravery 
 
64 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 of a race of men well worthy of admiration and sympa- 
 thy. 
 
 The tribe of the Chegatmas is a small branch of a people 
 coming originally from Tunis, that followed the army of the 
 Bey of Tunis when he came to lay seige to Constantine, and 
 they established themselves on Mount Hamama in the 
 country of the Haractah, When they are called to arms at 
 the summons of their sheik, they bring to the field a hundred 
 . guns ; and they are accustomed to hunt in the mountains of 
 Hamama, Bou-Tokrema and Tafrent. 
 
 The details of the hunt up to the time of the attack, arc 
 the same as those of the Ouled Cessi and the Ouled Meloul. 
 
 The trackers build a fire at some gathering point, which 
 serves as a signal for the tribe. Vv^hen the animal is marked 
 down, and his retreat carefully examined, the hunters noise- 
 lessly surround it, and climb up into the pines and oaks 
 which grow in profusion on the hills. 
 
 When every one has taken his position they commence to 
 shout from every side, and if this has no efiect, they fire 
 several balls into the cover. 
 
 The lion, accustomed to do battle with men, and not with 
 squirrels, when he hears their cries and smells the powder, 
 marches out of his retreat, and directs his steps with a wary 
 tread, in a direction which he thinks will lead him to some 
 one of his scattered enemies. His great eyes wander from 
 rock to rock ; his ears move forward and back with a w^atch- 
 ful motion ; and his tail is held stiff and rigid, as he advances, 
 ever and anon pausing to catch the wind or sound of his 
 foes. 
 
ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 65 
 
 Suddenly he hears a sound like the clicking of the lock 
 of a gun ; without moving a step from his place, he crouches 
 on his belly, and with his piercing eye scans every bush or 
 stone that might conceal a foe. 
 
 At this instant his view is obscured by a cloud of smoke, 
 and his ears stunned with the report of guns and the loud 
 cries of the Arabs. His body pierced with a dozen balls, 
 bounds and writhes like a serpent. While he is springing 
 from bush to bush, the hunters^ from their secure position, 
 hurl at him their curses and bullets with equal force, until 
 he catches sight of one of them in his leafy fortress, and then 
 springing against the tree w^itb desperate leaps, he falls at its 
 feet, under the weight of the balls that pierce hira, and yields 
 his last breath with a far resounding roar of impotent rage. 
 
 No one is ever injured in this cowardly warfare, except 
 now and then, on some rare occasion, when some luckless 
 hunter has taken his place in a tree not sufficiently strong or 
 high to resist the leaps and momentum of the animal. 
 
 So hunt the Chegatmas, but as their manner of hunting 
 lacks the nobility and the danger of the encounters of the 
 the Ouled Meloul and Ouled Cessi, so do they lack their 
 reputation among their comrades, and their esteem with all 
 true hunters. 
 
66 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE CHASE OF THE PANTHER. 
 
 The pantlier is found in all the three French provinces of 
 Africa, between the seacoast and the highlands, but generally- 
 nearest the coast. 
 
 There are two species ; the same in color, but diflferent 
 in size. The larger species is about the size of a two year 
 old lioness. Her relative, about one-third smaller. This 
 animal has the peculiarities and cunning of a cat, with all 
 its hunting propensities. Although, at first, its character 
 and habits might be thought to resemble that of a lion, yet 
 they are essentially different. 
 
 While the lion lives on the herds of the people among 
 whom he dwells ; the panther feeds on the products of the 
 chase in the forest. 
 
 The one boldly descends to the plains, and takes his even- 
 ing meal from under the beard of the Arabs. The other, not 
 daring to leave the woods even in the night, follows the wild 
 hog, the jackal or the hare ; and not succeeding in sur- 
 prising one of these, will make his humble meal on a par- 
 tridge or a rabbit. 
 
 The voice of the lion sounds like a roll of thunder, and 
 
THE CHASE OP THE PANTHER 67 
 
 one could readily mistake the cry of a panther for the bray- 
 ing of a jackass. 
 
 I remember a hunt in which I had the chance of making 
 the acquaintance of this beast, and comparing his voice with 
 that of the other inhabitants of the desert. 
 
 On the 16th of July, 1845, 1 was called by the people of 
 Mahouna, in the district of Guelma, to free them from the 
 presence of a family of lions that had taken up their abode in 
 their country, and were abusing the rights of hospitality. 
 
 After reaching the place, while gaining all the information 
 I could about the residence and habits of these importunate 
 guests, I learned that they came every night to drink at the 
 Ouled-Cherf. I immediately went to the banks of the river, 
 and found not only their tracks, but a regular path they had 
 made in their constant visits. 
 
 The family was a large one, being composed of a father 
 and mother, and three children of full age. 
 
 I was standing near the brook, in the company of a dozen 
 Arabs, and the lions' trail was a few paces in front of me. 
 At one side lay a deep jungle, which according to the 
 natives, was the covert of the royal family. 
 
 Old Taieb, the chief of the country, coming to me and 
 taking , me by the arm, pointed to the numerous tracks 
 deeply impressed in the sand, and said : 
 
 " There are too many, let us go." 
 
 Already, previous to this, I had passed more than a hun- 
 dred nights under the open sky ; sometimes crouched at the 
 bottom of a ravine frequented by lions ; sometimes beating 
 the forest paths, scarcely discernible in the obscurity. I had 
 
68 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 encountered troops both of lions and brigands, yet, for- 
 tunately, by the aid of God and Saint Hubert, I had always 
 come out of the contest in safety. 
 
 Experience had taught me that two balls will rarely kill an 
 old lion ; and every time that I entered the field, I remem- 
 bered in spite of myself, the past nights that I had found too 
 long, either because the fever made my hand tremble when I 
 had most need of its being steady, or because of an inoppor- 
 tune storm that shut out the objects around me for continuous 
 hours. And I thought of moments when the roar of the 
 lion had answered to the rolling of the thunder, so near to 
 me, that I felt as if each flash of lightning was a blessing, and 
 that if it would only continue, I would willingly repay the 
 favor with the half of my blood. 
 
 And yet I cherished this loneliness from veriest love, and I 
 sought it as a means of abasing the pride of the Arabs, who 
 prostrated themselves before me — the Frenchman, not so 
 much for the services gratuitously rendered at the risk of 
 his life, but because he accomplished alone what they dare 
 not do with their whole tribe. 
 
 Every lion that fell before my gun, and whose death I 
 announced to the attending valleys by my signal fires, was a 
 subject of astonishment, and they never comprehended how 
 a stranger dare pass "the night in a mountain-pass, that they 
 avoided even in the day. 
 
 The Arabs are brave in war, and fearless in every position, 
 except when placed before their master, who draws his 
 strength, as they say, from God ; therefore the hunter is not 
 obliged to awake the douars of the mountain with a distant 
 
THE CHASE OF THE PANTHER. 69 
 
 peal of triumph in order to obtain their respect. It is suffi- 
 cient if he even leaves his tent in the evening, and returns 
 at daybreak. It can be easily understood that this feeling of 
 these people forced me to walk in the path that I had com- 
 menced ; that it was a great relief against the emotions of 
 the heart, sometimes too strong, and I do not fear to add 
 against the anguish and loneliness of the night, in a country 
 filled with every danger. 
 
 My natiqnal amour propre that caused me at first to enter 
 into this career, having been once satisfied by repeated suc- 
 cesses, I could have had the company of true and brave 
 comrades had I desired it ; but I became so passionately 
 addicted to the darkness, the solitude, the danger and 
 adventure, and so in love with myself and my gun, that I 
 have passed many a night in the shadowy woods, until day- 
 break, even without hope of meeting game, and returned to 
 my tent only with the day dawn, wearied in body, and 
 exhausted in mind from the excitement of the adventure. 
 
 I do not know if there is one of my readers who will 
 understand this feeling, for I did not myself, before I learned 
 it by experience. 
 
 If one of my brother hunters will travel with me from 
 evening till morning, during a whole month among these 
 savage gorges, that seem made for the abode of the lion 
 alone, and can there hear the voice of the lord of the desert, 
 that imposes silence and terror on all created things, tolling 
 the hours of the night, he will feel unknown emotions throb- 
 bing in his breast, and teaching him a new life ; but the 
 presence of one of his race will detract from the scene some 
 
70 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 of its beauty, and from the heart some of its emotions, and 
 prevent his tasting and perhaps understanding the feelings of 
 the isolated hunter. 
 
 From the moment that the first star springs to its place in 
 the evening sky, until the red flush of the dawning, the 
 solitary man has to be ever on the watch to catch the 
 slightest motion, to hear the faintest sound, to judge quickly 
 and decidedly whether he is mistaking stones for robbers, if 
 he is following a path or not, if the thicket at his side con- 
 ceals a foe, to listen and detect if he is followed, and in a 
 word to remember that death is around and about him in a 
 thousand forms, and there is no help or hope from living 
 man but himself. He therefore feels a constant emotion, and 
 yet always has the readiness and coolness to fight a battle 
 which cannot always save him, but without which he is lost 
 beyond redemption. These are the reasons that made me 
 love the chase of the lion alone in the wilderness. 
 
 If there is among the hunters, for whom these lines are 
 written, any one who would wish to enter the lists in order to 
 comprehend the joys which outweigh all fatigue, I would say 
 to him : The road is open, enter it who will. 
 
 But away with the covered blinds and ambuscades which 
 are used by the Arabs ! Away with the daylight hunt, 
 either alone or with friends to drive away fear ! Wait for 
 the night, and at the first roar of the lion set out alone and 
 on foot. If you do not meet the animal, try it again on the 
 following night, and the next, and the next, until you have 
 succeeded. 
 
 If you should live to come back from this hunt, and I hope 
 
THE CHASE OF THE PANTHER. ^1 
 
 you may, that I can resign to you my position, I promise you 
 in exchange for the monument you otherwise would have 
 received, a perfect indifference to death which you will 
 thereafter be always ready to meet under whatever form it 
 may come. I will promise you the esteem, affection, grati- 
 tude, and more besides, of an entire people, who are always 
 hostile to others of your country and religion ; and I will 
 promise you last of all, the remembrance of scenes that will 
 make your soul to laugh, and rejuvenate your old age. 
 
 But if you should not come back, which I should regret, 
 both on your account and my own, you may rest assured 
 that on the spot where the Arabs find your remains, 
 they will raise, not a mausoleum as with us, but a stone, on 
 which they will place a broken pot, some old iron, cannon 
 balls, and a crowd of other things which, with the child of 
 the desert, take the place of an epitaph, and signify, ITere 
 died a man / 
 
 It is well that you learn that among the Arabs a moustache 
 and bearded chin do not make a man ; but know also, that 
 their simple epitaph, like the one I have given, has more 
 meaning than many a higher sounding eulogium, and for 
 myself I desire none other. 
 
 Please let this digression serve to relieve the monotony of 
 the narrative I have left, and I will now resume. 
 
 The old Shiek Taieb, at first insisted that I should return 
 to the douar, and then that he should leave with me some 
 of his men, who judging from the expression of their counte- 
 nances as he spoke, seemed but little anxious to adopt the 
 suggestion. 
 
72 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I refused both of these propositions, and urged the chief 
 and his men to depart as the evening was coming on, and the 
 lions might make their appearance at any moment. 
 
 The brave man prepared with regret to comply with my 
 wishes, but before leaving, he asked my permission to say his 
 evening prayer with his people, in order that God might 
 have me in His guard during this night, in which not an eye 
 would be closed on the mountain, but both great and small 
 would listen with beating hearts for the sound of my gun. 
 
 There are tBose who have no faith in prayer ; but as for 
 me, and I would say it boldly, at the risk of the ridicule of 
 atheists whose opinions are not worth the powder I fired 
 away at sparrows when a boy, I believe in it with my whole 
 soul. 
 
 The sight of these men of a wild and hostile religion, 
 bending in prayer for a Christian, affected me sincerely, and 
 I regretted that the rites I professed permitted me to join 
 only mentally in a petition offered to the God of all men, in 
 the forest and on the very spot where in a few hours I would 
 be an actor in death's tragedy. 
 
 The prayer having been finished, the Shiek arose, and 
 coming to me, said : 
 
 " If God hears our prayers, and you will reassure those who 
 love you ; after you have killed your enemy, set fire to the 
 pile of wood that my men will gather for you ; so that when 
 our ears are trembling with the sound of the conflict, our 
 eyes may be gladdened with the token of victory, and I pro- 
 mise you we will return answer to it." 
 
THE CHASE OF THE PANTHER. 73 
 
 I willingly agreed to Taieb's request, and in a moment an 
 immense pile of dry wood was gathered together, and 
 arranged so that a spark would kindle it. While the 
 Arabs were engaged in this work with an alacrity very seldom 
 seen among them, who are generally laziness personified, the 
 Shiek remained by me and said. 
 
 *' If I knew you would not mock at me, I would give you a 
 counsel." 
 
 " The words of an old man," I replied, " are always to be 
 honored." 
 
 " Then listen, my son ! If the lions come here to-night, the 
 seignor with the big head (the Arabs give this name only to 
 the adult male lion), will walk in front; don't pay any atten- 
 tion to the others. The young ones are so old that the 
 mother don't take any further care of them, and all rely on 
 the father. Therefore, I commend to thee the seignor with 
 the big head, and, remember, if thy last hour is at hand it is 
 he that will kill thee, and the young ones will eat thee." 
 
 His men calling to him at this moment, he answered them 
 to go on ahead, and that he would follow, and then leaning 
 forward he put his mouth to my ear, and said, " He stole my 
 finest horse and ten beeves." 
 
 "Who did that 2" I replied. 
 
 " He did it," he answered pointing towards the slope of 
 the mountain. 
 ^ " But who is the thief," I asked, impatient at the delay. 
 
 " The seignor with the big head." 
 
 These last words were said so low that I could hear only 
 
74 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 the last syllables ; but I divined bis meaning and could not 
 prevent myself from laughing outright. 
 
 A few moments and the Shiek had disappeared down the 
 mountain path with his followers, and I was left alone by the 
 side of the lions tracks, and in front of the mysterious lair 
 which was already enveloped in the shades of night, and my 
 eye ran along the different trails and endeavored to count the 
 foot-marks imbedded in the sand, and my fancy pictured the 
 seignor with the big head with his wife and family reposing 
 on his couch in the jungle above, and measured the strength 
 of my single arm with their united might. 
 
 The Mahouna gorge in which I was lying, is at once the 
 most picturesque and the most savage of the African defiles. 
 Fancy two high mountains running up to a sharp peak with 
 their sides wrinkled by deep ravines, and shadowed by impene- 
 trable forests of cork trees, wild olives and mastics. Between 
 these mountains flows the brook of Ouled Cherf, a roaring 
 torrent in winter, but in the torrid summer exposing its 
 gravelly bed cut up by the paths of animals of every kind, 
 that come thither to drink or bathe. 
 
 In looking at this valley from a distance it would appear 
 to be inhabitable, and indeed there are found some families, 
 who, when menaced on the plain, have taken refuge in this 
 spot, as the only retreat against their foes, and a place to 
 which they could never be followed. In spite of the ravages 
 made by the lion in their families, they have never thought 
 of emigrating, and when they take their annual count of their 
 stock, they say so much for the lion, so much for the 
 government, and so much for ourselves, and the share of the 
 
THE CHASE OF THE PANTHER. 75 
 
 lion is always ten times greater than that of the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The paths between these two mountains are so naiTow 
 and precipitous, that even the Arab scout cannot folloAV them 
 without danger. The fords communicating from the slope 
 of one mountain to the slope of the opposite one, are equally- 
 difficult, and the path frequented by the lions, who came down 
 to drink, was like the other, a narrow defile between bluff 
 banks. At this point, the Ouled Cherf forms an elbow which 
 shuts out the view from every side, so that the place where I 
 lay in ambush, was like the bottom of a funnel, and so 
 embowered that the rays of the sun, nor of the moon, that 
 other sun for me, never penetrated to it. 
 
 Since that time, I have passed many a night in desert- 
 places, yet none to me has ever seemed so short. Seated at 
 the side of a rose tree that overlooked the ford, I tried to catch 
 some sound of the barking of a dog, or the lowing of an ox, 
 or gleam of a watch-fire, or something, no matter how trifling, 
 that would say to me, you are not alone. But around me 
 every sound was stilled in the gloom of the forest, and as far 
 as eye or ear could pierce, there was no sound or sight of 
 human voice or skill ; I was alone with my gun. 
 
 The hours stole by with noiseless tread, and the moon, that 
 I had scarcely hoped to see, cast occasional bars of light 
 through the foliage, giving a faint gleam that marked the 
 outlines of surrounding objects. 
 
 It grew near eleven o'clock, and I was wondering at having 
 to wait so long without any visitors, when I thought I heard 
 steps under the trees. Little by little the sound became more 
 
76 . THE LION KILLER. 
 
 audible, and I distinguislied the steps of several large animals. 
 In a moment more, I caught the sight of several luminous 
 points of a fiery red color, that were moving towards me. I 
 at once recognized the family of lions, marching in single file, 
 and coming towards the ford I was guarding. Instead of 
 five, I could count only three, and when they stopped at the 
 water's edge, at fifteen paces from me, it seemed to me that 
 the leader, although of a height and bearing more than 
 ordinarily imposing, was not the seignor with the big head, 
 whose appearance had been described to me by the Sheik. 
 
 They had all halted on the bank together, and were regard' 
 ing me with a look of doubtful astonishment, when I took 
 aim at the shoulder of the foremost one, and fired. 
 
 A roar of pain and anger followed the ringing of my rifle, 
 and awoke the echoes of the forest, and the smoke obscured 
 my sight for a moment, so that I could not see ; but when my 
 eyes could pierce the veil, two of the lions were going back 
 to the woods, at a slow pace, and the third was dragging ^ 
 himself towards me on his belly, with both shoulders 
 broken. 
 
 I comprehended at once that the father and mother were 
 not with the young lions on this party of pleasure, and I did 
 not regret it even for an instant. 
 
 After thus being assured of the flight of the others, I 
 directed my attention to the wounded lion. I had just rammed 
 home my ball, when, with a great effort, that cost him a roar 
 of pain, he bounded up the bank to within three steps of 
 me ; a second ball in the breast sent him rolling in the bed of 
 the torrent. Three times he erpeated the attack, and three 
 
THE CHASE OF THE PANTHER. t7 
 
 times was felled into the ravine, by the fire of my gun ; and it was 
 only at the third ball that was fired directly in his eye, that 
 the desperate beast fell over on his back dead. 
 
 With the first report of my gun, and the roar of the lion 
 that accompanied it, I heard behind me, as though she been 
 a delighted spectator of the conflict, the wild yell of a pan- 
 ther. At the second roar of the lion, following my second 
 shot, another screamed from the left bank of the Ouled Cherf, 
 and then another answered from further up the ford, and so 
 through all the continuance of this drama, three or four pan- 
 thers, whose presence I had never suspected in these regions, 
 and whom I had never encountered before or since, held an 
 infernal jubilee over the fate of a foe they had feared to attack 
 themselves ; and their sharper cry mingled with the thunder 
 of the lion, and the report of my gun, to make the peopled 
 forest like the theatre of a mysterious tragedy. 
 
 With one moment of pause after my last shot, to listen to 
 ihe lessening echoes that died in the hollow gorges of the 
 mountain, and to be certain that the lion was completely 
 dead, I descended into the gully to look at my prey. It was 
 an animal about three years of age, large, and full in flesh, 
 and graced with teeth and mane that would have done honor 
 to one of the patriarchs of his race ; and I was well assured 
 that he was worth my four charges of powder, and that the 
 Arabs would hail his demise with a paean of joy. 
 
 I then thought of the signal fire that the. Sheik had pre- 
 pared for me, and applied a match to the pile of dry wood, 
 and sat down the while by the side of my royal game to 
 await the result. Slowly the flames climbed from branch to 
 
78 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 branch in the dry heap, reflecting from bush to tree-top, 
 until they finally illuminated the dark slopes of the two 
 mountains with a ruddy glare, like morning. Presently I 
 heard a gun in the valley, and then a distant fusillade from 
 the douar of the Sheik, the sign that my signal was recog- 
 nized. The sound of victory was answered from douar to 
 douar, till all the tents of Mahouna where ringing with the 
 chorus of barkings and cries, and the rattle of fire-arms. All 
 night I sat by my lion, and listened to the triumph that was 
 answered from valley to valley. I alone on the hill-side, and 
 all the country ringing triumph to my victory. 
 
 With the dawning of the day, more than two hundred 
 Arabs, men, women and children, climbed the hills to see 
 their fallen foe, and heap insults on his head ; and the Sheik 
 Taieb informed me that while I had been watching the 
 young ones, the seignor with the big head, accompanied by 
 his wife, had visited the plain and carried off from him an- 
 other cow for their breakfast. 
 
 Although the history of this famous enemy of Taieb's 
 has no relation to the history of the panther, which I am 
 writing, yet still I cannot resist narrating the manner of his 
 death, which occurred in the following year. Although 
 scarcely a twelvemonth had elapsed since, I had waited for 
 him at the ford of the Ouled Cherf, yet the sum of his wicked- 
 ness had increased to a dreadful extent. Horses, sheep, 
 beeves and belated herdsmen, all followed the same capacious 
 road, and still his appetite remained unsatisfied. One of the 
 people of Mahouna, a herdsman named Lakdar had lost by 
 bis attacks, forty-five sheep, one horse, and twenty-nine beeves, 
 
THE CHASE OF THE PANTHER. 19 
 
 and then came to me for redress ; and I found myself at his 
 tent on the evening of the 13 th of August. On the 26 th of 
 the same month, Lakdar came to my tent, saying, " the herds 
 have come home without Iho black bull, and I am going to 
 see if I can find his body ; if I do, wo betide the robber that 
 stole him." And he took the road leading to the jungle. 
 
 On the following morning about daybreak, on awakening, 
 I found Lakdar squatted by my bed-side, with a grim smile of 
 anticipated pleasure athwart his dark face. His burnous was 
 dripping with dew, and his dogs that were stretched by his 
 side were dappled with mud that was made by the last night's 
 storm. 
 
 " Good morning, brother," he said, " I have found him, let 
 us go." 
 
 Without a word of question, I took my arms, and we left 
 the douar. 
 
 After a long walk through the forest of wild olives, we 
 followed a ravine where broken rocks, and impenetrable 
 thickets made our progress almost impossible. But after 
 reaching the extremity of the' woods, in the wildest part of the 
 cover, we came upon the remains of the black bull. The 
 thigh and breast had been eaten, and then the lion had 
 turned the body over so that the whole side was upper- 
 most. 
 
 I said to Lakdar, " Go, and bring me a cake and a flask of 
 water, and let no one come here until to-morrow." After he 
 had returned with my dinner, and I had eaten, I placed 
 myself in position at the base of a wild olive, and within 
 three steps of the dead body. I cleared the branches away 
 
80 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 from before me, and placed them in such a manner that they 
 would conceal my body from behind, and then awaited the 
 result. 
 
 The day wore wearily away, the evening came on, and 
 light and sound died away together in the forest. The feeble 
 light of the setting moon just reached- the retreat where I 
 was crouched. I could only see the trunks of the neighbor- 
 ing trees, and the dead body of the bull, where a silver flake 
 of light was gradually fading, and I listened with attentive 
 ear for every sound. 
 
 Presently a branch cracked beneath the gentle tread of 
 some heavy animal, and I took my position with my right 
 knee on the ground, and my left arm leaning on my left 
 knee, supporting my rifle. I gazed along the barrel, waiting 
 yet hearing nothing more except the steady beat of my own 
 pulse. Another moment passed, and then another in utter 
 stillness. At last from within thirty paces in front came a 
 hollow roar,'gradually approaching as it died away. Then fol- 
 lowed a guttural murmuring, which is the sign of hunger with 
 the lion, and then a perfect stilhiess. I heard nothing more 
 until I saw his immense head over the shoulder of the bull 
 which he commenced to lick slowly, keeping his eye fixed on 
 me. I took aim at his eye and fired. He sprang up on his 
 hind feet with a roar, exposing his breast, which made a fair 
 mark for my second barrel, and he fell over where he stood, 
 directly on his back, moving his enormous feet backward and 
 forward. After reloading, I approached him, and believing 
 him nearly dead, attempted to stab him with my yatagan 
 behind the shoulder, but a quick motion of his fore leg broke 
 
THE CHASE OF THE PANTHER. 81 
 
 the steel short off, and I was only saved from the blow by 
 jumping quickly backwards. Two more bullets driven into 
 his brain and the desert of Mahouna had lost its king, the 
 seignor with the big head. 
 
 Now we will return to our hero the panther. 
 
 I have said that this animal lives by the product of the 
 chase, that he follows in the jungle with the zeal of an 
 ardent hunter ; yet this does not prevent his seizing a sheep 
 or calf that may be found wandering in the neighborhood of 
 his haunts, and many are the losses the frontier settler has 
 to undergo on his account. 
 
 The people of Ouled Yagoub and Beni Oonjenah of the 
 Aures, say that when a panther has killed a sheep or other 
 animal for which he has no immediate use, he carries the 
 body up to the forks of some high tree, where it will be safe 
 from the prying jackal and hyena, until the time of need. 
 
 The panther makes his home in the ledges of rocks that 
 are frequently found in this country, and Unds in their 
 crevices or closely wooded clefts a secure retreat against his 
 bitter enemy the lion, and becomes the terror of the families 
 of porcupines that inhabit with him the ledges of rocks. The 
 porcupine is covered with sharp quills from his tail to the 
 commencement of his head, and when attacked suddenly 
 draws in his head and raises his quills, becoming thus invul- 
 nerable to the most of his foes. But, alas, the panther out- 
 herods Herod, and has a cunning and quickness that are more 
 than a match for his well-armed prey. He watches for con- 
 secutive days the hole of a porcupine, and the moment the 
 animal protrudes his head from his den, with one stroke of 
 
 i* 
 
82 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 his claws he clutches the head, and whips the body out of its 
 retreat before the poor beast is aware of the presence of 
 his foe. 
 
 When I first hunted in Africa, I attempted to hunt the 
 panther in the same manner that I hunted the lion, but it 
 was not long before I found that I was on the wrong track. 
 As the lion by night stands to meet or searches out the 
 hunter, so on the contrary the panther flies and hides from 
 him. I will cite an example of the cunning and timidity of 
 this animal that came under my own notice in the summer 
 of 1844, in the neighborhood of Nech Meia. 
 
 I learned that one of the larger species of panthers had 
 taken up his abode in a ledge of rocks known by the name 
 of Ajar Mounchar, to the great perturbation of the sheep and 
 porcupines that frequented the neighborhood. As I was 
 quartered with a detachment at two leagues distant, I 
 immediately left my comrades, and came to the place 
 designated by the Arabs. It was five o'clock in the day 
 when I arrived, attended by a man from that part of the 
 country to indicate the place ; and as we rode up we saw the 
 panther retiring to her den with some small animal in her 
 mouth that looked like a racoon. I could have had a shot 
 at her at a hundred and twenty-five yards, but I thought it 
 better to let her retire quietly to her den, and take a nearer 
 shot by watching for her when coming out. 
 
 After having sent ofi" my Arab with my horse, with 
 directions to come back for me at daylight the next 
 morning, I softly approached the cavern where I saw 
 the animal disappear. The entrance to her den was so 
 
THE CHASE OF THE PANTHER. 83 
 
 narrow that I could scarcely understand how an animal 
 that was nearly the size of a lioness could have passed 
 through it, and if I had not seen the marks of her feet 
 in the sand, and against the sides of the rock, I should 
 have thought that I had been mistaken. I noticed a mastic 
 tree about ten paces up ,the hill that I selected as a place of 
 concealment, and stretched myself behind it in such a manner 
 that I could not be seen by the panther until she had got 
 three or four yards from the mouth of her den. 
 
 It was about ten o'clock in the evening, when I heard seve- 
 ral sharp and quick repeated growls behind me, and on the 
 other side of the tree, and fearing lest I might be surprised, I 
 turned my head to see what was going on behind me. Unfor- 
 tunately, my gun struck a branch of the tree, as I moved. The 
 growls ceased, and a hissing spit was heard, like that made 
 by a cat, when at bay ; then I heard the quick steps of a 
 retreating animal, and the panther fled into her hole. I 
 only caught a glimpse of her as she entered it I waited till 
 daylight without her daring to come out of it. 
 
 With the dawn of the day, I saw my Arab coursing over 
 the plain, leading with him my saddle-horse, and I rode to 
 the douar, with the promise of returning at evening. 
 
 I was at my post when the first star opened its eye in the 
 heavens ; but the night passed quietly away without any 
 result. The panther once or twice put her nose outside of the 
 rocks, but immediately retreated on the suspicion of danger. 
 
 After this same fashion, I passed ten consecutive nights 
 alone on that rocky hill, without even the chance of a shot. 
 On the eleventh day, a shepherd came to me to say, that he 
 
84 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 had seen the panther about noon, drinking from a brook near 
 the rocks. I immediately followed my man to the brook ho 
 spoke of, and without any trouble I distinguished the foot- 
 prints of my friend among the numerous trails that crossed 
 and recrossed the brook in every direction. Judging from 
 the age of the foot-prints, and what had been seen by the 
 Arab, I -came to the conclusion the panther was in the habit 
 of leaving her retreat with the noon-day heat (which in the 
 African wilds, is an hour of solitude and rest to all the world, 
 when man and herds alike, retire to sleep), and coming to the 
 brook to drink and refresh herself. 
 
 The brook was shaded by trees, and hidden .by thickets 
 on every side, so that I could conceal myself, and have a near 
 shot at her ladyship, when she stopped to drink. I acted on 
 this plan, and in a moment was hidden in the dense thicket, 
 with my view bounded on every side by the woods, which 
 grew to the water^s edge. Towards noon a perfect silence 
 reigned in the woods, as though nature had fallen asleep in 
 the sultry stillness. An occasional bird, or insect, would 
 move by stealth, but slowly, as though languid with heat. 
 Presently a covey of red partridges loitered down to the water 
 to drink ; as the hens were raising their panting bills with 
 their first mouthful of water, the cock manifested signs of 
 anxiety, and gave the call of alarm, and in a moment they 
 had taken flight. 
 
 I watched for the cause. In a moment more a branch 
 moved, but without noise, and then I saw the panther gliding 
 lithely through the cover to the water's edge. Here she 
 paused with her head turned aside, and her foot in air, like a 
 pointer dog. 
 
THE CHASE OF THE PAN'niER. 85 
 
 She migLt have been six or eight steps from me; exposing 
 her side with her head turned half away. I took aim between 
 her eye and ear. The sight rested on the spot, I pressed the 
 trigger, and the animal fell as though stunned by a thunder- 
 bolt. 
 
 On examining my prize, I found the poor thing so attenu- 
 ated that I immediately opened her to discover the reason. 
 She had not eaten anything since the day she had first dis- 
 covered a man with his rifle, awaiting her at the mouth of 
 her den. 
 
 After this experience, I have always give the panther the 
 credit for great suppleness and cunning, at the same time, 
 that she is timid and inofiensive. 
 
 As the panther is endowed by nature with an immense 
 muscular force, and powerful arms, one can attribute this 
 cowardice only to an inherent fault in its organization, which 
 makes it like those men who are formed like Hercules, with 
 the strength of a race-horse, and the timidity of a woman 
 who was made ill by her chimney taking fire. 
 
 The Arabs tell a tradition upon the subject, that is univer- 
 sally received among them, and which I give for what it is 
 worth, without afiirming it to be strictly true. 
 
 It occurred during the time when animals were endowed 
 with the gift of tongues, which is a quite ancient era, as we 
 are air well aware. 
 
 A company of twenty lions while making a voyage in 
 foreign countries came to a forest inhabited by panthers, who 
 anxious in regard to the sentiments of the travellers, sent a 
 deputation to wait on the flowing-haired strangers. 
 
• 86 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 After the deputation liacl departed, had consulted and 
 returned, they gave to their assembled people the result of 
 their mission, which was in effect that the lions are great 
 kings one and all, and had found the wood before them 
 exceedingly pleasant in appearance and doubtless comfortable 
 as a residence, and that they were about taking possession of 
 it, leaving it of course to the present occupants to defend 
 their home or evacuate it at their pleasure. 
 
 The panthers, indignant at this infamous proposal of annex- 
 ation, so much more like the lawlessness of men than lions, 
 decided at once that they would give battle, and take the 
 offensive themselves. 
 
 In serried bands they marched forth, creeping and gliding 
 amid thickets and rocks, to- chastise the invaders. 
 
 The lions, warned by their outposts, roused themselves for 
 the combat, and altogether gave a single roar, when the 
 panthers, frightened by the thunder, fled in terror, leaving the 
 forest to their foes. 
 
 Ever since that occasion, says this most authentic tradition, 
 the panthers climb trees like cats, or burrow in the earth 
 like foxes, and have never dared to meet in battle their foe 
 whose voice causes all creation to tremble. 
 
 The Arabs and Kabyles suffer comparatively little from 
 the attacks of the panther, so that it is rare that they give 
 chase to it, and when they do it is in large parties. ' Some 
 put themselves in concealment, others track the animal, and 
 if it does not take refuge in some cave, it is always killed by 
 those lying in wait. When wounded the trackers have to 
 take particular care, for if pressed too closely it will turn to 
 
THE CHASE OF THK PANTHER. 87 
 
 bay, and as it defends itself with its claws like animals of 
 its species, it fares badly with any one upon whom it 
 springs. 
 
 The natives have a manner of killing the panther without 
 fatigue or danger, and nearly all the skins that are brought 
 to market are obtained in this manner. 
 
 When they find the remains of an animal that has been 
 killed by a panther, or when they place a dead body in his 
 vicinity as a bait, they let him come to it several times, 
 until he has eaten nearly all of it. They then carry off all that 
 remains, with the exception of a piece about as large as one's 
 fist, which they leave as his last meal. This bait is then 
 sewed with two or three threads that are attached to the 
 triggers of as many guns, pointed at the morsel of fopd, and 
 carefully concealed with brushwood. 
 
 When all is arranged the Arab lies down in front of his 
 tent, and listens for the distant report of the guns that will 
 tell him his ruse has succeeded, and he returns with the break 
 of day to carry off his inglorious prize. 
 
88 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE HYENA, 
 
 It was on a bright still day in the month of August, 1844, 
 that I left our camp at Guelma, and travelled towards the 
 mountain of Mahouna, in accordance with an invitation I 
 ' had received from its inhabitants. 
 
 I had been riding about an hour, and my mind was 
 wandering between the varied beauties of the tropical day, 
 and the sports of^the morrow, when I caught sight of an 
 animal coming towards me on the road I was following. It 
 was a beast with a repulsive countenance, and flowing hair, 
 and it had a disconcerted and awkward look, as though the 
 day had surprised it on a marauding expedition. 
 
 It was a hyena travelling home, shuffling along like a lame 
 dog. 
 
 I had left my rifle in the hands of the Arab who had been 
 sent to me by his tribe, and was without any arms except my 
 sabre, which I drew from its scabbard and charged home. 
 
 When it saw me, it turned aside from the road and fled 
 among the bushes across the country. In a moment I was 
 on its track and almost within reach, when the brute suddenly 
 throwing its heels into the air, dived into a cavern, which feat 
 of agility brought me and my horse to a halt. 
 
THE HYENA. ' 89 
 
 I immediately dismounted, and tying my liorse to a tree, 
 endeavored to see what means were in my reacli to bring tlie 
 enemy to terms. I found the cave where he had taken refuge 
 was an old quarry, and that it was so high that I could enter 
 it in a stooping posture. This I immediately proceeded to 
 do, and in two minutes I was in the presence of the animal, 
 and so near to him that he seized the point of my sabre in 
 his teeth, yet the hole was so dark that I could not see at all. 
 I closed my eyes for a moment to recover my vision, and then 
 on opening them I saw the beast sufficiently well to strike 
 him. 
 
 1 had some little difficulty in drawing my sword from his 
 mouth, but when this was once accomplished, I plunged it 
 to the hilt in his breast. A guttural hoarse growl was the 
 only answer, and drawing out my steel all hot and reeking, 
 the animal fell dead. I w^as about pulling him out by the 
 leg when I heard voices of my companions outside, who had 
 come up together with several harvesters who were at work 
 near by, and had seen me charging after the hyena. 
 
 When my guide saw my sword dripping with the blood of 
 the animal, he exclaimed, "Thank heaven that I lingered 
 behind with your rifle, and don't use your sword ever again 
 in battle, for it will betray you." 
 
 As I did not appear to comprehend the sense of these 
 words, he added : " When an Arab finds a hyena in his hole 
 he takes a handful of cow dung, and holding it out to him, he 
 says, ' Come here, I will make you beautiful with henna.'* The 
 
 * The Arabs have the habit of dyeing their own nails, and those of their wires, and 
 also the mane, tail, withers and legs of their horses, with the red-colored henna. 
 
90 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 hyena extends his paw, when the Arab seizes it, and drags 
 him out of his hole, then he muzzles him and hands him over 
 to the women and children of the douar, to be stoned, as an 
 animal too filthy and vile to die in any better way." * 
 
 Without receiving all that my guide told me in its literal 
 sense, I understood that I had committed a folly, which it 
 would be necessary to repair by some striking deed, in order 
 to hush the busy-bodies of the tribe. 
 
 The hyena keeps hid by day either in the bottoms of 
 the wooded ravines, or in holes in the earth, or in the rocks, 
 but as the night falls he issues forth to wander among the 
 Arab cemeteries, which are never defended either by walls, 
 hedges, or even ditches. Here he digs in the graves and eats 
 all he can find down to the bones. When he is unsuccessful 
 in such legitimate quests, he makes excursions to the douars, 
 and devours everything around the precincts, in the shape of 
 dead bodies, offal, and pieces of half-decomposed flesh. 
 
 The only living animal that the hyena dare attack is the 
 dog, and as there are always two together, they conduct their 
 operations after this manner. 
 
 After selecting a douar situated near to some woods, the 
 female conceals herself, and the male goes wandering around 
 the encampment until he attracts the attention of the dogs, 
 who pursue him as he flees toward the place where the female 
 lies concealed. When they are within reach, the female 
 springs forward upon the most advanced of the pursuers, and 
 then being joined by her male, the two together strangle and 
 devour the dog at one sitting. It sometimes happens that the 
 Arabs, not relishing this interference with the domestic habits 
 
THE HYENA. 91 
 
 of their dogs, rush out and with sticks beat their intruders to 
 death. But it ought to be observed that the hyena does not 
 indulge in this kind of diet, save when he has fasted for a long 
 time, and has not much chance in any other way. 
 
 I take this opportunity to correct a mistake I have often 
 heard concerning the voice of this animal. 
 
 Often in the villages and camps, and oftener still in bivouac 
 during the night, one hears the croaking cry resembling the 
 voice of a large dog who had contracted a severe cold, and 
 then it is said, " Hark ! do you hear the hyena ?" 
 
 This cry is peculiar to the jackal, who gives utterance to it 
 only when he is alone, and on certain occasions, as we will see 
 in a subsequent chapter. 
 
 As to the hyena, he is too timid to howl, but he growls like 
 a dog over his food, or in the rutting season, when several 
 males are paying their addresses to one female. 
 
 Although many dogs will follow the trail of a hyena with 
 the same zest that they do that of the jackal, that they hunt 
 to the death ; yet still I would place this animal in that class 
 that should be killed and not hunted. 
 
 The Arabs say, " Vile as a hyena," and the Arabs' simile is 
 a good one. 
 
92 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HUNTING THE WILD BOAR. 
 
 The wild hog is abundant in the three provinces of Algeria. 
 There are two kinds : the wild hog of the woods, and that 
 of the swamps. The former is larger, more sullen and 
 dangerous than the latter. 
 
 In the commencement of the French occupation, they 
 could be found in droves of hundreds around the towns and 
 camps. 
 
 In the night, they destroyed the gardens planted by our 
 soldiers, even at the very foot of the fortifications, and under 
 the sentry's gun. This reminds me of the first boar hunt I 
 had in Algeria, in which I experienced stronger emotions 
 than in my proper vocation. 
 
 It was in the commencement of September, 1842, and the 
 day after my arrival in Guelma, where the squadron of spahis 
 that I had joined was stationed. 
 
 At the time when Guelma was still but a camp, the neigh- 
 boring tribes were but little under submission to foreign rule, 
 and our commander had been obliged to take measures for 
 the safety of his men, and gave orders that none should pass 
 beyond the outposts towards the south. 
 
THE WILD BOAR. ' 93 
 
 As this side of tlie camp was exactly opposite the woods, 
 one hour after my arrival, I eluded the watchfulness of the 
 sentinel, and passing out to the forest, found several fields 
 covered with beans, where apparently the wild boars held 
 nightly revels. 
 
 On re-entering the camp, I related my discovery to my com- 
 rade Rousselet, a cunning old war-dog, who feared nothing, and 
 passionately loved hunting, especially at night, after the man- 
 ner of the Arabs ; probably because there was more hazard in 
 it then than at other times. Rousselet heard my proposition 
 with j oy, and undertook to reconnoitre the least guarded place 
 in the rampart, by which we could descend without break- 
 ing our necks. 
 
 About nine o'clock in the evening, we proceeded towards 
 what my friend called the staircase, accompanied by another 
 of the men whom we had taken in our confidence, and who was 
 to amuse the sentry while we were occupied with our flight. 
 
 Everything succeeded admirably, and without worrying our- 
 selves for means of returning, we dropped into the ditch, and 
 as soon as we were in the open country, we proceeded to load 
 our arms, which consisted of the regulation gun and pistol, 
 and arrange in the most commodious manner possible, our 
 other weapons, a cavalry sabre and a little hatchet of my 
 comrade's, with a something between a bayonet and a hunt- 
 ing knife of my own. 
 
 These preparations completed, we entered the wood. 
 
 When we arrived near the field frequented by the wild 
 hogs, these gentlemen, who had not expected us, scampered 
 off in hot haste. As they had never been hunted, we did not, 
 
94 ' THE LION KILLER. 
 
 however, lose the hope of seeing them return, and selected 
 places of concealment, resolved to pass the remainder of the 
 night in watching for them. 
 
 The field was separated from the woods by a little path 
 made by the Arabs. 
 
 I left Rousselet to install himself between two bushes, and 
 placed myself at three hundred steps further along the path, 
 near a beautiful mastic, standing alone between the road and 
 field. 
 
 The weather was calm, the sky serene, and the moon was 
 sailing aloft, in undimmed eff'ulgence. 
 
 At the moment I cocked my gun and pistol, I heard the 
 trumpets in the camp sound for putting out the lights. From 
 this moment I counted the hours by the cry of the guard, as 
 it made its round, calling " sentinelles, prenez garde a vous^'' 
 which, in spite of the distance, reached us quite distinctly 
 through the calm night air. 
 
 It must have been about eleven o'clock, when a tramping 
 noise was heard in the woods on my left. At the same 
 instant, a troop of young wild pigs, followed by a large and 
 beautiful sow, crossed the path and commenced rooting about 
 in the bean field. 
 
 As my companion and I had previously agreed only to fire 
 when certain of killing, I feared to hazard a shot at forty 
 paces, and waited until the game should present a nearer 
 shot. 
 
 A little while afterwards, and following the sow and her 
 young ones, appeared an old boar, walking slowly along, 
 snuffing and listening each time he paused in his walk. 
 
THE WILD BOAR. 95 
 
 The animal was scarcely on the border of the path, before 
 he halted for a much longer time than usual, and then with a 
 grunt he turned round, and fled in a great hurry. At the 
 same instant the sow, followed by the young pigs, galloped 
 across the path, and disappeared in the woods. 
 
 I was seeking in my mind for some explanation of the 
 precipitate flight of the black beasts, when it appeared to m© 
 that I heard the sound of a voice on my right, and on the 
 side opposite to Rousselefs position. 
 
 I then recollected that I had heard them say in the camp, 
 after our arrival, that marauders belonging to the unsubdued 
 tribe of Ouled Dann, came almost every night to the foot of 
 the ramparts, to fire on the sentinels on the walls. Now, if 
 my information was correct, we were exactly on the path of 
 these gentlemen, whose conversation was becoming more and 
 more distinct every instant. 
 
 There was not a moment to lose, it was already too late to 
 warn Rousselet without the risk of being seen, and thus 
 endangering the lives of both, if, as I judged from the noise 
 of voices, there were too great a number of these troublesome 
 fellows for us to oppose. Until this moment I had had my 
 back turned to the path, but I wheeled round in order to 
 have them before me, and after having placed my loaded 
 pistol and naked knife in my belt, waited, with my gun to 
 my shoulder, the course of events. 
 
 I had determined on the following plan : 
 
 The path was too narrow for two to walk abreast, and the 
 bournous of the Arabs would brush against the mastic 
 which concealed me, as they passed my retreat; if there 
 
96 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 were only four or five, I would stop the last by dragging the 
 skirt of his bournous, and before he could find out what held 
 him, I would glide between him and those who were on 
 before, and kill him with one blow of the bayonet, and with- 
 out any noise. 
 
 With one shot I could knock down a second, and perhaps 
 a third, if they were in file : then, the surprise and panic 
 aiding me, I could easily manage those who remained, if 
 there were any who desired to do so. 
 
 If, on the contrary, there were a great number, I would 
 let them pass, and try and conceal myself. In this case I 
 would blow out the brains of the first one who perceived me, 
 and burst, like a boar out of his lair, on the astonished troop, 
 striking and killing my best, while waiting the arrival of old 
 Rousselet, who would not be long in hastening to take part 
 in the fray. 
 
 My calculations had been made, when I saw the Arab 
 appear who was walking at the head of the troop. He was 
 a lusty fellow, as tall as a grenadier, and with a face indica- 
 tive of no gentle disposition. 
 
 He was armed with a gun, which he carried on his 
 shoulder, and the raised lappel of his bournous permitted 
 me to see in his belt the butt of a pistol. 
 
 Behind him came a string of his companions, which 
 appeared to me extremely long as they were approaching. 
 
 When the chief arrived opposite the mastic in which I was 
 crouching, he stopped in order to speak to his comrades, who 
 were - a little behind, walking lightly and talking among 
 themselves. 
 
THE WILD BOAR. 97 
 
 I found out lie wanted them to hasten their steps, and it 
 seemed as if during the conversation he was looking at mo 
 the whole time. He was soon joined by the remainder of 
 the trooj), who, stopping beside their chief in the path, were 
 so near me that I had only to stretch out my arm to touch 
 them. 
 
 I counted them ; there were fifteen. It is useless to say 
 that I renounced my plan of attack, and only thought how 
 to withdraw from the business in case I should be discovered. 
 
 Happily for me, the one who appeared to command the 
 band, took up his line of march, and was followed by all the 
 company. 
 
 Any one can understand how immeasurably long the 
 defile of these fifteen men appeared to me, and I confess 
 I felt considerably relieved when the last one had disappeared 
 beneath the woods. 
 
 However, my comrade was now in the same danger, and 
 I could not warn him of it. In order to be ready, in case my 
 help should be needed, I left my hiding-place, and carefully 
 followed the path without losing sight of the Arabs, who, to 
 ray great joy, passed by the side of Rousselet without seeing 
 him, and on toward the fort. 
 
 They had scarcely passed the bush in which Rousselet was 
 hidden, before 1 saw this brave fellow hasten forward to find 
 out what had become of me. 
 
 After having pressed his hand and explained in a few 
 words what had passed, we entered the woods to avoid a 
 second meeting, and awaited the day-dawn before regaining 
 the camp 
 
 6 
 
08 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 The danger of that night did not deter us from trying it 
 again, and many was the night we spent in the fields with 
 much pleasanter results than dozing in the barracks. 
 
 Ii> order to give an idea of the quantity of wild boars that 
 at this time were to be found in the district of Guelma, I will 
 mention that every day the Arabs brought many to the 
 market, where they were sold for the moderate sum of five or 
 six francs, and that I alone for ray share, killed sixty in less 
 than six months. Before the French took possession of the 
 country, the Arabs, who are forbidden by the Koran to taste 
 the flesh of the wild boar, killed them in order to protect their 
 crops, but now they are killed for sale in the markets. Some 
 native chiefs still continue to hunt them for pleasure, either 
 by beating the woods or with dogs, and these hunts are the 
 scene of brave feats of agility and daring as horsemen and 
 hunters. 
 
 In France the wild hog never ventures from his lair until 
 nightfall, and seldom dares leave the wood until very late. 
 It is not the same in Algeria, where almost every day, when 
 I was in the mountains, I saw either old boars entirely alone, 
 or in large companies, leave their strongholds at sunset, in 
 order to wallow in a stream so near my tent I could sit and 
 watch their gambols. 
 
 In winter, they do not seek the water so cJften, but feed in 
 newly sown fields, or on the site of an old douar, which they 
 completely root up in order to seek the wheat that has fallen 
 from the Arabs' trenches. 
 
 The reader can readily understand how easy it is to kill 
 boars, after having once learned their habits. The native 
 
THE WILD BOAR. 99 
 
 manner of hunting them, is as follows : to go with bare feet 
 up the wind, profiting by the inequalities of the ground and 
 the trees, which allow one to approach without being seen, 
 stopping when the animal listens, and walking when its 
 snout is busy iu the ground. In this way a boar, when 
 alone, can be approached within thirty paces. It is more 
 difficult when there are several, for there is always one who 
 listens, in order to give warning at the least noise. 
 
 Almost all the boars in the market are killed in this man- 
 ner ; but I advise Europeans to provide themselves with cloth 
 socks, in order not to tear their feet on the stones and bram- 
 bles, across which, the Arabs are able to walk as readily as 
 they would on the grass. 
 
 Those native chiefs who hunt the boar for pleasure, choose 
 the summer to hunt in the plain, and winter in the woods. 
 In the three provinces of Algeria, there are a great number 
 of lakes and swamps covered with reeds, which the boars 
 share in common with the ducks and other wild fowl. 
 When the water is low, from June to September, the wild 
 hog takes refuge in some small bushy islands which have 
 only to be set on fire in order to drive them out. 
 
 This duty is delegated to men on foot, while the horsemen 
 draw up in a body on the plain, ready to fall upon the ani- 
 mals that the fire had forced to break cover. This hunt is 
 full of attraction, and sometimes danger, when a strong old 
 boar is driven into the open plain. It is not rare to see one, 
 after having been attacked, attack in his turn, and rip up the 
 greyhounds that are bold enough to try to stop him, or the 
 
100 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 horse wliich a clumsy hand has not been able to turn in time. 
 I have been in this kind of hunt with both French and 
 Arabs, and have remarked that the latter always carry off 
 the palm. 
 
 It is not that they are better marksmen than ourselves, for 
 I am convinced of the contrary ; but it is because we pay a 
 little too much attention to the horse during the hunt, while 
 the Arabs forget it entirely, and load and fire as if on 
 foot. 
 
 I ought to mention, however, that there are some officers 
 in Africa who can rank with . the most skillful and boldest 
 Arab horsemen. Among those whom I have had the honor 
 of knowing, and w^ho are still in Algeria, I name the Generals 
 Mac Mahon, Yusuf, and d'Autemarre ; Dubos, commander of 
 the Zouaves; the Captains Borrel and Sompt, of the staff; 
 Captain de Bonnemain, of the spahis of Constantine; and 
 Captain Marguerite, of^ the spahis of Algeria, with whom T 
 have not the honor of a personal acquaintance, but whose 
 reputation in hunting and coursing, is known by all the 
 votaries of Saint Hubert in Algeria. 
 
 It is impossible to give a complete description of the many 
 hunts had by these masters of the chase ; they are number- 
 less, and I do not fear to say, that they have killed several 
 thousand boars. 
 
 Spring is equally good for another kind of hunting in the 
 plain, and to me, a more amusing one than the preced- 
 ing. 
 
 At this time of the year, the v,'ild hog leaves the woods 
 
THE WILD BOAR. 101 
 
 very early, in order to seek for pasture and water together, 
 where he will reraain until daybreak. 
 
 The hunters, who know beforehand the time of the return 
 of the animal, send skirmishers to the borders of the wood ; 
 as soon as several black spots are perceived in the plain, 
 everybody is an action, and each one manoeuvres to keep the 
 animals from cover, and prevent them breaking through the 
 line formed by the horsemen. 
 
 A company of boars attacked in this manner, are almost 
 always entirely massacred ; and these kind of hunts are so 
 productive that, when the game is to be carried away, it is 
 necessary to send several wagons to transport them. 
 
 This appears to me the most agreeable manner of hunting 
 the boar for real amateurs. In order to hunt them in the 
 swamps, the morning dew must evaporate, or it would quench 
 the fire in the reeds, and the hunters, have to suffer much 
 from the midday heat. 
 
 The chase in the woods must be directed by a skilful 
 leader, and one who knows the country, or it will be without 
 result ; and it is always dangerous on account of the fall of 
 horses and men among the brush and fallen timber which 
 at every moment present insurmountable obstacles to the 
 best horses and riders. 
 
 The reasons why I prefer the kind of hunt above-mentioned 
 which I call, la chasse au remhucher, are the following : first, 
 the hour of the day so much liked by all European hunters, 
 who call it the hour between the dog and wolf^ and the Arabs, 
 between the dog and jackal^ is full of charms and softening 
 
102 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 emotions for every one, even though he be not a hunter ; next, 
 the wild delight of hunting in these limitless plains, where no 
 occurrence of the chase can escape the eye of the huntsman ; 
 and, finally, the uncertainty, which is always a pleasure, 
 and the mind does not know beforehand the kind of game 
 that will be roused, whether it will be a hyena, or a troop of 
 jackals, night w^anderers surprised by day, away from their 
 caves, or whether the fierce wild boar. I have several times 
 been present at a hunt with greyhounds, which the Arabs 
 generally carry on during the moonlight nights. This hunt 
 is conducted in the following way : At the time the w^ld hog 
 is feeding in the grain fields, the largest number of people 
 possible are collected, who are so well mounted as to be able 
 by the middle of the night, to reach the plain where these 
 animals have been discovered. The horsemen, in single file, 
 are not long in perceiving the fugitives. The signal is imme- 
 diately given, and all advance with cries and hurrahs, loud 
 enough to frighten a bolder game. 
 
 In these hunts, I have remarked, that the old boars and the 
 large hogs, that is to say, those who are well armed with teeth, 
 will always protect the retreat of the herd with the sows and 
 young ones. 
 
 I have seen some who, as soon as they were pressed rather 
 closely by the greyhounds, would suddenly turn and attack 
 them with the utmost vigor, while their comrades, availing 
 themselves of the chances, make their escape. As soon as an 
 animal remains behind, or comes to bay, the horsemen collect 
 round him, and without paying any attention to each other, 
 
THE WILD BOAR. 108 
 
 or the crowd of horses and dogs surrounding them, each one 
 fires his shot, or lances his blow with cries and hurrahs, until 
 the animal is stretched out lifeless on the plain, together, as it 
 often happens, with some of his pursuers by his side. 
 
 " Hola, c'est bon I 
 L'ample moisson : 
 Seul, ce dix-cors 
 l^ira pas chez les morts ; 
 Et si son flanc 
 Est tout en sang, 
 Plus d'un bon chien 
 A vu couler le sien !" 
 
 La Dtichesse de Nemours^ Fanfare. 
 
104 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE JACKAL AND THE FOX. 
 
 THE JACKAL. 
 
 The jackal, like the hyena, belongs more properly to the 
 omnivorous than the carnivorous species among which it has 
 been classed. He lives at the expense of the gardener, whose 
 fruit and vegetables he steals, and of the shepherd, who after 
 the lion, regards him as his greatest enemy. 
 
 On unlucky days, he turns to roots, worms and clay, or 
 searches among the refuse and filth around the Arab camps. 
 The Arabs say, cunning as a jackal. In fact, this animal, a 
 cross between a wolf and fox, is, like the latter, a cunning 
 rogue. He will pass entire days behind a bush, near a 
 stream, awaiting the approach of a covey of partridges. He 
 profits by the moment when the dogs within the encampment 
 are asleep, under the fatigue of having watched and barked 
 all night, to pass through the sleeping crowd and enter a tent, 
 from which he will take either a lamb or chicken, or whatever 
 he may find suited to his taste. In the mountain he will 
 follow a flock of sheep, and many is the one, that, straying 
 
THE JACKAL AND THE FOX. 105 
 
 behind, is lost to its anxious parents for ever. In the night, 
 he hunts the hare and rabbit in company with some of his 
 comrades, who take up their position while he follows the 
 scent, crying as loud as possible. 
 
 Not content with the profits he can derive from these differ- 
 ent branches of his own particular industry, the jackal, which 
 are without number in Algeria, and especially in the province 
 of Constantine, joins the hyena's night maraudings, and lions, 
 when they are out on a foray. The lions do not recieve 
 much benefit from the company of this parasite; but it is 
 especially in their company, that the jackal gains the most 
 from his sybarite life, and that without any trouble to him- 
 self. The following will explain how he gets invited into 
 the company of the marauders : ' 
 
 Everywhere among the Arab population, there is a large 
 class of marauders. These are young men, swift of foot, with 
 a quick eye and great courage, who set out on the darkest 
 nights, sometimes four or ten at a time, to take from their 
 neighbors' flocks, horned cattle, or horses, or whatever they 
 can steal — this is what they call night-walking. 
 
 The jackal having met a band of such gentry driving 
 home the cows and sheep they have captured, instantly follows 
 them. 
 
 Soon the chief of the marauders remarks to his companions 
 that he had a poor dinner, and that a sheep more or less 
 would be no great thing, especially as it did not cost much. 
 
 All being of the same mind, in an instant, the beast is 
 cleaned, skinned, abd fastened on a tree, before a fire large 
 enough to roast an ox. 
 
 6^ 
 
106 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 The jackal rejoices at the preparations for the feast, that in 
 spite of the immense fire takes a long time to roast, all the 
 while thinking to himself that he will be satisfied with the 
 insides and remains if he is allowed to take them. 
 
 As he is paid no attention to, he wishes to speak ; but a 
 shower of stones explains to him that he is not invited, and 
 obliges him to stand aside. 
 
 After the robber band are satisfied, and take up their line 
 of march with their booty, the jackal leaves his post and 
 seizes the remains which he finds very appetizing and suflB- 
 cient for himself, and his fortunate companions who arrive at 
 his first call. 
 
 These gentlemen find so much comfort in such meetings, 
 that, from that day,- the night marauders are always followed 
 by one who never loses sight of them, and every now and 
 then gives a peculiar cry (a kind of dry hoarse bark) for fear 
 his comrades should lose their way and not arrive at the right 
 moment. It is for the same reason that the jackal in follow- 
 ing the lion and hyena, barks in this peculiar manner. From 
 thence arises the general error in regard to the cry of the 
 jackal, while following either marauders, lions, or hyenas, 
 that his call is the voice of the hyena. 
 
 As the Arabs seldom travel at night, and never on foot, the 
 jackal, when he meets one or a band of several men, thinks 
 they are robbers. It has often happened, that one of these ani- 
 mals has followed me for a whole night, walking when I walked, 
 stopping when I stopped, and barking, after his droll fashion 
 all the while, even when he was not twentji steps from me. 
 
 |n those countries frequented by the lion, the Arabs call 
 
THE JACKAL AND THE FOX. 
 
 lOY 
 
 the jackal who cries in this manner, baouegh ; and when they 
 hear hira, will light fires or fire shots to keep off the lion or 
 robbers whom he is following. 
 
 The baouegh is a great help while hunting a lion that 
 does not roar. Thanks to him, I have been able, without 
 leaving a ravine or ledge which overlooked the country, to 
 follow the movements of the lion for an entire night, to judge 
 of the douars which he had only menaced, and those that 
 had paid to him their tax, and finally to know of his return 
 in the morning to his lair. 
 
 In the level open country, the jackal during the day retires 
 to the rocks and holes in the earth, or finds a quiet refiige in 
 the bushes or jungle. 
 
 The Arabs hunt the jackal in the evening, or early in the 
 morning at their going out from, or return to the woods, or 
 during the day, by beating the bushes in order to make them 
 pass from one wood to another, letting loose the greyhounds 
 when they break cover. 
 
 Though the jackal is not swift, the chase cannot but be 
 amusing, because he defends himself with courage ; in fact, 
 many greyhounds fear him more than the boar. 
 
 I advise Europeans who have two or three couples of hunt- 
 ing dogs, and who hunt for the love of the sport, to put them 
 on the trail of the jackal, which they take in preference to 
 any other ; this hunt is the more agreeable as the chase lasts 
 frequently three or four hours ; the animal making great runs, 
 yet the hounds never get at fault. It is important before 
 starting him, to stop up his holes, f\s is practised in France 
 for foxes. 
 
108 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 THE FOX, 
 
 The African fox is but half the size of his European 
 brother. He inhabits the open plains, where he digs large 
 and deep holes in the sides of the brooks and in the pits left 
 by the Arabs. This animal is not as troublesome here as 
 among us ; it is only now and then he will dare to steal a 
 chicken, but lives entirely on the proceeds of his hunting, 
 that is to say, on little birds, jerboas, lizards and serpents. 
 
 Ther Arabs hunt them with greyhounds at daybreak in 
 the morning, when they are late in crossing the plain to 
 return to their hiding-places. This chase has no great interest 
 for me, but I think for Europeans who like ferret hunting, it 
 would be more agreeable, and they could practise it with 
 success, using terrier dogs instead of ferrets, the terriers being 
 used in the same manner for the fox, that the ferret is 
 employed for the rabbit. 
 
THE DEER, AKTELOPE AND GAZEL. 109 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE DEER, ANTELOPE AND GAZEL. 
 
 THE DEER. 
 
 The African Deer is not as large as his brethren in 
 France, and has a deeper color and rougher coat. They are 
 only found in the province of Constantine and three districts 
 to the east : Uiose of Bone, Calle and Tebessa. 
 
 In the first, the deer inhabit the Beni-Salah and Ouled- 
 Bechiah mountains, which are covered with magnificent 
 forests of evergreen and live oaks ; in the second, they are 
 found on the borders of the lakes situated near the sea-coast ; 
 in the third^ they have taken up their abode in a pine forest 
 which the Arabs call Ghit-Choueni (Robber's wood), which 
 is eu closed by three mountains, forming a triangle — the 
 Ouenza on the east, the Boii Kradera on the south, and the 
 Guelf on the west. 
 
 The forest is on a level plain, and though without any 
 paths, makes very good hunting ground. I have hunted 
 deer in it in company with the Mahatlah and Ouled-Sidi-x\bid 
 tribes with greyhounds that chase down the game, and hold 
 them at bay until we arrive to finish them with a ball. 
 
110 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I think with a set of hunting-dogs the deer might be 
 pursued the same way in this country as in France. 
 
 Two or three times hunting these animals is suflBcient to 
 learn their general run-ways, in order to place relays ; 
 numerous cleared spaces renders the task of turning the 
 deer which is selected an easy one. 
 
 It is not the same with the woods we spoke of first, which 
 are impracticable for a huntsman, tho country being uneven 
 and thickly wooded. 
 
 In these regions the Arabs kill the deer at the time of 
 rutting, approaching near them under cover of the grass and 
 mastics, which are very high and thick. During fine weather 
 they watch for them in the night, when they pasture in the 
 barley and cornfields. 
 
 I knew an Arab living at Borj-ali-Bey, half way iDctween 
 Bone and Calle, who has killed more than a hundred deer 
 in this way. I mention him as an excellent guide for the 
 hunter, whose fancy may lead him in the direction of these 
 hunting-grounds. 
 
 THE ANTELOPE . 
 
 The Antelope, which ihe Arabs call Bagar-Ouerch or 
 Fechtal, according to the localities, is as nomadic in its life 
 as the southern tribes which they follow. In the spring, 
 summer and autumn, they are found on the high plateaux 
 which border the Saharah on the north, and at the first touch 
 of cold weather, they descend to the sandy country. These 
 
THE UEER, ANTELOPE AND GAZEL. IH 
 
 mammiferous animals waader in flocks of several hundred 
 and always in an open country. Their swiftness and bottom 
 are so great that tbere are no greyhounds able to reach 
 them, or horses strong enough to hunt them. 
 
 When they see but a small number of horsemen on the 
 plain, instead of flying they slowly approach, led by a male 
 who appears to be the chief of the herd, then they file 
 off at a trot, sometimes at thirty or forty paces from the 
 horsemen, who can send but one shot among them during 
 this manoeuvre, for at the first sound the herds fly off with the 
 swiftness of the simoon. When the x\rabs w^ant to hunt the 
 antelope, they collect all the horsemen of their tribe, and 
 proceed to the place frequented by the animal. The greater 
 part of the troop dismount in some place where they can 
 conceal themselves, whilst the spies go forward to reconnoitre 
 the herd. 
 
 If they report that the herd is large, and composed 
 principally of young antelopes and females, a relay is formed 
 to occupy the run-ways. When the troop that is to attack 
 judge the right moment has come they approach the antelopes 
 at first slowly, then on a trot, and finally charge at full speed 
 on the traces of the flying animals. 
 
 It is seldom before reaching the relays that a beast falls 
 behind and is killed. Until then the flock flies in perfect 
 order, the males bringing up the rear and pushing before 
 them the females and fawns; but when they see, as if coming 
 out of the earth, thirty to forty new horsemen, shrieking like 
 madmen, the animals who are too heavy, or who are too 
 weak in the legs, that is to say, the females and fawns, 
 
112 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 becoming confused, and in spite of the blows from tlie horns 
 of the males, who are anxious to save them, are distanced by 
 the remainder of the flock and soon surrounded by the horse- 
 men, who shoot or spear them in great numbers. 
 
 If the spies have found a small herd, or one in which there 
 are but a few animals capable of flight, all the horsemen 
 manoeuvre in such a manner as to enclose them in a vast 
 circle which narrows little by little. 
 
 When this movement is executed quickly and by a 
 sufficient number of horses, the herd is enclosed as though 
 in a park, and become so frightened that they press and 
 turn on each other in the midst of the circle, without even 
 seeking an escape through the spaces left open. 
 
 This is not a hunt, but a real butchery. Often the horse- 
 men being in too great haste to approach, do not keep the 
 right distance, and the animals profit by the chance to 
 escape. 
 
 This is a pleasant hunt as well for the spectator as the 
 hunter. In order to practise it, x)ne must be accustomed to 
 handle a gun while on horseback, and not sink under the 
 fatigue of the chase, which sometimes lasts an entire day, 
 without counting the return to the camp, which takes half 
 the succeeding night. 
 
 THE GAZEL. 
 
 There are two species of Gazels to be found in Algeria. 
 The gazel of Sahara, which inhabits the sandy plains, and the 
 gazel of the Tell, which is found on the highlands, and in 
 the mountains bordering the great desert on the north. 
 
THE DEER, ANTELOrE AND GAZEL. 113 
 
 The first, much smaller and of a deeper color, is as wan- 
 dering as the antelope, and changes its quarters with the 
 varying season. 
 
 The second species never wanders further than about 
 three or four leagues from his usual pasturing grounds. 
 There are many herds of gazels keeping on some mountains 
 situated to the south and east of Constantine, where I have 
 met them for five or six successive years. 
 
 I have remarked one habit with this animal living in the 
 north, which not only distinguishes it from other ruminating 
 animals, but all quadrupeds living like it in a state of nature. 
 
 Every one knows that wild animals, whether herbivorous 
 or carnivorous, turn day into night, and vice versa. 
 
 The gazel forms an exception to this general rule, by going 
 to sleep in the evening, with the setting of the sun, and 
 going out to pasture at daybreak. 
 
 The following is the way I cafne to know this peculiarity, 
 which seems to me, to prove that the gazel is the most timid 
 and fearful of all created animals. 
 
 While crossinor the ravines of a mountain known in the 
 
 o 
 
 district of Constantine under the name of Zerazer, I found on 
 a high wooded point, a great many signs of gazels, with 
 their sleeping places. 
 
 As this place appeared to me to have been frequented for 
 a long time, and deserted only for a few moments, I thought 
 that these deer must have been disturbed by scenting some 
 beast or hearing a noise. Having found a rock some three 
 or four hundred paces off, which overlooked the country, I 
 
114 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 posted myself on it to pass the niglit there, and follow the 
 roaring of the lion that I was hunting. 
 
 In the evening, at the moment the sun disappeared under 
 the horizon, I perceived a troop of gazels walking in single 
 file towards the abode which I had remarked. I counted 
 them ; there were six, with only one male at the head of the 
 column. The chief of the little seraglio walked directly to 
 the lairs of which I had spoken, scratched the ground two or 
 three times, knelt, and then laid down to sleep. A moment 
 after, and all the flock were reposing quietly around their 
 miniature chief. 
 
 I watched until night without their leaving their beds, 
 and when the first rays of the morning allowed me to see 
 them, they were still there. 
 
 It was not until I arose to return to my tent, that the 
 male awoke those around by striking his foot on the ground, 
 and the females arose, yawning and stretching themselves like 
 sleepy girls disturbed in their slumbers, and then they all 
 marched ofi" to their dew-covered feeding grounds. 
 
 Not wanting to disturb the poor beasts, I withdrew in the 
 opposite direction, and could see them for a long time, stand- 
 ing on the points of the rocks, or winding down the moun- 
 tain-paths. 
 
 This peculiarity which I had never observed before, clear- 
 ly showed me that the gazel slept during the night, for fear 
 of meeting dangerous animals ; and what proves that there is 
 no other reason for the habit, is that their abodes, instead of 
 being hidden liko other animals, arc always found on high 
 
THE DEED, ANTELOPE AND GAZEL. 115 
 
 ridges, or on declivities entirely uncovered, in order to avoid 
 all surprise from marauding foes. 
 
 Without being certain in regard to the gazel of the desert, 
 I believe their habits are the same ; for, at the commence- 
 ment of the siege of Zatcka, in 1849, 1 saw some which came 
 every morning at daybreak, and every evening a little before 
 twilight, to drink at a stream near one of our posts. The 
 noise of the cannonade, at last, obliged them to withdraw and 
 seek some other more quiet pasturage. 
 
 The gazel and lion are the two extremes of moral and 
 physical strength. 
 
 The one is as timid as the other is bold, weak as the other 
 is strong, beautiful by the lightness and well-defined delicacy 
 of its form, and the mildness of its eye, as the other is noble 
 by right of royalty given him by his Maker, by the propor- 
 tions of his muscular body, full of iron strength and power, 
 and by the proud calmness of his look, which imposes respect 
 and fiiscination over all. 
 
 If the human species had not degenerated, the gazel might 
 be compared to woman, and the lion to man ; but if there 
 still remain some women worthy of the comparison with this 
 fairy, the noblest man of the age is a paltry creature by the 
 side of the king of beasts. 
 
 Though the Arabs render justice to the personal beauty of 
 the gazel, and especially to that of its eyes, it does not pre- 
 vent them fi'om hunting them with the utmost vigor. 
 
 In the South the gazel, like the antelope, is hunted with 
 greyhounds. 
 
 It a herd surrounded by horsemen does not become alto- 
 
116 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 gether confused, it is only the young and females that 
 remain in the power of the hunter ; the full-grown ones 
 always managing to escape, for their swiftness and bottom are 
 superior to the best greyhounds. In the Tell, the Arabs beat 
 the woods in order to hunt the gazel from one mountain to 
 another. • 
 
 Men hidden in the woods, or behind a rock overlooking 
 the field, hold the greyhounds in leash, and when the herd 
 pass near, let them loose without any noise, so that often 
 several gazels are brought to the ground from fright or sur- 
 prise, before making any run whatever. 
 
 The dung of the gazel, when dried in the sun and reduced 
 to powder, is used by the Algerians to give an agreeable 
 taste and odor to their smoking tobacco. 
 
 I think the animal so graceful and beautiful when alive, 
 that I would rather see one living in its native grace, than 
 destroy it for the pleasure of the hunt, or the v-alue of its 
 flesh, or the poor trophy of its skin. 
 
THE PORCUPINE AND SMALL GAME. 11 7 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE PORCUPINE AND SMALL GAME. 
 
 THE PORCUPINE. 
 
 There are several porcupine hunting clubs and societies in 
 Constantiue, called by the Arabs Hatcheickia, because they 
 smoke hatchich instead of tobacco. The members of these 
 different clubs are of Kabyle origin. 
 
 Their name of Hatcheichia, that is to say, men who lose 
 their reason by smoking, has gained for them the contempt 
 of all the natives. In order to console themselves for this 
 general opprobrium, they gather together every evening to 
 smoke to the sound of tum-tum, and roar like beasts until 
 they sink to the floor under the combined influence of sleep 
 and hatchich. There exists such a rivalry among these 
 different clubs, that, before the taking of Constantine, on the 
 day of the Spring Feast, those of the El-Kantara, and those 
 of the Jebia gates joined in bloody battles, in which defensive 
 and offensive arms were equally used, and were equally pro- 
 ductive of injury. 
 
 The French authorities have put an end to these meetings 
 
118 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 within the walls of the city ; but these gentlemen make up 
 for it when they find themselves on the theatre of their hunt- 
 ing operations. 
 
 The Hatcheichia are passionately fond of porcupine hunt- 
 ing, which may appear strange to those who do not under- 
 stand all the difficulties they are obliged to overcome before 
 taking one of these animals. I will try and explain them to 
 the best of my ability. 
 
 The porcupine is like the badger in its habits, only differ- 
 ing in the cuirass nature has given, in order to enable it to 
 protect itself from the hyenas and jackals that often inhabit 
 the same neighborhood. It digs its holes very deep, and 
 always at the foot of a rock. 
 
 In the neighborhood of Bougie and Guelma, our soldiers 
 took enormous quantities with snares made of brass-wire. It is 
 probable that formerly some of these animals may have been 
 found near Constantine, for the country is very stony, and 
 filled with the dens of jackals ; but the Hatcheichia have 
 exterminated them, as there are no more remaining in that 
 neighborhood. 
 
 It is generally about the end of winter that the porcupine 
 hunters set out on their expeditions ; they are obliged to 
 walk several days before reaching the scene of their opera- 
 tions, and as the hunt sometimes lasts a month or more, and 
 as they know by experience that their habits do not entitle 
 them to Arab hospitality, they are obliged to make great 
 preparations. 
 
 The evening before the day fixed for the departure, they 
 collect in the hall of the club, and there they feast until the 
 
THE PORCUPINE AND SMALL GAME. 119 
 
 opening of tlie gates. Those who have not the happiness of 
 taking a part in the expedition, follow their comrades, who 
 embrace them when leaving, as if they were never to see each 
 other again. The hunters, generally about eight or ten, pro- 
 mise to perform wonders for the honor of the club, and set out 
 preceded by one or two mules, laden with their implements 
 and food, and followed by several couples of griffin dogs, 
 almost always mangy. Each one is armed with a stick five 
 feet long, at the exlremity of which is fastened a piece of 
 iron, in the form of a lance, with teeth like those of a sickle. 
 This instrument is destined to fasten in the game, and draw 
 it out of the hole. Hammers of every form and dimension 
 ornament the belt of the most robust of the men, whose duty 
 is to enlarge the porcupine hole in order that a child from 
 ten to twelve years old, one of the smallest, thinnest and most 
 elongated specimens of humanity, who, if he was walking 
 on his hands and knees would resemble a terrier, could pass 
 through the opening. 
 
 This little abortion is covered from head to foot with a 
 dress of skin, which makes him appear like a spider, and 
 forms a sort of coat of mail ; he is, nevertheless, the hero, 
 the great Hercules of the band, for he is the only one who 
 attacks the animal. 
 
 After having walked several days across the mountains and 
 plains, sleeping in the open air, under protection of the 
 douars, that will scarcely allow them to camp at a gun-shot 
 from them, they reach a porcupine burrow which is known, 
 or which has been told to them by some of their country- 
 men. 
 
120 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 They find some quills which show the presence of the 
 porcupine, numerous and lately made traces, also indicate his 
 general place of exit and entrance. 
 
 There *is no longer any doubt of this hole being inhabited. 
 The dogs being let loose, rush into the crevice, and,. at the 
 first sound of their voice, the hunters answer by a joyous 
 hurrah, and arrange the implements which are to serve in 
 the siege. 
 
 When all is ready to open the trenches, the biped is sought 
 who fulfills the duties of a terrier, in order to reconnoitre 
 the cave, but it is in vain ; he has disappeared with his lance, 
 and they awaken the surrounding echoes by calling, with the 
 most tender names, for the invisible one, on whom repose 
 the honor of the club, and the fate of the expedition. While 
 the hunters are sorrowing, believing him to be lost, the dogs 
 oome out of the burrow, with bristling hair ; then, behind 
 the dogs soon appears a foot, then a leg and, in a short time, 
 the body and head of the child, who throws in the midst of 
 his companions a porcupine almost as large as himself, and 
 alive, though pierced by the iron lance, in which he has 
 fastened his sharp teeth, as if he would tear it in pieces. 
 The animal having been killed by one thrust of the knife in 
 his throat, his stomach is opened in order to take out the 
 intestines, and replace them with aromatic plants, mingled 
 with a handful of salt. This operation is to keep the body 
 until the end of the expedition, so as to let it figure on the 
 table of the club at Constantine. But it is seldom matters 
 succeed so well, and it is not generally until after several 
 days' siege and hard work, that the animal is taken^ if taken 
 
THE PORCUPINE AND SMALL GAME. 121 
 
 at all ; for it sometimes happens that the holes are so narrow 
 and the sides of the rock so hard, that in spite of the pin- 
 cers, hammers and zeal of the workmen, the child, however 
 thin he may be, cannot reach the furthest retreat of the por- 
 cupine, and is obliged to renounce the prize. 
 
 In this way these hunters traverse the districts of Constan- * 
 tine, Guelma and Bone. I have even met them in the district 
 of Calle, sixty leagues from the point of their departure. 
 Their expeditions are more or less fortunate ; it sometimes 
 happens that they will return with a dozen animals which 
 will serve for banquets for many days, and sometimes after a 
 month of fatigue, hard walking, and privations, with but one 
 single porcupine. 
 
 When this happens, the members of the club unite accord- 
 ing to custom, to celebrate the return of their brother, and 
 the animal roasted, is served up on a wooden plate placed in 
 the middle of the assembly, who form a circle round the 
 table, contemplating it with admiration. The president of 
 the club invites his right hand neighbor to help himself, who 
 touches the edge of the dish with the fingers of his right 
 hand, which he carries to his mouth, saying, " I have enough." 
 All the guests follow his example, and regale themselves with 
 the couscoussou and dates which are around the principal 
 dish. Then they sing at the top of their voice, accompany- 
 ing themselves with their hands and tum-tums, accounts of 
 their past, present and future exploits, and the pipe fills up 
 the pauses of the song. The club collect the next day, and 
 the day after that, and so on, until the neighbors complain of 
 the noise the Hatcheichia make during the night, and the 
 
 6 
 
122 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 insuflferable smell exhaled from the porcupine, which has 
 become completely putrified, and at last the police interfere 
 and tm-n out of doors alike the porcupine and his hunters 
 who are obliged to close their session or find some other 
 retreat. 
 
 A propos of the porcupine, I am glad to mention here an 
 occurrence I witnessed, and which testifies to the correctness 
 of what I have said in the chapter on the hyena. Having 
 one day met a troop of Hatcheichia laying siege to a burrow, 
 I hastened to witness the denouement. 
 
 After several hours' hard work, a hyena was taken and 
 drawn out by a child twelve years old, who had lodged two 
 feet of his lance in the body of the animal. European 
 hunters would have been proud of this result ; the Hatchei- 
 chia were disgusted and ashamed ; disgusted, because in 
 their eyes it was a bad sign, and ashamed, because the 
 neighboring Arabs who had assembled to assist in the work, 
 overwhelmed them with all sorts of jests and ridicule. 
 
 It is useless to say that the animal was left on the ground 
 to serve as food for his relatives, and the hunters left the 
 country in order to escape the jibes of the Arabs, and sought 
 elsewhere better hunting grounds. 
 
 As there are only two or three expeditions a year, made by 
 these people against the porcupine, in order to keep them- 
 selves and their dogs in practice, the Hatcheichia hunt the 
 hedge-hog. When the weather is good, and the moon at her 
 full, they leave Constantino in the afternoon, with several 
 couples of griflSns, and beat the plain all night. As soon as a 
 dog takes the trail of a hedge-hog, he gives tongue and is 
 
THE PORCUPINE AND SMALL GAME. 123 
 
 loined by the others, and all hunt together, as though on the 
 track of a stag or boar. 
 
 As soon as the animal is taken, he rolls himself up like a 
 ball, turning the prickles with which he is covered towards 
 the teeth of the pack. One of the hunters takes him up with 
 the lappel of his burnous, and puts him in his hood and then 
 they seek another trail, and the hunt continues in the same 
 way until morning. 
 
 SMALL GAME. 
 
 At the commencement of the French jurisdiction in Algeria, 
 game of all kinds was so abundant, that a partridge was 
 worth two sous, two hares a franc, and so on. The worst 
 sportsman always returning with his game-bag full, and in 
 many places the hunting grounds were only a cannon shot 
 from our rampart when in garrison, or from the trenches, 
 when in camp. 
 
 I remember one day, in September, 1842, 1 killed between 
 breakfast and dinner, in the neighborhood of Guelma, forty- 
 five partridges and seven hares with a dragoon's carbine. I 
 will add that I am not a first-rate marksman, and I know 
 some gentlemen who, with a Lefaucher gun, would have killed 
 twice the number. 
 
 From continual hunting, game has become scarce around 
 the villages and camps, and especially in the neighborhood 
 of the towns. However, as there still exist in the provinces, 
 and especially in that of Constantine, many places, distant 
 from the centre of the population, where game of all kinds 
 
124 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 abound, some good hunting grounds can always be found in 
 Algeria. 
 
 In order to enjoy them, it is necessary to travel several 
 days with an oflScer belonging to the Arab bureau, or a Caid. 
 If it is winter, the hunter can camp on the borders of a lake 
 where one can sow all his shot among the wild geese, ducks, 
 swans and other aquatic birds which may be found there by 
 thousands. 
 
 Those who are fond of game will find on the borders of 
 the lakes, and swampy fields, legions of snipes. 
 
 In July and August, before the jackal and other hairy 
 poachers have collected their tithes, coveys of red partridges 
 may be found (grey ones do not exist in Algeria), whose 
 ancestors have never heard a shot, and whom a touch of the 
 foot is necessary to force to fly. 
 
 In the provinces of Oran and Alger, the rabbit is found in 
 large numbers ; in Constantine they are only on the western 
 coast ; but, in place of them, the hare is so abundant, that 
 whenever our columns are on the march towards the east or 
 south, the soldiers each day take large quantities in their 
 hands, either during the marches, or when in the bi- 
 vouacs. 
 
 The African hare is a third smaller than the same animal 
 in Europe, and when hunted with greyhounds, never runs, or 
 comes out of its hole, but hides itself in the ground when too 
 closely pressed. 
 
 In spring and autumn, wild birds increase the sporting 
 riches of the country to so great an extent, that some plains 
 distant from the occupied points, appear as if covered with 
 
THE PORCUPINE AND SMALL GAME. ]?5 
 
 geese, bustards, wild hens, plovers, quails, snipes and other 
 friends to the sportsman. 
 
 Let the Algerian sportsman leave to the lazy sybarite, and 
 the effeminate hunter, the gleanings around the towns and 
 camps. The true disciple of Saint Hubert will reap the rich 
 harvests alone and afar of in the mountains and plains, 
 where the earth is stamped with the paths of wild beasts, and 
 the air vocal with the rustling of wings. 
 
126 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HAWKING IN AFRICA. 
 
 In a country whose history is only written with powder and 
 ball, it is difficult to remount to the origin of the manners 
 and customs of its inhabitants, especially when, as with the 
 Arabs, they live in the midst of traditions and beliefs, which, 
 seldom reach beyond the limits of the tribe and present gene- 
 •ration. 
 
 Thus, without being able to certify anything in regard to 
 the origin of falcon-hunting in Africa, I will only mention 
 that the Arabs, properly speaking, appear to have brought 
 the custom with them into the country, since it is almost 
 unknown among the Chaouia and Kabyle tribes who pre- 
 ceded them in the possession of the land. 
 
 Hawking in Algeria is the privilege of the noble and great. 
 It is pursued with zeal by the descendants of the chiefs and 
 military people who are attached to the French posts. 
 
 Whatever may be the power or fortune of a native, he 
 cannot, unless he is of noble blood, or possesses a well-estab- 
 lished renown for bravery, indulge in the pursuit of falconing, 
 without the risk of being ridiculed and sometimes molested 
 by his less pretentious neighbors. In connection with this 
 
HAWKINO IN AFRICA. 127 
 
 subject the master of tlie hawks to a Caid of my acquaintance, 
 related to me a very interesting anecdote, in which he had, 
 as we shall see, played a dangerous part. 
 
 This man, who, next to a certain Mabrouk, of whom I will 
 speak some other time, is the most devoted falcon hunter 
 I have ever met in Africa, merits the passing attention of the 
 reader. 
 
 He is named Abdallah, and belongs to the Mahatlah tribe, 
 and is one of the bravest horsemen of his tribe, which is not 
 a small compliment to pay. One day I asked him how old 
 he was. He answered he was born the same year as powder 
 — which would make him about forty. . 
 
 A little above the ordinary height, of a grave, taciturn 
 manner, and thin, sickly appearance, at first sight this man 
 would appear to a stranger in no wise remarkable. 
 
 But when he is seen in the company of persons of the 
 same character as himself, and the conversation turns oh the 
 subjects of war and the chase, his face becomes animated, his 
 eyes flash fire, and his nostrils dilate as if inhaling from afar 
 the scent of powder and blood ; for to him the sport of the 
 chase is the agony of the victim whose eyes are torn out and 
 head lacerated by the falcon ; war, is the act of cutting the 
 throat of a living enemy as he struggles beneath one's knee. 
 
 With these ferocious feelings which are inherent among 
 all savages, Abdallah still possesses a sensible mind, and warm, 
 kind heart. 
 
 His family is composed of an old mother, whom he loves 
 and respects, which is more than the greater part of the 
 Arabs do ; three children whom he adores ; and a mare, born 
 
128 THfl LION KILLER. 
 
 the day on which his wife died, and to whom he has given 
 her name and transferred his affections. 
 
 Since that time, not only has he resisted the entreaties of 
 his mother who wants him to marry again, but still wears, 
 and has assured me he always will wear until his death, the 
 badge of mourning for his lost wife. 
 
 In order to judge of the inconvenience of mourning among 
 the Arabs, accustomed to ablutions as frequent as beavers, it 
 must be known that it consists in never washing either the 
 body or clothes. When I first knew this brave man, his wife 
 had been dead six years, and as can be easily imagined, neither 
 his person nor bournous was a model of cleanliness ; but the 
 interest I felt in his character made me pass over these little 
 inconveniences to the senses, and I warmly welcomed him 
 whenever I visited the tribe to which he belonged. 
 
 In May, 1850, I was collecting taxes on the country where 
 Abdallab lived. As soon as he learned of my arrival, he 
 hastened to visit me, and requested permission to come and 
 see me in my leisure moments. 
 
 As it gave me great pleasure to hear his anecdotes of war 
 and hunting, I told him I would willingly receive him, and 
 I learned the next day that he had installed himself in the 
 tent of my spahi for the rest of my sojourn in the country. 
 
 One evening when I had finished my work, and Abdallah 
 with several native chiefs was seated in my tent, I called 
 upon him to relate to me some anecdotes from his many 
 experiences of life. 
 
 After having exchanged the customary salutations with my 
 guests, who were his friends, Abdallah thought * for some 
 
HAWKING IN AFRICA. 129 
 
 moments, and then drawing the folds of his bournous around 
 him like a Roman, related the following story : — 
 
 " In the year Algiers fell into the hands of the Christians, 
 my Cousin Lakdar and myself conceived the idea of playing a 
 joke on one of our neighbors, a sheik of the Ouled-Bou- 
 Ghanem tribe, who, though a man of no account at all, 
 attempted to raise and hunt with falcons. 
 
 "To accomplish our purpose we took two young eagles 
 which we had found in their nests, and taught them to hunt 
 the nias* which our shepherds found in the rocks and 
 brought us every day. 
 
 "When we judged our birds sufficiently instructed and 
 well accustomed to the noise of men and horses, we sent a 
 safe friend to inquire among the servants of the sheik, when 
 and where his next hawking was to take place. 
 
 " Having learned the appointed spot and day, Lakdar 
 and I set out before day-break, driving an ass before us 
 with our hooded eagles and some falcons in case of need. Our 
 destination was Oued-Mellegh, where we heard the sheik was 
 coming with a great party to hunt the bustard that abounded 
 on the plains thereabouts. 
 
 " The sheik and his companions did not arrive for a long 
 time after we had reached the Oued-Mellegh^ and as the 
 tamarinds on the borders of the brook gave us a good hiding 
 place, we saw the parties arrive without any danger, and as 
 they deployed on the open plain, we regulated our advance 
 by that of the hunters. 
 
 * 2^ta8 are the young falcons found in the nest, and Tiagards the full grown ones. 
 
130 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " Soon a flock of bustards arose before tbe horsemen who 
 were beating the plain ; four falcons were successively cast 
 ofl*. and a large bustard was instantly singled out and pur- 
 sued by the hawks with sharp cries and arrowy speed. 
 
 " Our eagles, freed from their hoods, were not long in per- 
 ceiving the combat, and when their eyes were once on the 
 scene we cast them off, and they took their flight, first slowly 
 and in a direct line, then faster, and approaching nearer and 
 nearer the bustard and his pursuers as they all gradually 
 mounted in air. 
 
 " After having fastened our ass to a tamarind, we followed 
 up the course of the brook, in order to have a better view of 
 the combat. 
 
 "The bustard separated from the rest of the flock, and 
 fiercely attacked by the four falcons at once, had no other 
 resource but to keep above them. 
 
 " In order to accomplish this, she arose vertically to such 
 a height that she appeared but the size of a pigeon, while the 
 birds hastening after her, looked sometimes like locusts, and 
 sometimes disappeared altogether in the blue sky. 
 
 " But fast as was their flight there were faster foes on their 
 track, and our two eagles fanning the thin air with their great 
 wings, climbed up above them and soon we could not dis- 
 tinguish . one from the other, and only saw the group like a 
 dark speck on the summer sky. 
 
 " The Sheik and his horsemen were assembled in the plain, 
 their eyes fixed on the sky, watching the issue of this aerial 
 struggle. 
 
 "Suddenly, w« thought we heard distant piercing and 
 
HAWKING IN AFRICA. 131 
 
 repeated cries ; soon after we saw a black body increasing in 
 size and proportion as it descended to the earth, sometimes 
 struggling, and sometimes falling vertically towards the lower 
 regions. 
 
 " We were then able to recognize our brave eagles, with 
 expanded wings, allowing themselves to be dragged down- 
 ward by the weight of the bustard, who, with hanging feet and 
 broken wings, fell lifeless to the ground. We looked in vain 
 for the Sheik's falcons, they had fled for ever. Our attention 
 was now centred on the group of horsemen. 
 
 " At the moment the bustard and eagles fell hurtling 
 through the air, into the middle of the large circle formed by 
 the Sheik and his men, a loud cry of treason was heard from 
 the band. 
 
 '* We now remembered, that in the haste in which our birds 
 had been let loose, the jesses had remained fastened to the 
 legs of one of them. Several men on foot had laid their 
 burnous in such a way as to take the eagles without being 
 wounded by them, and thus they had discovered the trick 
 that had been played them. 
 
 " We sought in terror some remedy for our thoughtlessness. 
 There was nothing left but to fly, which we did as fast as our 
 legs could carry us, without thinking of our ass, who, however, 
 was destined to save my life in that day's frolic. 
 
 " For about an hour we ran, following the course of the 
 brook and sheltered by the trees along the sides, when we 
 perceived four horsemen about two hundred feet behind us, 
 and a short distance from them were the entire goum of the 
 Sheik. 
 
132 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " They were aH following fast on our tracks, some on horse- 
 back and some on foot, tracking us on the sandy soil like 
 wild beasts. 
 
 " There was no longer any use in flight, and we turned aside 
 to conceal ourselves as best we might. 
 
 " Lakdar chose a clump of tamarind and thorn trees, and I, 
 leaping down the bank, ran into the water which came about to 
 my shoulder, while the running vines and broad-leaved plants 
 concealed my head from view from above. I had hardly 
 reached this place of comparative security when I heard the 
 voice of a horseman calling ' Come over here, we see their 
 tracks in the sand as clear as daylight, there are two of the 
 dogs together.' 
 
 " Immediately the clatter of galloping feet, and the sound 
 of horses panting under their rapid course, came to my ears, 
 and announced the arrival of the Sheik with all his men. 
 
 " ' Let ten men go forward,* he cried, ' until the tracks are 
 lost, and then stand still watching both sides of the brook, 
 and then the rest of you my men, dismount and hunt up 
 the brook until you find the wretches, and bring them to me 
 alive or dead.* 
 
 "I readily saw that when this order was carried out, 
 Lakdar's fate was decided. My concealment was better 
 than his, and I entertained the hope that I might be preserved 
 to revenge his fate. 
 
 " At this moment I noticed that the water, which at first 
 was only up to my shoulder, was now moistening my lips, 
 and my feet were gradually sinking deeper in the mud. It is 
 gaid that h« who has nev«r any fear^ is ipot human, and I am 
 
HAWKING IN AFRICA. 133 
 
 not ashamed to say that at that time, I was right well fright- 
 ened, not only by the near approach of the knives of ray 
 pursuers, but also with the alternative prospect of drowning 
 in the water. I thought of my tent and my mare. 
 
 " I was suddenly aroused from my preoccupations by the 
 report of a pistol, followed by imprecations, blows, and the 
 sounds of muskets. It was the fusillade of my cousin, who 
 finding himself discovered in his retreat, had fired his pistol 
 on his foes and then fell, sword in hand, under their shots 
 and sabre cuts. By a few words that I could hear amid the 
 clamor, I learned that Lakdar was not quite dead, and that 
 they were dragging him before the Sheik. Careless of the 
 danger, and desiring, above everything, to discover what they 
 were about to do with my friend, I was about leaving 
 my retreat, when two men jumped into the bed of the 
 brook. 
 
 " ' He came down here,' said the first, pointing to my steps 
 in the sand. 
 
 " * Yes, those are his foot-prints,' said the other, turning 
 towards the border where I was standing motionless ten steps 
 oflf, looking at him from between the leaves that covered my 
 head. 
 
 "^It is queer,' continued the first, * there are no more 
 tracks to be seen in the bed of the brook, can he have been 
 drowned V 
 
 " At this moment, I heard steps on the bank above my 
 head, and a man called to the Arab, who was near me : 
 
 " ' Mohammed, the Sheik sent me to find you, because none 
 of the horsemen have as good a knife as yours.' 
 
134 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " ' What do you want with the knife V asked the man. 
 
 " ' To cut off the head of the dog whom we have taken/ 
 answered the messenger. 
 
 " The thought of cutting off a man's head was so pleasant 
 an anticipation as to beguile the villians from their search 
 after me, which relieved me from one of the most uncomfort- 
 able positions in which I have ever found myself placed. 
 
 " From what I had heard, my cousin was doomed to lose 
 his head, and I could do nothing to rescue him. 
 
 "Persuaded that the men who had just left would return 
 after the execution, and not being able, without leaving the 
 print of my steps, to seek another shelter, I resolved to remain 
 where I was. 
 
 " A root I could reach in the bank above my head, enabled 
 me to raise myself for an instant, and take a position which 
 would save me from the danger of drowning. 
 
 " After having heard the cries and noisy laughter caused 
 by the triple execution which was taking place behind me, it 
 seemed as if the horses were leaving the brook, and soon all 
 was quiet in the woods around me. 
 
 " Time moved on with the waning day, and I kept my diffi- 
 cult position, until the sun sunk beneath the horizon. Pre- 
 sently the twilight mantled the woods, and the stars one by 
 one came out in the sky, and still all was hushed and no sound 
 came to my ear. 
 
 "I drew myself softly out of my retreat and carefully 
 ascended the bank of the brook. 
 
 " I listened, and looked around me ; nothing in sight, no 
 noise, except the croaking of frogs ; no living being, except 
 
HAWKING IN ArRIOA. 185 
 
 some jackals wandering around the corpse of Lakdar, which I 
 found horribly mutilated and lying with our two eagles, 
 beheaded one on each side of him. 
 
 " After having satisfied myself that I was alone, I wrapped 
 the body and head of my cousin in my burnous, and placing 
 it on my shoulder, proceeded towards the place where we had 
 hidden our mule in the morning. 
 
 " I found him in the same spot, quietly grazing on the 
 grass at the foot of the tamarind to which he had been 
 attached. Binding my precious bundle on his back by means 
 of a cord, I crossed the plain in order to strike a path 
 which would enable me to arrive at the douar before day. 
 
 " I had walked for about four hours without meeting any- 
 thing, all the time followed by several jackals, that attracted 
 by the smell of blood, barked at intervals behind me, when 
 my ass suddenly stopped short, raising his ears and trembling 
 violently. On looking ahead of me, I perceived not very far 
 off, two eyes like diamonds on our path. 
 
 " Accustomed to these sort of meetings, I hastened to cut 
 the string with which I had bound Lakdar on the back of 
 the ass, took him on my shoulder as before, and entered the 
 thicket, leaving my poor beast motionless with fear on the 
 road. 
 
 " When I had walked about a hundred steps, I heard some- 
 thing like the fall of a heavy body thrown violently down, then 
 a kind of rattling in the throat, and then a total silence. 
 
 " The lion having accepted the sacrifice offered him, I was 
 secure as to myself; and regained the path I had left, by 
 making a circuit. 
 
136 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " Soon after, I met a party of our relations on horseback, 
 who had set out to seek us. 
 
 "After having related my day's adventures, they wanted 
 to proceed instantly and avenge the death of my cousin. 
 
 " I made them understand that there was not enough of 
 them, that we could not leave the body of our friend, and, 
 finally, that I was unarmed and on foot. 
 
 " A horseman placed the burnous containing the dead body 
 across his saddle, another took me behind him, and we arrived 
 at the douar before any one was stirring in the morning. 
 
 " On the evening of the same day, at the hour of supper, 
 fifty chosen horsemen could have been seen spurring their 
 steeds towards the smala of the murderer of Lakdar. 
 
 " The Sheik was holding a great festival in honor of the 
 execution of the morning. The couscoussou had been served, 
 and we arrived very a propos to take part in the feast. The 
 dogs having given notice of our approach, we were met by 
 some servants who had run out, astonished at seeing so many 
 guests arrive at once. 
 
 " They were seized, and while ten horsemen were strang- 
 ling them with the camel ropes they had in their hands, the 
 rest of our party arrived before the Sheik's tent, and sabred 
 the servants and inferior guests in the outer apartment, who 
 were awaiting the remains of the dinner, and their share of 
 the feast. 
 
 " From that moment I left my comrades to turn where 
 they would, and sought for the Sheik, whom I wanted to kill 
 with my own hand. 
 
 " The tent once gained, I was the first to cut an entrance 
 
HAWKING IN AFRICA. 137 
 
 and spring within, sword in hand. Here I found seated 
 immovable in a circle, the Sheik, surrounded by a dozen of 
 his chief men. They read their fate, and never a hand 
 moved. In a quarter of an hour after, their heads were ranged 
 in regular order around the dish of still smoking couscoussou, 
 and our fifty horsemen entered their respective douars with 
 the day-dawn, driving before them immense flocks, and 
 loaded with valuable booty. 
 
 " All this had passed without a shot, and almost without 
 noise, so that the douars near the smala of the Sheik learned 
 our attack too late to help him. 
 
 " From that day, until the arrival of the French put an end 
 to our hostilities, many heads had fallen in both tribes, but I 
 never afterwards saw any other falcons flown than those we 
 cast ofl" by the Ouled Mellegh." 
 
 As can be easily seen by this recital, the nobles and war- 
 riors in Algeria, monopolize the right of hawking, and the 
 stranger will find it no very easy task to indulge in it. 
 
 The tribes among whom the best falconers are found, are, 
 the Zmouls, Righa, Amers de Setif, and the wandering Arabs 
 who take up their winter quarters in the Sahara, and pass 
 the three other seasons in the high grounds around Constan- 
 tine. 
 
 The Arabs seldom keep the falcons they have used during 
 the season, but generally let them loose at the end of 
 February, in order to begin with others in the succeeding 
 autumn. 
 
 In some tribes, the niais falcon is used ; it is more easy 
 to feed and teach, but it is less courageous, and more subject 
 
138 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 to disease than the hagard^ which is taken in the latter part 
 of summer in the following manner.: 
 
 After having reconnoitred the rock or ruins in which the 
 falcon passes the night, a horseman comes early in the morn- 
 ing carrjring a pigeon or partridge, the body of which is 
 enveloped in a net in which the falcon is caught by his talons 
 when he sweeps down on the bait that the horseman lets 
 loose before him. 
 
 There are several kinds of falcons, which the Arabs distin- 
 guish by different names appropriate to each different variety. 
 
 Whatever may be the species to which the bird belongs, 
 the manner of teaching it is the same. The education of 
 the full grown falcon being much more difficult than that of 
 the niais, we will not treat of the latter. 
 
 As soon as the horseman commissioned to take the falcon 
 has seen him stoop on the bait, either in the air or on the 
 ground, he hastens to take it before it is able to tear loose 
 from the net in which it is caught. At the same time, he 
 puts on the hood, which is to keep him from seeing, and 
 jesses, to which are attached a cord about four or five feet 
 long, in order to keep him from flying. 
 
 This duty ended, the horseman returns to his douar, 
 carrying the falcon on his shoulder or head, without his 
 attempting to fly away, the loss of sight having rendered 
 him timid. 
 
 On arriving at the tent, the bird is placed on a perch a 
 foot high, stuffed with hair, and covered with cloth, to preserve 
 bis claws from injury. Then commences the course of train- 
 ing. It is necessary, the first thing, to accustom him to tho 
 
HAWKING IN AFRICA. 139 
 
 sight of men, horses and dogs, to allow his hood and jesses 
 to be put on and off, and finally to take his food out of the 
 hand. 
 
 There are very few falcons that do not make resistance ; 
 some refuse all food for several days ; others attack those 
 who touch them with their beak and claws ; and sometimes 
 there will be found a few so intractable that it is impossible to 
 train them at all. One thing very remarkable in this con- 
 nection, is that the falcons that are best for hunting purposes 
 are the very ones who are wildest during their education. 
 
 The surest means of subduing the bird, is to deprive him 
 of light and food for several days, and accustom him after- 
 wards to jump from the perch to the ground, and then to the 
 wrist, in order to obtain his food. 
 
 When they are suflficiently accustomed to the sight of men 
 and horses, the animal or bird which they are to hunt is 
 shown them, and they are permitted to eat a little of its flesh 
 after it is killed. 
 
 The Arabs consider warm flesh the best food for the birds. 
 Falcons that have lost nothing of their savageness by being 
 deprived of light or food, have been known suddenly to 
 become friends with the man who has given them either a 
 hare or partridge to kill, and to feast on the flesh with per- 
 fect docility. 
 
 After the falcons learn boldly to attack the animal which 
 is shown them while on the perch, the lesson is repeated on 
 horseback. To accomplish this they proceed to some open 
 plain, carrying along hares and partridges, according as the 
 birds are destined to hunt the one or the other. The falcons 
 
140 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 are carried by the horsemen on tlie shoulder or head, hooded 
 and restrained from frying by their jesses. When all is 
 ready for them to be cast off, they are placed on the left wrist 
 of the sportsman, which is protected by a heavy glove, reach- 
 to the elbow. 
 
 The lesson is first given singly ; while a horseman sets at 
 liberty a partridge with the wings cut, or a hare with only 
 three paws, the fowler unhoods a bird. It is easy to see that 
 this trial determines the falconer as to the talents of his pupil, 
 who, deprived of light and liberty for a month, suddenly finds 
 himself free and in the open air. It sometimes happens that 
 the falcon pays no attention to the hare»or the fluttering 
 partridge, but as soon as it finds itself at liberty, he escapes 
 with screams of joy to that wild life from which he had been 
 taken. Such birds are never regretted by true connois- 
 seurs. 
 
 It must be confessed, that generally speaking, as soon as 
 the falcon is unhooded, if it perceives the hare or partridge, it 
 does not think of returning to its independence, but first satis- 
 fies the instincts of its nature, by sweeping on its prey, which 
 it kills with a blow, and is then retaken and hooded. When 
 a falcon is well taught it will soon learn to obey the voice of 
 the falconer when he calls it, or the swinging of the lure, which 
 is ordinarily the stufied skin of a hare. After the falcon has 
 killed the animal let loose before it, the falconer approaches 
 holding the lure, which it well knows, and calling him in a 
 peculiar manner. 
 
 This manoeuvre is to cause the bird to alight on his wrist 
 or shoulder. If the bird remains deaf to the call, the falconer 
 
HAWKING IN AFRICA. 141 
 
 jumps to the ground and approaches it, holding out the lure 
 and letting it see some pieces of flesh which never fail in 
 attracting it. When a falcon, either while intent upon its 
 prey, or when lost in hunting, recognizes the lure, it is 
 regarded as ready tofiy, that is his education is finished. 
 
 As I have no intention of publishing a treatise on falconry, 
 I refer the reader, desirous of knowing the rules in regard to 
 falcons, to French and other foreign authors who have written 
 all that a falconer ought to know in regard to the education 
 of his birds. 
 
 I ought, however, to mention one fact which cannot but be 
 useful to those who practise, or wish to learn, this knightly 
 sport. ^ 
 
 According to the authors who have written on falconry, the 
 European falcon is subject to a number of dangerous diseases, 
 in spite of the care lavished on it by its keepers. It is differ- 
 ent in Algeria, where these cases are rare. I think there are 
 three reasons which cause this superiority in the African 
 falcon. 
 
 The first is, that Arabs very rarely use any but full grown 
 falcons. The second is, that they are allowed their liberty 
 before moulting. The third is, that in place of being shut up, 
 the birds follow their masters in their travels, are carried on 
 the shoulder; and when the tribe is encamped, they are 
 allowed to pass the day on or around the perch, outside the 
 tent, under cover of which they are brought at night. 
 
 It is generally in December that the education of falcons 
 is ended, and they commence to fly. The northern Arabs 
 
142 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 hunt the partridges and hare ; those of the south the hare 
 and bustard. 
 
 The place of meeting having been chosen for hunting the 
 hare, the owner of the birds rides out from his tent, accom- 
 panied by his guests, and followed by the falconers and horse- 
 men in his employ. On his arrival at the rendezvous, the 
 invited guests come forward to kiss his hand, and then mount 
 their horses. 
 
 On a signal from the chief, the falconers begin the chase, 
 walking ahead in single file, while the horsemen skirmish 
 around at full gallop. The chief and nobles who accompany 
 him follow the falconers. 
 
 After the horsemen that are coursing around have taken 
 their stations, which are generally ten or fifteen yards apart, 
 all facing the same way, they march straight ahead at a walk, 
 regulating their course in the following manner: the most 
 advanced of the falconers, by the pace of those that follow 
 them, who ought never to pass them ; and the others by the 
 progress of the horsemen on the extremities of the two wings 
 of the squadron, who keep in advance of the line to regulate 
 the chase. 
 
 As soon as the hare is started, the cry is raised by the one 
 who first sees it, and each manoeuvres in such a. manner as to 
 form a circle. At the same time the falcons are unhooded, 
 and the best taught is cast oflf the first. Once free, the 
 bird mounts the air in circles above the ring made by the 
 horsemen, the falconer follows the direction of the hare in a 
 gallop, and calls his falcon until he sees it swoop or hover ; 
 
HAWKING IN AFRICA. 143 
 
 it swoops on the hare that is running, and it hovers on the 
 one which squats. 
 
 In the open plains the hares are so frightened at the sight 
 of the falcon, that they usually squat when they see it. In 
 either case, all the birds are successively let loose in order to 
 support the first. 
 
 It is a very curious spectacle to see the falcons sweeping 
 one by one over the hare, which they strike with their claws 
 without stopping in their flight, while the horsemen waving 
 their burnous in their joy, hurrah and gallop so lustily, 
 that it would cause a braver animal than a hare to die of fear. 
 Whether the hare runs or is motionless, the bird never tears 
 him to pieces until he is stunned by the blow he has received, 
 and no longer gives any sign of life. Then, by the master's 
 orders, the falcon is retaken, rehooded, and the chase recom- 
 mences. 
 
 As, when once satisfied, the birds become lazy, they are 
 never allowed to eat any but the last hare taken ; then they 
 are permitted to eat their fill on the spot, to encourage them 
 for the remainder of the season. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the hare, perceiving the falcon, 
 takes refuge under the horses, and is followed by the bird. 
 The chase then becomes full of interest and uproariously 
 noisy. 
 
 The falcon not being able to strike his prey except by 
 sweeping on him in a vertical direction, finds the body of the 
 horse in his way ; he expresses his anger by piercing cries, 
 and manoeuvres around and above the protecting animal. 
 Whatever may be the address of the horseman or the direc- 
 
144 
 
 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 tion taken by him, whether to the right or left, forward or 
 backward, the unfortunate hare follows his steps and never 
 leaves him. 
 
 When the chief has played long enough with the agonies 
 of the hunted animal, a horseman jumps to the ground, takes 
 it in his hand, and carries it in the middle of the circle show- 
 ing it to the falcons, who follow with impatience the move- 
 ments of this last act of the drama. 
 
 Having ascertained that the birds are directly above it, 
 they are again shown the hare which is thrown as far as 
 possible. Scarcely does it touch the ground, before a bird 
 sweeps on it, striking it with its claws, and all hasten to give 
 the finishing stroke to the poor animal. 
 
 The Arabs take the partridge in the same manner, except, 
 that instead of forming a circle, they gallop in a single line, 
 following the manoeuvres of the falcons. This hunt does not 
 offer the same attractions as that of the hare, and it is but 
 rarely practised by the natives. 
 
 The most interesting hawking, for Arabs as well as Euro- 
 peans, and the one which best shows the courage of the hawks, 
 is the chase of the bustard. As I have mentioned above, the 
 southern tribes alone have the opportunity of chasing this 
 bird, which never approaches the colder regions of the high- 
 lands. 
 
 Those native chiefs that hunt the bustard, make a display 
 of men and horses when they take the field, which adds 
 greatly to the interest of the chase, and the beauty of the 
 scene. The bustard is met with on both sides of the moun- 
 tains which separate the Tell from the desert, but more 
 
HAWKING IN AFRICA. 145 
 
 frequently on the other side, and is generally found in 
 flocks of from ten to thirty. As they readily allow themselves 
 to be approached by horsemen, the sportsmen deploy on the 
 plain in an immense line preceded by the falconers marching 
 in front and at long intervals. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the bustards take wing at a 
 great distance when they are disturbed, but the falconers 
 watch the place where they alight and continue walking for- 
 ward until they see either a flock on the ground, or one that has 
 taken wing near by. In either case, one or two of the best 
 falcons are cast off. 
 
 As soon as the bustards that are on the ground perceive 
 the falcon hovering above them, they squat like the hare, 
 until the hawks have selected one of their number and 
 commenced attacking him. After one or two swoops have 
 been made, the poor bird is deserted by its mates, that fly 
 away and leave it to be killed on the spot. As can readily 
 be seen, such sport ofiers no great excitement, so the Arabs 
 do all they can to prevent the bustard waiting for the fal- 
 con. 
 
 In the latter case, that is to say, when the hawks are cast 
 off at a flock of bustards that are on the wing, they 
 immediately single out a bird and commence pursuit. The 
 fugitive, conscious of its fate, doubles and mingles in the flock 
 in order to gain a chance of escape, then, when too closely 
 pursued, he leaves them and mounts perpendicularly in the 
 air struggling with all his might to keep above the falcons. 
 Then in rapid succession, one after another, the other hawks 
 are launched in air, and like so many feathered shafts, they 
 
 7 
 
146 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 all rush after the fated bird, and the chase acquires an 
 immense interest. 
 
 All the horsemen that are scattered over the great plain, 
 spur their horses to their speed and gather around their 
 chief with their eyes on the heavens, shouting to their favorite 
 birds. 
 
 The struggle is generally very long and fierce. Feathers 
 come floating down from above like snow, and faint cries are 
 heard at intervals. At last, when ihe falcons have towered 
 above the bustard, and broken a wing or torn out an eydf the 
 great bird yields, and bustard and falcons together tumble to 
 the earth in the midst of the circle formed by the horsemen, 
 sometimes both being killed by the fall. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the bustard, instead of ascending 
 vertically after separating from its companions, flies straight 
 from the chase, drawing after it both falcons and horsemen. 
 The falcons rush after it, and sometimes succeed in bringing 
 it down by breaking a wing ; but it often occurs that after 
 several hours of this kind of coursing, the master gives the 
 signal of retreat, leaving to the falconers the duty of following 
 the chase in order not to lose all his birds. 
 
 I will here relate a fact I have heard, proving the strength 
 and swiftness of the bustard and falcon. 
 
 In the winter of 1853, some Arabs of Ferjioua having 
 taken a bustard and falcon which had fallen near them on 
 the plain, carried both to their Sheik, who, on inquiring 
 about it, found that this falcon belonged to a southern chief, 
 who had been hunting in the plain of El-Outaia the same 
 day that his falcon had caught and killed the bustard in 
 
HAWKING IN AFRICA. 14*7 
 
 Ferjioua. Now it cannot be less than one hundred and fifty 
 miles in a straight line between El-Outaia, where the bustard 
 had been attacked at noon, to Ferjioua, where it had been 
 brought to the ground at four o'clock, making a speed of 
 thirty-seven miles an hour. 
 
 At the commencement of this chapter I spoke of a man 
 named Mabrouk, who was one of the most zealous falconers 
 I have ever met with. 
 
 This man, who only died within the last two years, hunted 
 nothing but the bustard. When his birds conducted them- 
 selves with courage in the chase, he would not allow the 
 other falconers to touch them. After having embraced and 
 called them by their names, he placed them on his shoulder 
 and head, then jumped on his horse and returned to his 
 tent, carrying his dear family, as he called them, with him. 
 
 This passion went so far that, though possessing a good 
 reputation as a father, he loved his falcons better than his 
 wife and children, and his last caresses and sighs, just before 
 his death, were bestowed on his hawks. 
 
 After the death of Mabrouk, his eldest son, following the 
 last wishes of his father, gave their freedom to all the falcons 
 that had the ingratitude to profit by the legacy. 
 
 Arab chiefs are met with who keep a perch of hawks with- 
 out ever using them. For them it is a customary accessory 
 to native luxury with which they cannot dispense, as it shows 
 their fortune and grandeur, and makes an impression on the 
 common people. 
 
 When travelling, the chief is preceded or followed by well- 
 mounted and richly armed and equipped horsemen, carrying 
 
148 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 falcons on their wrists. The whole of this cortege seems to 
 breathe of nobility, and strikes the European as Ivell as 
 natives by its peaceful beauty and courtly pride. 
 
 The people when they meet an Arab chief travelling in 
 this manner, dismount and kiss his knee, without even know- 
 ing to whom they are doing honor. It is the simple homage 
 of the weak to the strong, of the poor to the rich, of the 
 serf to the noble, they bow to chief as do the feathered tribes 
 of the plain to the kingly bird that sits on his wrist. 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 149 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 
 
 Reader, if you are a hunter, it has probably often hap- 
 pened after a good dinner with a merry company, when each 
 one has killed or massacred from quails to wild boars, after 
 the manner of true carpet knights, that you have desired to 
 meet face to face a nobler and more dangerous enemy than 
 any to be found in your native forests ; and you have said, 
 like many others, I would like to kill a lion : perhaps you 
 have gone even further, and said, I could easily kill a lion. 
 
 Very well ! will you try in earnest to kill one of thes^ 
 interesting beasts ? If the desire is in your heait, and not on 
 your lips, I can satisfy you by showing you my secret. 
 
 But first of all, see if the desire is not a mere whim ; 
 examine yourself well, and if you are sure of yourself, then 
 set about it. 
 
 You are young, vigorous, in health, with good limbs, and 
 a true eye ; these physical conditions are indispensable ; in 
 regard to the moral, you must have a love for the beautiful, 
 and an iron will. 
 
 If you do not live in Paris, go there, seek Devisme, the 
 gunsmith, ask for a double-barrel rifle; tell him what you 
 
150 
 
 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 want it for, and be will know that three conditions are essen- 
 tial : solidity, precision and penetration. Regulate the rifle 
 with Devisnie, and when you are able to drive the nail at 
 thirty paces, be satisfied that it is good. Take in addition, a 
 pistol possessing the same qualities ; pay especial attention 
 to its penetration, which, like the rifle, is to be used with steel 
 pointed conical balls. 
 
 The pistol I have not used in a long time, being neither 
 exact or penetrating enough ; at Devisme's, you can get the 
 best, such as it is. 
 
 You must have two suits of clothes ; one very warm, for 
 winter; the other, light for summer, but strong enough to 
 resist the briers and thorns, with which the woods you are 
 obliged to cross are full. 
 
 If I was certain you would come soon, I would say, set 
 out from Philippeville, take the diligence for Constantine, 
 where you will arrive in the evening ; go to the Arab oflSce- 
 and inquire about me ; if I am out of town, which will be 
 probable, you will await my return, and practise with your 
 rifle during the interval. When I come back, we will make 
 our arrangements to take the field together. 
 
 I think I hear you say to yourself: here is a cunning fel- 
 low, who is very impatient to have a companion in his hunt- 
 ing adventures. Ah ! gentleman and fellow-hunter, you are 
 mistaken ; it is not a companion I seek, but a successor. 
 
 Alas ! I indeed give in my resignation ; my legs are no 
 longer sufficient to support me, the rifle is too heavy for my 
 arm, and I pant for breath after ascending the smallest 
 ravine ; my eyes alone remain good. The machine has 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 151 
 
 perished in the field of honor ; would that you could say as 
 much some day. But my end will be most happy, if Saint 
 Hubert will allow me to die under the stroke of the proud 
 foe I have so long battled. 
 
 While awaiting this fate, as I can no longer answer the 
 calls of the Arabs, and am obliged to choose my time and 
 season, in order to preserve the little health left me, I would 
 be happy in finding a successor, and initiating him in the secret 
 manoeuvres, the nocturnal habits, and noble character of the 
 animal that so few understand. 
 
 To seek, await, meet and conquer him, always and every- 
 where, in the niglit and day, is what I want to teach you, 
 my brother, not so as to be able to say, this man is my 
 pupil, but because lion-hunting*boldly conducted by one man, 
 has been introduced into Algeria by the conquest of the 
 French, and there must not be a lack of good examples. 
 
 The Arabs are very brave, they look upon us from their 
 simple grandeur, with insufferable disdain. I do not know 
 if they are wTong or right, for bravery has so many different 
 complexions, that each one defines it in his own way, some- 
 times according to his own spirit. 
 
 After God, the Arabs most fear the lion. To destroy him, 
 they generally employ cunning ; drawing him, as we have 
 shown, into a ditch where they assassinate him ; or secretly 
 hidden within a pit solidly constructed in the ground, 
 called a melbeda ; or when safely mounted on the top of a 
 tree. They seldom attack him boldly face to face, and when 
 they do, it is a battle where the victory is dearly bought, 
 and seldom won. But there has never been an Arab who 
 
152 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 has either alone or with a comrade dared to march against a 
 lion, or await him in the nighty without any protection but 
 his own courage and arms. 
 
 The insolent pride of these men has been lowered by the 
 deeds of a Frenchman ; they have been humiliated by the 
 willing courage of an enemy, who imposes the respect they 
 have heretofore refused him and his countrymen. 
 
 I wish there was a handful of picked men in the province 
 of Constantine, taken from the army or elsewhere, who would 
 devote themselves to lion-hunting ; these men, rewarded for 
 their fatigues, and sure of a recompense in case of serious 
 wounds, would render an immense service in this country, 
 where we must speak by deeds and not by words. 
 
 I would be happy and proud to command this little troop, 
 and direct it in the accomplishment of a mission which would 
 be of profit alike to the new and old France. But I doubt 
 if I shall ever have this honor, for it is more difficult than to 
 find a successor ; for, in the latter case, there is needed but 
 one noble heart of devoted courage — surely our country can 
 produce that. 
 
 Do not be long in coming ; come while I am yet in this 
 world, we will walk side by side as two brothers, and in the 
 moment of danger I will be present; if the lion is too strong 
 for us, I will fall the first, and my death will serv^e you as a 
 lesson. 
 
 If you arrive too late, listen to the instructions of your 
 teacher : 
 
 If you have provided yourself with the arms above-men- 
 tioned, and have learned how to use them, you can leave 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 153 
 
 France in the month of April, and will then have six months 
 more of good weather. I entreat you, not to hunt in winter; 
 it is these winters which have made me an old man at thirty. 
 You will do well during three months every year, to lay in a 
 fresh stock of health in the air and food of your native 
 country. 
 
 ' Set out for Bone, in the beginning of April ; on arriving, 
 present yourself at the Arab office, explain your new profes- 
 sion, and ask the officer in command to give you authority to 
 visit the tribes of the division, and introduce you to the 
 chiefs. 
 
 If you do not, the tribes being responsible for all the mur- 
 ders committed on their lands, will fear that the lions will 
 strangle, or the night-wanderers kill you, in which case, your 
 death will rest on them, and they will do everything in their 
 power to discourage your expedition. 
 
 Besides, the presence of a Christian among them being 
 insupportable, they will take care not to call on you for aid ; 
 and you not being able to prove to them that you will be 
 neither strangled by the lion nor assassinated by marauders, 
 you have only one way of making any progress in your 
 hunt. 
 
 You must introduce yourself to a cadi who has within the 
 circle of his authority mountains frequented by lions ; assi- 
 duously pay your court to him, and propitiate him by pre. 
 sents. If he consents to assist you, and he will consent if you 
 are generous towards him, buy a mountain horse for yourself 
 and a mule for your baggage. 
 
 K you intend to live well, buy provisions accordingly ; if 
 8*- 
 
154 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 you are abstemious, which is better, carry nothing but coffee 
 and tobacco. 
 
 Refrain from wine and liquors, if you wish to have a clear 
 eye, and besides, the water of the mountains is so pure and 
 good, that you will soon cease to regret the wine you have 
 left behind you. You will easily find a smart fellow at Bone, 
 who will talk Arab for you and French with you, and take 
 care of your baggage. 
 
 Before setting out, let the head of the Arab oflBce know 
 what cadi you are going with, and the country you intend to 
 explore, and he will give you a passport which you will 
 present to those Arab chiefs you do not know. In the sub- 
 division of Bone, you have the choice between the depart- 
 ments of Bone, Calle, Edough and Guelma. 
 
 At Bone are the Beni-Salah where there are lions, but too 
 many marauders ; in Calle you will meet the same diflSculty ; 
 if you commence there, you will be killed the first fortnight. 
 The little hills to the south of Edough, near the house of the 
 cadi, are good. 
 
 The country situated to the south and west of the camp of 
 Drean is equally good. 
 
 If they assure you that there is a lion in one of these 
 countries, set out with a cadi or Sheik, tell him you intend 
 pitching your tent as near as possible to the supposed lair, 
 at a hundred steps above the douar. I said a hundred steps 
 from the Arab tents, because your eyes are not to be making 
 love to the women of the douar ; and I said above, because 
 every dark night, the marauders roam around the douars and 
 they generally come from the lower side, whore they are less 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 155 
 
 exposed to observation ; and if you are in tbeir way, in spite 
 of the guard watching over you, you will lose your head that 
 they may win a place in Paradise, or cause some embarras.s- 
 ment to the tribe that has received you. 
 
 And now that you are installed in the midst of the Arabs, 
 you must learn how to behave yourself. 
 
 You will have scarcely pitched your tent, before you will 
 have to receive a crowd of visitors. Do not be mistaken, 
 they are only curious to see you in order to know if you are 
 like other people, and they will place themselves around you, 
 and stare at you like fools. Pay no attention to them. Some 
 will say to you, " Welcome ;" answer without smiling, by a 
 sign of the head signifying, " It is well." Be mute, if you 
 can, at least do not speak without absolute necessity. 
 
 A man who is called a prattler, is without honor among 
 the Arabs. He is passable, even if he is as stupid as a beast, 
 and honorable if either a robber or assassin, but he is dis- 
 graced if a prattler. 
 
 They will not fail to overwhelm you with questions on 
 your plans as soon as they know what you have come for. 
 Be on your guard. Answer the questions lightly and with 
 quietness. 
 
 They will say : " Do you hunt the lion during the day or 
 at night ?" You can answer : " The day and night.'* 
 
 " Alone or accompanied ?" 
 
 "Alone." 
 
 You will then say to them : 
 
 " I come from France to hunt the lion, because he does you 
 a great deal of harm, and to kill him would be to do good ; 
 
156 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 and besides, in lion hunting there is great danger, but 
 Frenchmen love to £ace death if by doing so they can prevent 
 evil" 
 
 Then a young man with a frank and innocent air, will say 
 to you : 
 
 "If in the night, you meet one or several men in the 
 forest, will you fire on them ?" 
 
 Hasten to say as loud as possible, so that all can hear, 
 
 " What have these men who travel the woods in the night 
 to do with me ? their business is not mine, I am in search of 
 lions. As soon as I see or hear them, I will say, pass 
 by, and if they have no bad intentions, I will do them no 
 harm." 
 
 The conversation ought to stop here, even if you remained 
 a month in the douar. You may be sure that if the next day 
 you fire some balls in a target to keep your hand in, that 
 before one week has passed, for seventy leagues around, it will 
 be known that a Frenchman has come to hunt the lion. 
 Your height, age and figure, will be described ; they will say, 
 he seems brave, is a good shot and says nothing to marauders. 
 These last words will have an immense influence, for it is a 
 question of life and death to you. 
 
 But you have answered the leading question in the nega- 
 tive. 
 
 " Have you already killed any lions? Have you seen them? 
 Have you heard them roar?" and until then your assured 
 manner, and your skill in shooting, do not prove that you 
 will yet kill your first lion. 
 
 The moment of action has anived ; send runners to the 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 15'l 
 
 neighboring douars, to know if the lion has been seen or 
 heard, or if he has carried away any cattle. 
 
 While awaiting the arrival of the messengers, as you do 
 not know the country and need a safe guide, and the only 
 ones capable of crossing the woods in the night, on such 
 an errand, are these professional robbers, you are obliged to 
 employ one. 
 
 If you ask in the douar for a robber, they will laugh in 
 your face, and answer that they are all honest people. 
 
 A.sk for a man who is accustomed to walk in the night and 
 is not afraid, you will find a hundred, all young and vigorous, 
 from whom you can choose the one whose countenance best 
 pleases your fancy. 
 
 If you talk to him of his courage, he will feel flattered ; 
 if you propose to him to accompany you, he will flatly re- 
 fuse. 
 
 Then you will explain to him, that you only require him to 
 show you the lair of the lion from a distance, and tba paths 
 he generally follows when he leaves the wood to descend 
 into the plain ; the spring or brook, at which he generally 
 drinks, if there is a ford or defile frequented by him ; and 
 especially make him understand that you do not want 
 him to remain near you at the moment of danger, but he can 
 leave when he likes. He will then be quite willing to go 
 with you, and you may rely on him. 
 
 It .would not be a bad idea to promise him a reward, if you 
 are satisfied with him. 
 
 An Arab, one of the runners you have sent, returns and 
 tells you that the lion has carried off a cow and horse, at 
 
158 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 some leagues distant from the doiiar where you have estab- 
 lished yourself. 
 
 Collect your baggage and pitch your tent on the spot. 
 
 If your guide says he knows the country, and that he has 
 friends there, take him with you, or rather leave him to bring 
 you news, promising him a liberal reward if they are favorable, 
 and you can get another guide in the douar to which you 
 are going. 
 
 Ascertain if the lion roars, if he is alone or accompanied 
 by his lioness, and if he is ever abroad during the day ; 
 make them describe him to you ; but, for greater certainty, 
 go yourself, during the day, with your guide, in the paths 
 leading to the mountain, and try and trace his footsteps. 
 
 In case the ground should be dry, seek a marshy or a wet 
 path, and when you will have found his tracks, you can judge 
 him by the following signs : Place your open hand on the 
 print, and if the claws of the animal are not covered by your 
 fingers, it is a full-grown male. If your hand covers the foot, 
 it is a lioness or a young lion. 
 
 If it is impossible to find a foot-print, look around carefiiUy, 
 and you can judge from the excrements, which are white and 
 full of large bones. 
 
 If they are as large as your fist they belong to a full-grown 
 male ; if smaller, to a lioness or young lion. 
 
 When the excrements are twenty-four hours old, they 
 become almost black. 
 
 Wait for the moon to rise, even if it is not until midnight ; 
 and do not set out in the dark. 
 
 Do not be impatient; you have plenty of time; and to 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 159 
 
 hunt the lion on a dark night is a folly of which I have been 
 often guilty, and which has almost cost me my life on various 
 occasions. 
 
 If you cannot find the i^ot-print, and the animal continues 
 his depredations without roaring, set out in the night accom- 
 panied by your guide. 
 
 Examine the paths communicating with the douars visited 
 by the lion. 
 
 Walk softly and halt frequently. 
 
 If you hear the hoarse cry which Europeans attribute to 
 the hyena, while in reality it belongs to the jackal, follow the 
 sound. This mournful cry will inform you that the jackal is 
 following either a lion, marauder, or hyena. 
 
 As I mentioned before, he is in the train of these different 
 parties in order to obtain a share in the prize, and all the 
 while utters a peculiar cry to call his companions to the 
 feast. 
 
 If the jackal follows a lion in the plain, it will not take 
 long to be certain of the fact ; for the latter on seeing you at 
 any distance, no matter what, will approach. 
 
 In a woody country make the guide lead you to the path 
 on w^hich the animal you hear is probably coming, so as to 
 cut off his escape ; then set yourself by the side of a bush 
 near the path and wait patiently. 
 
 Your guide ought to be some steps behind you, hidden 
 among the trees, and in any case you should know where he 
 is that he may be out of all danger. 
 
 Placed as you are, you cannot be seen by the advancing 
 animal until he is opposite your rifle. 
 
160 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 Aud now attention. Lionesses and young lions have claws 
 and teeth, which can tear and kill perfectly well. Do not 
 commence by a fault. The marauders have a thousand good 
 reasons to give you no quarter ; so be on the watch. If a 
 man appears, let him see the end of your rifle and cry out, 
 pass on ! He knows you do not want him, and will probably 
 obey. In any case, be on your guard, and do not let your- 
 self be killed like a worm. If it is a lion, await with your 
 rifle to your shoulder, and the finger on the trigger, until he 
 is opposite you on the path ; he will stop on seeing you. 
 
 Just behind the shoulder is a good point to aim at, but it 
 is by no means a dead shot. A lion that I had shot through 
 and through in the shoulder with two balls, cut down two 
 Arabs and carried off my spahi Rostain. 
 
 Aim between the eye and ear if the animal's side is towards 
 you ; between the eyes if he fronts you. Then fire ! he will 
 fall. Wait for a moment on the defensive, and do not 
 approach him until he no longer gives a sign of life. 
 
 If it is a hyena that the jackal has signalled to you by 
 his cry, let him go. The Arabs say : Cowardly as an hyena, 
 and they are right. This is the way you must manage in 
 case you arQ fortunate enough to meet the enemy. 
 
 It is probable that for a whole moon you will have to 
 wander over the mountain and plain without seeing the lion. 
 Do not be discouraged ; remember the Arabian proverb : There 
 are a hundred douars^ a hundred roads, and a hundred fords 
 for one lion. 
 
 The proverb is wrong ; for there are more than a thousand 
 douars, a thousand roads, and a thousand fords for one lion. 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 161 
 
 The proof is, that I have passed six hundred nights in the 
 open air, searching the most frequented ravines, watching all 
 the best fords, and I never met but twenty-five lions. 
 
 A lioness and young lion never remain long in one country, 
 and the Arabs will attribute their disappearance to your 
 presence. You may kill some wild boars, if you have a 
 mind, your eye and hand will lose nothing by it, and then 
 return to Guelma. 
 
 Present youreelf to the governor of the district, and to the 
 head of the Arab affairs, wait for the next new moon, and 
 then set out for Mahouna. 
 
 On the western side of this beautiful mountain you will 
 find the country of the Oaled Hamza. Pitch your 'tent 
 among them, and ask the Sheik for a guide. During the day 
 examine the two paths on the side of this mountain, and 
 descend to the border of the Ouled-Cherf, and obtain a know- 
 ledge of the fords of Boulerbegh and Hirondelles. You will 
 find several blinds, or hiding-places, made by the Turks who 
 hunted for Ahmed-Bey. 
 
 These are fortified shelters that I had repaired by the 
 Arabs for a shelter in case of storm. 
 
 Remember that these hiding-places are made by cowards 
 for cowards, and if you use them the Arabs will not fail to say 
 that they also can kill lions like you. 
 
 The Mahouna is the pleasure garden of the lions ; not one 
 of these noble travellers leaves the kingdom of Tunis for that 
 of Morocco without stopping some time on his journey at 
 Mahouna. 
 
 If, on arriving, you do not meet a large old lion, who, by 
 
162 THE LIOX KILLER. 
 
 liis roaring, frightens the animals all around, you will find at 
 the fords I have mentioned, traces of some family that has 
 taken up its summer quarters in the dens bordering the 
 Oiiled-Cherf. After you have found the footprints of several 
 lions on the sand of the river, try to find the path by which 
 they descend from the woods to their forays on the plain, and 
 you will have an entire moon in which to wait for them, and 
 most probably you will not fail to encounter them. 
 
 Place yourself in such a position that you can overlook 
 the ford, and fire from above, always remembering never to 
 fire from below; however dangerously your first ball may 
 wound the animal, it only takes two seconds for him to be 
 on you. 
 
 Remember that the more seriously a lion is wounded, and 
 the nearer he is to death, the more dangerous he becomes. 
 
 At this ford of Boulerbegh to which I recommend you, on 
 one night in July, 1845, 1 found myself fac6 to face with 
 three lions, each about three years old. The first stopped on 
 seeing me ; I sent him rolling into the river. It was well I 
 had placed myself above the path, or this animal, with his 
 broken shoulders, would infallibly have killed me, since three 
 times he turned towards me, dragging himself on his stomach, 
 which effort must have caused him excruciating agonies. 
 My position and the slowness of his movements enabled me 
 to reload, and three times I sent him into the brook, where he 
 at last remained. 
 
 Do not be worried if you see a number of tracks in the 
 path below you, for if they are young lions but two years 
 old, they will walk before their mother 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 163 
 
 You can let them pass, and attack her. In case the cubs 
 are of younger age than this, be prudent, for the mother' will 
 not wait for you to attack either her or her young, but as 
 soon as she perceives you, she will take the offensive, and it 
 is not an easy thing to escape from such a duel. As for 
 example : 
 
 During November, 1846, a lion had killed and dragged off 
 a horse to the bottom of a ravine where I discovered it. I 
 judged from the footprint that it must be a lioness, and 
 awaited her return seated at the foot of a mastic. 
 
 The first night nothing came ; the second nothing ; at an 
 early hour on the third, the old lady arrived, preceded by her 
 little ones, pretty well grown. 
 
 One of them was already snuffing the dead horse that lay 
 on his back, in the bottom of the ravine, and was just com- 
 mencing his repast, when his mother, who had lain down to 
 watch, after looking all around, perceived me. Our eyes had 
 scarcely met, when, with one bound, she jumped on her little 
 one, as if about to devour him. The frightened cub took 
 flight in the twinkling of an eye, and nothing was left in the 
 ravine but myself and the horse. 
 
 A novice would have said : why did he not fire sooner ? and 
 would look upon the game as lost I knew it was no child's 
 play that I had in hand, and was determined the lioness 
 should not be the winner if I could help it ; so my eyes and 
 ears were all attention. Suddenly I heard on my left, and 
 almost behind me, like the noise of a mouse, something brush- 
 ing against a bush, and turning to that side I perceived first 
 two large paws, then the long feelers, and then the enormous 
 nose of the lioness, crouched down in the attitude of springing. 
 
164 THE LIOX KILLER. 
 
 My gun was at my shoulder, my finger on tlie trigger, and 
 the moment I caught her eye, glassy and fixed, from among 
 the leaves, an iron messenger of death crashed through her 
 brain ; she sprang into the air with a great bound, and fell on 
 the body of the horse with a convulsive motion, and died. 
 I waited all that night for the cubs, but they never returned, 
 having probably witnessed the tragical demise of their honored 
 parent, and feared lest they might share her fate. 
 " The lioness does not boldly attack you, but on seeing you, 
 first stops, then if you aim at her, will crouch, and so closely 
 that you can scarcely see her. 
 
 In a moment, after she will cautiously raise her head. If 
 your gun is not at your shoulder, she will pretend to go 
 away, but she will never leave the neighborhood if her cubs 
 have not escaped beyond all danger. 
 
 If they are wandering near you or have stopped in their 
 flight, the lioness, that you believed to be far ofl", will crawl 
 around you on her belly, and spring on you suddenly without 
 the slightest noise or -^-arning. Therefore, be prudent, cool, 
 and vigilant. 
 
 If you pass the summer in Mahouna, it may sometimes 
 happen on a fine evening, a little after sunset while you are 
 sipping a cup of coffee, while seated before your tent, that 
 you will hear something like the distant noise of artillery, 
 echoing among the mountains. There is no fort in the neigh 
 borhood, and the cannon at Guelma are not fired except at 
 noon. Go and seat yourself outside the douar, in order to 
 hear more distinctly. 
 
 Your ear has never listened to a more harmonious, sonor- 
 ous and imposing sound. 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 165 
 
 Attention, and do not lose a note. 
 
 It is a large old lion who arrived last night, and whose 
 yawns are shaking the mountains. 
 
 Wait a little, for he is leaving his den, and walking with 
 half shut eyes, for he is not quite awake yet, but presently he 
 will shake off his laziness and you will then hear him roar. 
 
 All the Arabs who have heard him, will come to seek you, 
 for they well know the consequences of a visit from their master. 
 
 If y^u listen to their entreaties, you will set out instantly 
 and kill the lion before he has crossed half of his dominions. 
 
 Young and old, all come squatting around you, and listen 
 with religious awe to this voice which imposes silence on all 
 others, the voice of the strongest and boldest creature on the 
 earth. 
 
 It is both curious and instructive to observe the Arabs. 
 
 As soon as the lion is silent, they all commence talking at 
 once ; they hurl a thousand curses against him ; they over- 
 whelm him with the most insulting epithets ; they even go so 
 far as to menace him, if he dares to approach their tent. 
 
 The lion roars again, and the words remain hushed on 
 their lips. Not a sound is to be lost. 
 
 Great instruction is to be gained for you and others, from 
 this respectful silence of the Arabs. 
 
 I have already said that the Arab was brave ; and how 
 could he help being so, born, living and dying in the midst 
 of dangers which the inhabitants of Europfe can never know 
 or appreciate ? 
 
 In his infancy, instead of moral counsels, he hears of 
 nothing but murder, wars and forays. 
 
166 THE LION KILLER 
 
 The wisest, most virtuous, and most respected among his 
 people, is he who has killed the greatest number of his foes. 
 
 Family revenge, the hatred of one tribe against another, 
 and detestation of Christians, are the lessons of his childhood ; 
 and to complete his education, when he is fifteen, some even- 
 ing after the old men have told their tales of hate and 
 revenge around the tent fires, when the neighbors have 
 retired, and the child nestles in his accustomed place to 
 sleep, his father pushes him with his foot, and calls him a 
 lazy coward. 
 
 The boy not understanding, begs for an explanation. 
 
 His father laughing, points him to a pistol and dagger 
 hanging in his tent. 
 
 The child bounds to his parent and kisses him respectfully 
 on the shoulder, who proud and happy at having a son that 
 promises so well, tells him to sit down near him, and speaks 
 to him as follows : 
 
 "Have you gone out in the night, without my know- 
 ledge ?" 
 
 The child relates his love for a young girl of a neighboring 
 douar, whom he has sometimes visited, at the risk of having 
 his brains blown out with a pistol. 
 
 " That is well," says the father, " but not sufficient. You 
 are already tall, and blush to hear your neighbors call you a 
 boy. You must let them see that you are a man." 
 
 '' I ask nothing better," answers the child ; " but, the 
 night seems very dark, and I would be afraid to go 
 alone." 
 
 " For the first time, you will not go alone ; take these arms, 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 167 
 
 leave your burnous, which is too white, and bind your shirt 
 around your waist." 
 
 Whilst our pupil is making his toilet, the old man goes 
 to the tent of a friend and says to him : 
 
 " My son is ready." 
 
 The mother cries at first for fear of failure or misfortune ; 
 but she is told that the young people will be conducted by a 
 courageous and prudent friend. 
 
 All is arranged, and about ten o'clock, in a heavy rain and 
 dark night, three men covered with shirts the color of the 
 ground, reaching to the knee and bound by a leathern belt, 
 silently leave the douar. 
 
 Under a burnous pieced in a thousand places, and which 
 has served three generations without having been washed, 
 each of the adventurers hides a pistol and dagger. The 
 head is covered with a brown hood and the feet are bare. 
 
 They cross the fields in silence and only stop at the sight 
 of the enemy's fires. It is a douar of ten or twelve tents 
 placed close together in a circle ; in the middle are the flocks 
 and herds. Outside and before each tent are a number of 
 dogs keeping good watch. 
 
 In this douar is a man whose father or grandfather has 
 killed a near relative, or mayhap a distant ancestor of one of 
 our adventurers, and it is the life of this man they seek. 
 The fires are extinguished, one by one, and everybody in the 
 douar seems to be asleep, except the dogs. The old man 
 guiding the boys, knowing that at a certain hour of the night 
 some of the dogs, overcome with fatigue, yield to the 
 influence of slumber, patiently awaits the moment of action. 
 
168 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 Ill the meanwhile, a lion who has not dined, and who, see- 
 ing the advanced hour of the night, feels very hungry, arrives 
 at the same douar, and perceives three men crouching on the 
 ground. " Good," says he, " here are some comrades who 
 arrive just in time ; and he lays himself down, and waits. 
 You must know that the lion is naturally very lazy. Now as 
 the men who wander about in the night are oftener robbers 
 of cattle than assassins, the lioness says to her young lion, 
 when he is old enough to travel over the country : 
 
 " My child, when you meet men in the night, follow them, 
 and do them no harm if they do not molest you. 
 
 " The flesh of men is not as good as that of cows, being 
 generally as dry as a herring. 
 
 "Travel in company with them then, and when they 
 arrive near a douar, lay down and wait while they work for 
 you. 
 
 " Let them drive the cattle they have stolen for some dis- 
 tance ; and when you have found a brook or a spring 
 on your path, present yourself, and demand your por- 
 tion." 
 
 The lion that has followed the counsels of his mother, finds 
 himself well off. Instead of carrying or dragging his dinner 
 for a quarter of an hour, and afterwards having to go in 
 search of a brook to quench his thirst, he finds his wants all 
 provided for by his friends, and that on the very spot he may 
 select. 
 
 Our lion is now lying down waiting ; but the dogs who 
 have seen the fire of his eyes or winded him, make a frightful 
 din. 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 169 
 
 The douar is aroused, and all are on foot. Some yell, and 
 others fire their guns in the air. 
 
 The women relight the fires and throw burning sticks over 
 the hedge to frighten the enemy. 
 
 While this is going on, the day approaches without the 
 comrades of the lion bejng able to do anything. The hunger 
 of the latter continues, and he becomes impatient, ''''Ah! 
 ah /" says he, " 1 will take a sheep myself^ if^ it is not too 
 heavy.^'' And he arises. 
 
 The douar is placed on a declivity, which he rapidly 
 ascends. 
 
 The dogs, who are all following him with their eyes and 
 nose, turn towards that side. 
 
 He rushes forward, and in less time than it has taken me 
 to tell, has jumped over the hedge, six feet high, which sur- 
 rounds the douar, has seized a sheep, and leaping the barrier 
 a second time has disappeared. 
 
 The dogs are in the tents, mute and stupefied ; and the 
 men are like the dogs. 
 
 The storm having passed, inquiries are made in regard to 
 the sheep. The eyes of a European would see neither tents 
 nor flocks, the night being so dark. 
 
 An Arab, however, immediately calls out, " It is the lame 
 black sheep." 
 
 All again retire to rest, and, excepting some old ones, the 
 pack of dogs follow the example of the masters. 
 
 Our three men then carefully examine the priming of their 
 pistols, and crawling on their hands and knees, invisibly and 
 silently advance to the camp. 
 
 8 
 
no THE LION KILLER. 
 
 The tent of the man they search is pointed out ; the leader 
 only says to the boys : 
 
 " Children, be men." 
 
 They reach the hedge that surrounds the douar, and find 
 the entrance is closed by prickly bushes to keep in the 
 herds. 
 
 The old man whispers in the ear of his companions : 
 
 " Do not move, until you hear the dogs bark on the other 
 sid'e ; then be as quick as you can." 
 
 He wheels round, and dragging himself on his stomach to 
 the other side of the douar, stations himself opposite the tent 
 that the boys are to enter. 
 
 He raises himself slowly ; if the dogs do not see him, he 
 approaches a few §teps and coughs , that is enough. In one 
 instant, all the dogs in the douar are around him. 
 
 In order to keep them at a distance, he has only to walk 
 towards them on his hands and knees , the dogs will be too 
 afraid to approach him. 
 
 But the entrance of the douar has already been noiselessly 
 passed by our young people. 
 
 The tent they are seeking is close to them. 
 
 They raise their heads and listen ; nothing is heard within. 
 Everybody is asleep. The women's place is the lowest dovn, 
 and that of the children next, while the master himself is 
 lying in front of the door, with a pistol under his head, and 
 his yataghan by his side. 
 
 The child wo spoke of has entirely disappeared under the 
 tent ; the darkness will not permit him to see his enemy, but 
 he hears him breathing, he drags himself near him, until he 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 171 
 
 feels his breath ; his head is well placed. A shot is heard, 
 and all is over. 
 
 One hour after, our three assassins are snoring under their 
 fathers' tents, perfect pictures of boyish innocence. 
 
 The next day, the child is proclaimed a man, and is enti- 
 tled to a voice in the councils of the nation. 
 
 His comrades speak to him with deference, and some 
 pretty girl will recompense his noble action with the warm 
 embraces of a desert maid. 
 
 The man who has received such an education, is necessa- 
 rily courageous, especially during the night. 
 
 Among all those surrounding you, there are twenty who 
 will present their heads to the yataghan without the least 
 emotion ; but you will not find one bold enough openly to 
 attack their leonine foe who does them so much harm. 
 
 From whence comes this respect of the Arab for the lion ? 
 It proceeds from the numberless examples the latter has 
 given of his strength and courage. 
 
 In the numerous struggles and combats, the lion has 
 always been the stronger, and when he has yielded to num- 
 bers, the victory has been dearly bought. 
 
 Behold European, and especially Frenchman, who are held in 
 such poor esteem by the Arabs, what a noble mission is yours. 
 
 If you do good in giving to the poor, they will say that 
 you do not know what to do with your money, and will hate 
 you; if you do good in rendering justice, they will say that 
 you do that in order to draw them to you, and convert them 
 to your belief, customs and religion, and they will mistrust 
 you. 
 
172 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 If you are strong and courageous, they -will hold you in 
 respect and veneration. You may claim it from them on 
 every occasion and in every place, and they will not dare to 
 look you in the face. It is not for yourself alone that you 
 sport with death, it is for civilized Europe and for France. 
 
 Let us return to Mahouna. Do not hasten to follow the 
 lion whose voice is calling to you from the hills ; he has 
 just arrived, and will remain in the country for a month, at 
 least. 
 
 With good dens, flocks on every side, and water in abun- 
 dance, how could he be more comfortably situated ? 
 
 If there is a full moon, approach half a league nearer, in 
 order the better to hear his roars, and accustom yourself to 
 them. The nearer you approach, the more you will be agi- 
 tated by this voice, which has no equal in forest cries. 
 
 If the animal seems to be coming towards you, leave the 
 path and enter the woods for a few stejDS. 
 
 You will thus be able to hear it very near as he passes, 
 and I warn you that your heart will beat with the pulsations 
 of the air that trembles at his tones. 
 
 Remain where you are until daylight, and recommence 
 the next night. 
 
 It is probable that they will tell you that the lion has 
 killed some cows, horses or mules ; a large old lion does not 
 gather with a sparing hand; seat yourself about ten steps 
 from the body of the animal last killed. 
 
 Station yourself in such a way as to be above the lion 
 when he arrives, and you can take arm at your ease. Ho 
 eats slowly, and will do you the honor of looking at 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. l73 
 
 you from time to time, as if to ask what you are doing 
 there. 
 
 Fire between the eyes and kill at the first shot. 
 
 If you have passed two nights without seeing the lion, you 
 may be sure he will not return, but is killing and eating 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Meanwhile the moon is at its full, it rises at sunset and 
 sinks beneath the horizon at daybreak. 
 
 You have sufficiently studied the manners of the animal 
 to know that in leaving his den, he will follow some particu- 
 lar path, where you can be sure to meet him. 
 
 Set out at sunset, seat yourself on a rock overlooking the 
 den, and wait. 
 
 Pay attention to the first roar, in order to find out the 
 direction the lion is taking. If he is coming towards you, 
 you will only have a few steps to take, if he is going in the 
 opposite direction and you cannot cross the woods, await his 
 return, after he has procured his dinner, and is coming home 
 again. 
 
 This side of the mountain being everywhere thickly covered 
 and intersected with deep ravines, and the lion having only 
 two roads to take to the douars, it will be the more easy for 
 you to meet him. 
 
 When you hear the roarings approach, and if you judge 
 that the animal is on the same path as yourself, walk slowly 
 towards him until you find an open space, in which you can 
 see your foe, and when you have found it, seat yourself and 
 wait. 
 
 Whether the lion, on leaving his den, walks with a rapid 
 
174 THE LION ^KILLER. 
 
 gait, whicli cariies him over a long distance without fatigue, 
 or whether, having satisfied his hunger, he slowly strolls 
 homeward, swaying his enormous head from side to side, as 
 soon as he perceives you on his path he will not fail to stop. 
 If you remain seated he m\\ softly approach, stopping 
 from time to time in order to paw the ground like a 
 bull. 
 
 Sometimes he will roar loud enough to make you deaf, 
 sometimes he will breathe diabolical sighs. Do not lose sight 
 of him for an instant ; keep your eyes fixed on his. 
 
 If he leaves the path in order to sharpen his claws on a 
 tree, be ready. Prudence and coolness are now especially 
 needed, and the least haste will be fatal. 
 
 He sees your arms, and none of your movements escape 
 him, though he will not attack you until the first shot has 
 been fired. When you aim, he will crouch like a cat. In 
 this position he will show nothing but the top of his head, 
 and, on my word, however near you may be, I would advise 
 you not to fire. 
 
 With your gun to your shoulder and your eyes on those 
 of the lion, walk a few steps from the path, either to the right 
 or left, according to the side the moon throws the best, light 
 over your enemy. 
 
 If you turn too much he will think you are going to fire 
 on his body, and will wheel round on his stomach, always 
 keeping his face towards you. 
 
 Take but two or three steps, and as soon as the side of his 
 head seems to be opposite you, aim well between the ear and 
 eye, and pull the trigger. Of two things, either one or the 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 1*75 
 
 other happens : either the lion is instantly killed, or before 
 being able to judge of the effect of your shot, you are stretched 
 on your back under the wounded animal, whose head and 
 fore paws are on you, crushing you in the earth. But you 
 are not dead for all that. 
 
 If your ball has been well directed and not met any 
 obstacle to turn it aside, you will escape with a dozen or 
 more scratches from his claws, which you can cure providing 
 his teeth have not touched you, and if his agony does not 
 last longer than a few seconds, you may still get out of the 
 scrape with your head on your shoulders. 
 
 In any case, remember that you have a dagger, and if you 
 have not lost it in your fell, strike quickly, firmly, and in the 
 right place. 
 
 If the lion is killed on the spot, thank your God, and 
 recommence the battle with the next one you meet. 
 
 One word of advice. Whenever you find yourself opposite 
 a full grown lion, do not be too long in carrying out your 
 manoeuvres. If too much haste may cost you your life, too 
 great slowness in the attack may be equally fatal. The lion, 
 becoming impatient, has only to bound on you while you are 
 aiming, and you will be disarmed and torn to pieces without 
 having fired a single shot. 
 
 And now that you have delivered the mountaineers from 
 their enemy, and can judge of the effect which your success 
 has produced on these unimpassioned men that surround you, 
 go to other countries to seek new victories. 
 
 You may be sure that you will be preceded by the noise 
 of this exploit, and henceforth will be baptized, The lion killer. 
 
176 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 The Jebel-Archioua and the neighborhood of Medjez-Aman 
 both in the district of Guelma, are the favorite dens of wan- 
 dering lions. 
 
 Follow the footsteps of one of these old fellows, seeking an 
 Eden wherein to end his days in peace. 
 
 Track him from night till morning, across the mountains 
 and plains. 
 
 When you have heard his last roar at day-break, you can 
 be sure that there he will pass the day. 
 
 Send for your horse, which has been left far behind ; pass 
 the day in repose, and in the evening draw near his lair. At 
 the first roar, try to come up with the animal ; if he has 
 already set out, try to head him ofi*. Never mind the country, 
 the marches, fatigues and privations, so that you will in the 
 end, find yourself opposite your adversary ; a few minutes 
 talk with him, and all the past is forgotten. 
 
 Whatever may happen, never kill a marauding Arab ; and 
 if you are forced to do it in self-defence, never again set your 
 foot in the country where it has happened. 
 
 Walk softly, and closely examine the country behind and 
 around you, stopping often to listen for some sound that can 
 aid you. 
 
 Whenever you pass a ford or ravine, or are following a 
 thickly wooded path, be ready to fire at any moment, for 
 a lion may hear or see you, and throw himself on the 
 borders of the path, to spring on you unawares, or the 
 marauders may do the same. 
 
 After having killed half a dozen lions, in the night, you can, 
 without compromising your reputation or losing the esteem 
 
ADVICE TO THE AMATEUR LION HUNTER. 1*77 
 
 of the Arabs, lay in wait for one, with a live bait, in the 
 evening. 
 
 If you should follow by daylight, the track of a lion you 
 have wounded the previous night, take care to stop the 
 moment you lose sight of his tracks or the marks of his blood. 
 Follow the trail slowly, step by step, and whenever you see 
 ahead of you a thicket capable of hiding the animal, throw 
 stones in it to rouse him, so that you may have the chance 
 of a shot before he can bound on you. 
 
 Always keep on the highest ground. 
 
 If the dew or rain be heavy, keep the lock of your g-un 
 well covered. Discharge it always when coming in at night, 
 and load it at the moment of going out, after having wiped it 
 dry. If at any time you suspect it may hang fire, by all 
 means avoid an encounter. 
 
 Use powder and caps of the very best quality, and remem- 
 ber the lion rarely falls under one ball. 
 
 Never seek safety in flight when the animal charges, but 
 stand the shock like a man, and with these good counsels, 
 the best I can give, may all good spirits aid you and bless 
 you, until at last when all but your fair fame shall sleep 
 beneath the greenwood, may the Arab symbols, silently elo- 
 quent, say, at your tombstone, here lies a man. 
 
lis 
 
 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTE^l XI 
 
 MY VOCATION. 
 
 Had you, my reader, been born of parents moderately rich, 
 and in a position of honor and comfort, and found yourself 
 on the morrow poorer than the beggar to whom you had given 
 alms in the evening ; had you been sheltered by the .love of 
 father and mother, a love that knew no metes nor bounds, 
 and at one stroke of fate had found yourself an orphan, you 
 then would understand the position of the writer when he 
 commenced his career — a career beginning in feebleness and 
 timidity, that was to end in success, and to replace to his 
 relatives not only the lost fortune, but the protection of a 
 father who was the honor and support of the family. 
 
 I confess with a feeling of honest pride, that this was the 
 spring of my life ; this is what has given me my profession of 
 arms and the name of The Lion Hunter. This was the origin 
 of my tastes, and from these causes I burned to measure my 
 strength with the strength of the most powerful of beasts, 
 and my courage with the king of the desert. I, poor elf that 
 I am, declared war against the greatest living thing, a war 
 that was fair and open, that gave an eye for an eye, and left 
 to the victor the life of the vanquished, with none in the 
 
MY VOCATION. 1*79 
 
 forest to bear witness to tlie deed, save the great God who is 
 over us all. 
 
 One more avowal to the reader before I finish my reflec- 
 tions. It is that I have often remarked a great analogy between 
 my family in its ruin, and that of the Arab devastated by 
 the lion, and left without cattle or chief. 
 
 It is not easy to understand my feelings when I was sum- 
 moned, as I often have been, to the aid of a family that had 
 been attacked by the lion, when I found the women under the 
 the tents weeping and praying, the children, too young to 
 understand what they had lost, and the old men regretting 
 the strength of their youth that had gone, before the ardor of 
 battle h^d died in their veins. 
 
 I have heard a youth calling to the women to keep silence — 
 a youth whose tender cheeks were yet soft with his mother's 
 kisses ; who, flushed with grief for the loss of a father who had 
 been carried oflf by a lion on the previous evening, would ex- 
 claim, " Keep your tears and mourning for the morrow ; to- 
 day, it is blood that we want to revenge my father. Where 
 are his arms, give them to me that I may go ?" 
 
 But let us not anticipate. This hunting history was written 
 day by day, and act by act, and each episode will be found 
 in its regular order. "VVe will commence with my profession, 
 and a few words in relation to my first entry in Africa. 
 
 Whenever I meet in the streets one of those companies of 
 mimic soldiery, where childhood's curls are covered with 
 paper hats, and boyish figures straighten themselves under 
 the martial tinkle of wooden sword and gun, and tin- 
 pail drum, I pause involuntarily to w^tch the manoeuvres, and 
 
180 
 
 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 however small may be the ranks it is rare, not to find in them 
 a true soldier in embryo. It is not always the one in com- 
 mand; sometimes he stands in the ranks and wears the 
 quiet air of a girl in disguise. But on a careful exami- 
 nation there is one thing remarkable, either in the manner of 
 carrying the arms, or in the bearing ; not the swaggering 
 air of some — those are the peacocks that spread their tails to 
 show the richness of their feathers — but the serious mien that 
 seems to say, " I am in my place and was made for it." 
 
 When such a physiognomy or bearing meets my view, I 
 always feel that here is a fellow who was born with a sword 
 in his hand ; but who are his parents, and what will they 
 make of him ? Perhaps. a notary, or a priest, or a student, 
 when the chick, hardly out of its shell, is armed like a fight- 
 ing cock. On these occasions I always want to see the 
 father, and say to him : 
 
 " When I was a boy like yours I played soldier like him, 
 my parents wanted me to walk another path. I followed it 
 like a dutiful son, but it brought me out a soldier at the end." 
 
 In fact, when a taste for a profession is strongly marked, 
 there is no alternative, the boy becomes eminent in that career 
 or in none. 
 
 When I was ten years of age I waged war against the 
 sparrows that came for the fruit in my father's gardens, with 
 an antiquated blunderbuss as my only weapon, and then upon 
 the cats that came for the sparrows, and I banded my young 
 comrades to assist in this warfare, which became more 
 dreaded by the neighbors thf^n the previous depredations of 
 the birds, 
 
MY VOCATION. 181 
 
 At sixteen I would have made a good master of fencing 
 and the pugilistic art. 
 
 I remember one day at a village fete I saw a woman mal- 
 treated by a brutal man, while the villagers stood by without 
 offering to interpose. I threw myself between the oppressor 
 and his victim, calling out to him, " You coward, leave that 
 woman and begone." 
 
 We fought and I conquered. The man fled under the 
 jeerings of the crowd, and the woman thanked me as her 
 preserver. 
 
 Such successes, however, were not satisfying to a mind 
 that was stretching far beyond its native hamlet. A class of 
 men were then common in the provinces, who bore the high 
 sounding titles of lionSy a name more properly accorded to 
 them for their roaring than their bravery. They wore a 
 menacing mien, and were imposing for their brutality and 
 assumption. I declared myself their avowed enemy, and 
 many were the battles we fought, but in a little time the 
 victory was so easily won, that I turned to my old anticipa- 
 tions, and with a proud look on the great future, that smiles 
 so hopefully to a boy, I volunteered in the spahis, and 
 debarked at Bone on the 19th of June, 1842. 
 
 Like most young men who joined the African army, I sup- 
 posed that an opportunity for distinction would not be long 
 in coming, and I thought correctly. 
 
 I had hardly put on my uniform when an oflBcer came to 
 me saying, " You have just arrived from France, I'll take you 
 as my orderly." 
 
 I asked him what my duties would be in that situation. 
 
182 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 He replied, " You will groom my two horses and your 
 own, you will keep my arms polished, and clean my 
 boots." 
 
 I had a great mind to tell the gentleman that he would be 
 doing me a great pleasure by rendering the same services to 
 me, but reflection controlled my tongue, and made me remem- 
 ber that an arrest would be a bad commenjement of a cam- 
 paign, so I only replied, 
 
 " Sir, your horses will be badly groomed, your arms poorly 
 polished, and your boots awkwardly blacked." 
 
 The officer surveyed me from head to toe, I saluted him 
 politely, and we mutually turned our backs on each other. 
 
 About an hour afterwards, I was ordered into the presence 
 of the treasurer. 
 
 "Do you know how to write?" he said. 
 
 " Yes, captain." I answered. 
 
 " Very well, I am glad to hear it ; the time of the inspec- 
 tion is coming round, I have a great deal to do, and you 
 can do duty in my office." 
 
 I was then seated, wdthout further words, at a table with 
 implements of writing before me, and a large mass of papers, 
 and one of the secretaries gave me a paper to copy. When I 
 had completed the work, which was a short one, I handed it 
 to the secretaiy, who gave it a long examination and then 
 passed it to the treasurer, who cried out on seeing it, 
 
 " Sir, what language do you write in ?" 
 
 " Captain, I have copied." 
 
 " How copied — it is illegible, and one cannot recognize a 
 word among all these fly tracks." 
 
MY VOCATION. 183 
 
 I answered, that I never had made so good a copy before, 
 and then they ordered me back to my barracks, 
 
 JS'ow I thought I was on a fair road to become a soldier. I 
 received my arms, accoutrements and a horse, and being fully 
 equipped I had nothing more to wait for but the order to 
 march. 
 
 Among my new comrades there was one for whom 1 
 immediately conceived an attachment ; an old soldier of the 
 brigade named Rousselet, an accomplished specimen of the 
 old trooper. I applied to him to know what I must do to get 
 immediate active service, and he told me. 
 
 " We will never see any work here ; I propose that we 
 apply for an exchange into the squadron that they are fitting 
 up at Guelma." 
 
 We made the application without further discussion, and 
 after having our names enregistered for three months, we 
 received the order to depart. With a joyful heart I rode out 
 of the city of Bone, and bade adieu to its harbor and gardens, 
 and the hazy peaks of its blue hills, and on the third day 
 after, from an eminence I caught sight of the checkered 
 encampment of Guelma, then a mere garrison, but which 
 since that time has grown into a beautiful little city. 
 
 It is not generally understood that the regiment of spahis 
 is composed principally of native warriors, under the com- 
 mand of French officers and subalterns. It was for this 
 reason that I had the honor of serving as an orderly for the 
 three months that I stayed at Bone. During this time I was 
 living entirely with the French troops, and had no connection 
 whatever with our Arab comrades, and on arriving at Guelma 
 
184 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I could not help remarking the very cold welcome that was 
 extended to us by them. I could not understand a word of 
 their language, but their looks and gestures gave me no 
 room to doubt the little love they bore us. 
 
 I asked Rousselet the reason of this dislike so manifest to 
 all around us. He answered, 
 
 " They don't love wine, nor those that drink it ; we will 
 never be able to civilize those fellows." 
 
 This was all that Rousselet knew of a people among whom 
 he had passed ten years of his life. I immediately compre- 
 hended that I had a poor instructor, if I wanted to under- 
 stand the language, habits, and customs of Algeria, and I 
 resolved, thereafter to do without a teacher. There are 
 things in this world that can be taught by no master. 
 
 When we arrived, the camp of Guelma was all in expec- 
 tation of war, there was no conversation except that which 
 turned on forays and battle. I dreamed already of conflict, 
 of standards taken, of the enemy overthrown ; I snuffed the 
 battle afar off. As to Rousselet, more practical, he dreamed 
 only of razzias and booty. 
 
 This brave child of arms, brave as he might be and full of 
 courage, frankness and honor, desired the war as much as 
 myself, but only that ho might win booty, and then go back 
 to garrison and diink it up. His education did not fit him 
 for any higher grade than that of corporal, which he had 
 won by his bravery in the battle-field, and resigned in order 
 to be more free to roam as he listed through the French pro- 
 vinces of northern Africa. 
 
 .For him a campaign was an excursion, a hostile encounter, 
 
MY VOCATION. 185 
 
 a pleasant adventure which brought in its train, beeves, sheep 
 and tapirs, commodities easily turned into money, and that, 
 easier still could be turned into drink, to furnish a gay 
 debauch in which, 
 
 " Many a wassail bout 
 Wore the long night out." 
 
 In an Arab killed or taken captive (he had but a small fancy 
 for taking prisoners), my noble friends saw, not only the 
 horse and gun, but the burnous and the saddle. If by chance 
 it was a chief, then the affair was glorious, and the liba- 
 tions of the conqueror so much the more copious and fre- 
 quent, were prolonged indefinitely to the great joy of all his 
 merry drinking comrades. 
 
 One evening Rousselet was spinning out one from his bud- 
 get of anecdotes that I had known by heart for a long time, 
 but to which his habitual auditors, Messires Ott, Block and 
 others, listened each time with renewed pleasure, by reason 
 of the accompaniments, always full of interest for their Dutch 
 guzzles, that were the drier the more they drank. 
 
 He, rolling out the story with his full ringing voice, told 
 how the chief of a company of flying Arabs was soon over- 
 hauled by his brave war horse. In less time than t would 
 have taken to empty a bottle, he (Rousselet) was by his side, 
 and drove a bullet through his brain. In a-moment he had 
 dismounted lo take possession of the prize, a horse worth five 
 hundred francs, a gun worth one hundred francs, and a saddle 
 and burnous which were worth as much more. 
 
 " But didn't you zee," interupted Block, " whats "moneys 
 hes has in his pocket ?" 
 
186 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " How raucli drinks would all that pays ?" questioned 
 Ott. 
 
 " To horse ! to horse ! my lads,'* shouted the captain of the 
 barracks, as he came rushing out of breath into the room, 
 " we march on a razzia in a quarter of an hour." 
 
 " Hurrah !" yelled Rousselet, knocking over the table and 
 Dutchmen together, as he jumped to his feet. " Gribouri 
 (the name of his horse), has made razzias such as were never 
 seen in this country. If there is a red bournous in the wind 
 io-morrow it is Gribouri that will have it, and if there is any- 
 thing to drink after the hunt is done, all of us lads will 
 be there !" 
 
 After a night's march under a heavy rain, we reached the 
 neighborhood of the rebel tribe, and found that it had taken 
 up its penates, " and silently fled away." 
 
 The wild warrior whom I was to annihilate, and the red 
 bournous of, Rousselet's dream had both followed the hegira, 
 and in lieu of the stubborn foes we came to fight, there only 
 remained to meet us an army of famished dogs, wandering 
 about the site of the old encampment. 
 
A SKETCH OF AFRICAN WARFARE. ISY 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 A SKETCH OF AFRICAN WARFARE. 
 
 Warfare in Africa is so curious by reason of the customs 
 and manners of the adversaries that the French have to com- 
 bat that I hav^e thought it well to give a rapid ^sketch of it, 
 for the sake of those persons who have any interest in foreign 
 wars. 
 
 The Arab population is divided into three different classes, 
 as follows: the Kabyles, residing in permanent settlements 
 near the sea coast ; the Chaouia, the ancient Numidians, that 
 form more than half of the population of the province of 
 Constantine, whose tents and troops occupy all the country 
 comprised between Kabylie and the desert ; and lastly, the 
 Arabs proper, who are the lords of the desert oases, roam- 
 ing about in caravans, or pitching their tents for a. night, 
 and passing the summer on the high plateaux, and the 
 winter in the desert of Sahara, or on its borders. 
 
 As each of these people carry on a campaign after their 
 own fashion, I will explain their different manners of warfare 
 successively : 
 
 The Kabyles live in the mountains with precipitous wooded 
 sides. They have no cavalry, but to make up for this defi- 
 
188 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 ciency, they are the most indefatigable of foot soldiers, hardy 
 well armed, and excellent shots. 
 
 As an example of their skill as marksmen, it is the custom 
 among a great many of their tribes for a father to refuse the 
 hand of his daughter in marriage, unless the claimant for the 
 honor can hit an egg placed at a spot as far distant as the old 
 man can throw a stone. 
 
 The whole military tactics of the Kabyles consist in the 
 occupation of some commanding eminence on the line of 
 march of hostile troops, whose progress they have marked by 
 their spies, with as many of their own marksmen as they 
 are able. 
 
 When a Kabyle force is discovered, the general in command 
 sees or judges as near as he can of the number of natives 
 before him. If there are not very many, he orders up one or 
 two companies that carry the rock with the bayonet, without 
 answering the fire of the natives, and hold it until the whole 
 column has passed by under their protection, or until they are 
 relieved by other companies, that hold it in turn and surrender 
 it to the next. 
 
 But on the contrary, if the Kabyles are posted in force, 
 the army halts just within cannon shot, and in a few minutes 
 some of the most audacious of the natives are seen descend- 
 ing from the heights, and gambolling, and gesticulating to 
 within gun-shot of the troops, as though to ridicule the sol- 
 diers. After having danced and hurrahed to their own great 
 satisfaction, and the amusement of the soldiers, they fire their 
 guns and then retreat to their comrades, who have remained 
 squatted on the pinnacle of the hill. 
 
A SKETCH OF AFRICAN WARFARE. 189 
 
 After a few moments of repose the battalions of attack are 
 selected, and begin slowly to ascend the mountain, taking 
 advantage of every irregularity of the ground, or intervening 
 obstacle, to cover their approach, while at the same time, 
 over the heads of the advancing troops, the artillery fire 
 borab-shells in order to disorder the masses of the enemy that 
 are awaiting on the summit. When the advancing battalions 
 get within fire, or six hundred yards, they take a short rest 
 to recover breath, then the clarions sound the charge, the 
 artillery pauses, and the ofiicers and men charge up the hill 
 at full run, without answering a shot of the enemy, and chase 
 them from their position. 
 
 The Kabyles being once dislodged from their heights do 
 not flee, but move down the hill on the other side, hiding 
 themselves in the ravines or wooded hill-side, and wait until 
 the eminence they have lost shall be abandoned, when they 
 will again repossess it. 
 
 Sometimes it happens that the ridge occupied by the 
 Kabyles is selected by the general as a suitable place for the 
 encampment, and while the men bring up the equipages, and 
 raise .the tents, the natives turn their attention to the senti- 
 nels and outposts that surround the camp. Not being able 
 to do anything against the encampment itself, they wait until 
 darkness has covered the hills, and then steal silently up to 
 one of the places that they saw occupied by the troops, and 
 assault it with such intrepidity and force, that it has become 
 the habit with the soldiers in the outposts to intrench them- 
 selves to avoid being cut to pieces in the dark. 
 
190 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 Another equally ingenious method has been adopted on the 
 other side. 
 
 The advance post that is in the most exposed position 
 remains quiet until darkness hides the camp, and then the 
 fires are lit, and the men hide in ambuscade, either to the 
 right or to the left, and wait until the natives creep up to 
 surprise the post, when they pour in their fire on the Arab 
 horde. By this means the pleasant little surprise is made 
 mutual. 
 
 I have said that the Kabyles, when they are on an eminence, 
 flee without waiting for the attack of our troops. It is the 
 same with the passage of a defile, the fording of a river, or 
 the attack on a village. It is enough if the attack is quick 
 and vigorous, and that the soldiers do not pause to fire, but 
 march right on to the goal either in a direct line or by con- 
 verging movements. The result is always certain, the Kabyles 
 abandon their position without waiting for the bayonet. 
 
 As they always fight until the attacking columm is close 
 at hand, and as their aim is very true, it is only with great 
 losses to our troops, that we can drive them from a strong 
 position. 
 
 The tactics of these mountaineers consist in shooting from 
 a cover upon men who are uncovered, and when hard pressed 
 to retreat beyond the reach of balls, until those who have 
 attacked thera retreat in their turn. Then commences the 
 difficult manoeuvre of a retreat. When they hear the 
 trumpets sounding this movement they come from behind 
 rocks, and trees, and from the depths of ravines, where they 
 lay hidden like wild beasts, and climb to the point about 
 
A SKETCH OF AFRICAN WARFARE. 191 
 
 being evacuated. They often are in possession of the 
 eminence before the troops have gone fifty yards down the 
 slope at full run. 
 
 It can be easily seen what an advantage they have while 
 firing on men completely exposed in the rear to their shots, 
 and in front to constant ambuscades of smaller parties in 
 copse wood, or on rocks, from which they retire only to take 
 possession of others further on. 
 
 The troops, when retiring, send back a company of men, 
 who conceal themselves in some suitable place, and allow the 
 next company to pass them in retreating, and hold the enemy 
 at bay until they have discharged their weapons, then they 
 run at full speed, passing the other company, which has in its 
 turn ambuscaded, to repeat the same operation, until all are 
 beyond the reach of danger. This is what is called fighting 
 in retreat by echelon. 
 
 I have had frequent occasion to give this kind of work a 
 close inspection, either by being attached to the general who 
 directed the attack, or by leaving my horse to take a band in 
 the game with our brave infantry, and I do not hesitate to 
 say that this kind of v/arfare is the truest test of a good 
 soldier. 
 
 This mountain warfare does honor to our troops, not only 
 by the resistance, the energy, and cunning of the foes they 
 encounter, but also by the incredible fatigues they have to 
 endure. It needs nothing more than the inborn carelessness, 
 courage and good humor that is the basis of the French 
 character, to enable these men selected by chance, men who 
 have left behind them their families, their affections, and 
 
192 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 their country, the most of them without ambition or the hope 
 of recompense, to behave with as much bravery and energy 
 in the combat, as patience and courage in the varied suffer- 
 ings which are attendant on these expeditions. 
 
 One single trait of the character of the African soldier will 
 suffice to make him appreciated at his just value. 
 
 However small his stipend, and however large his love for 
 women or wine, at his return into garrison the soldier prefers 
 the mountains of Kabylie, where there is nothing to hope for 
 but privations, fatigues, and the bullet, to the plain, where 
 booty and resources for comfortable life are all oflfered to 
 him. • 
 
 This is because that in Kabylie he is always sure of a 
 battle, while he returns often from the plain without having 
 burned a cartridge. This is the feeling of the infantry. It is 
 not the same with the cavalier, who remembers the foray and 
 plunder, and for this reason loves the plain as much as he 
 detests the mountains. 
 
 If a tribe has become insubordinate, or thrown off the yoke 
 of subjection, immediate measures are taken to inflict a heavy 
 punishment. 
 
 It took three or four campaigns for the chiefs of our army 
 to learn the various ruses of the native Sheiks, but that 
 having been done, the chastisement follows always close on 
 the heels of disorder and insurrection. Generally the French 
 troops carry the field before them when they make a vigorous 
 attack, even when the enemy is in force, unless it may be 
 on those occasions, which are very rare, when the cavalry 
 alone are sent against the natives ; but as the Arab horsemen 
 
A SKETCH OF AFRICAN WARFARE. 193 
 
 are swift and bold, it is the retreat of an invading force which 
 is always the most dangerous. 
 
 When the Arabs are taken ])y surprise on a nigbt march, 
 they fight fiercely for their tents and their herds, but when 
 all resistance becomes useless, they retire slowly, sheltering 
 their wives and children by their desperate charges, and 
 when they have placed them beyond pursuit, they return to 
 the battle-field more numerous and ferocious than ever, and 
 strive to regain what they have lost. 
 
 The spectacle of an Arab column migrating from one place 
 to another, with all its tent equipage, its baggage, with camels 
 ladened with women and children, and forty thousand head 
 of cattle of every kind, and its thousands of mounted horse- 
 men, winding slowly over the desert, is at once beautiful and 
 imposing. 
 
 Suddenly the head of a French column moves in sight, and 
 the picture changes from the stately march to the maddest 
 disorder. The column hurries up, and if the troops have 
 with them a battalion or two of infantry, the day is lost to 
 the Arabs, who can do nothing more than charge the flanks 
 of their foes, without effecting any great injury. 
 
 But the aff'air becomes more serious when our cavalry 
 come to the attack alone or in numbers insufficient to 
 surround the Arab column. The enemy then forms into 
 scattered bands, and furiously with wild cries they charge 
 against our troops, aiming at those points they find the 
 weakest. The smoke and dust add to the confusion of the 
 scene, and form a veil from which the white boumous or the 
 red flame flashes out as the Arab wheels in his rapid evolu- 
 
194 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 tions, or fires his gun with as steady an aim from his saddle, 
 as he would from the ground. It is only by the use of the 
 greatest caution and coolness that an attack of this kind can 
 result successfully, and in default of these qualities, or by the 
 slightest confusion, the numerous and daring foes fall imme- 
 diately on the bewildered soldier, ajid sweep over and bury 
 him like the sands of the desert. 
 
 Within a few years our officers and soldiers have acquired 
 great experience in African warfare, and we can reach and 
 ruin an entire tribe without firing a shot. Formerly our 
 officers had to trust entirely to the information derived from 
 native chiefs, who often communicated to the hostile tribe 
 the progress of our forces, as we marched to chastise them. 
 But thanks to a new system, we are never placed in such 
 positions any more. In every division, subdivision, and circle 
 we have located an Arab office filled only by French officers, 
 whose duty it is to watch the difierent tribes and report to 
 the general in command, and by their means we can plan an 
 attack, and reach a rebel tribe at any distance, without any 
 anticipation of our intentions. 
 
 "We will now speak of the third manner of African wai-fare 
 on the desert of Sahara. 
 
 Although the desert tribes are more nomadic than the 
 Chaouia, whose people rarely migrate beyond a certain com- 
 paratively narrow limit, yet they still have fixed habitations 
 which serve as depots of arms and provisions, and places of 
 refuge, and there are many villages built on the Oases in the 
 northern part of the desert, and some of them quite to the south. 
 
 These villages are placed in the centre of the Oasis, and are 
 
A SKETCH OF AFRICAN WARFARE. 195 
 
 shaded with forests of pahns, and terraced with gardens filled 
 with luxuriant fruit-trees, the whole being encircled by a wall. 
 Independently of these natural defences, each village is sur- 
 rounded by an external wall, flanked by towers. In this 
 intrenchment the inhabitants of the desert, gather together 
 at the approach of danger, and fight with a determination 
 that is fearfully destructive to the besieging enemy. 
 
 As an example I will give a few words in relation to the 
 capture of Zaatcha, which occurred in the year 1849. 
 
 Bou Zian, the Sheik of this city, revolted from the French 
 authority, and drew after him the Sheiks of all the neighbor- 
 ing villages. The commander of Batna marched against the 
 oflfending tribe with a, part of the second regiment of the line 
 that he had under his command at that place. It was the 
 intention of the general to carry the place by storm at the 
 point of the bayonet, and the bravery and long experience of 
 his ofl[icers and men fully justified him in the undertaking, 
 but we had an enemy more dangerous than the Arabs' gun, 
 and against which the bayonet was powerless. 
 
 After having killed or routed all the x\rabs in the gardens, 
 the attacking column dashed up to the wall of the place to 
 scale it, but was arrested by a large ditch filled with water 
 that surrounded the whole town. While the soldiers were 
 fording or scrambling over this ditch as best they could, the 
 Arabs from behind an embattled wall, shot them down with- 
 out number. In spite of all these losses, the general in com- 
 mand persisted in the attack, and turned all his endeavors 
 against one of the city gates. 
 
 Durini^ a whole hour our soldiers worked to make a breach 
 
196 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 in the gate without success, and exposed all the while to a 
 deadly fire from the walls. At each blow of the pioneer's axe 
 came ten bullets from the besieged, and over the Jallen axe- 
 men others marched calmly up to take their places. 
 
 Fearing a sortie of the besieged, at the moment when he 
 should attempt a retrograde movement, the commander 
 ordered a retreat, while still in a position to defend himself, 
 and the siege was raised. 
 
 About two months afterwards, general Herbillon who was 
 engaged in Kabylie during the first attack of Zaatcha, 
 marched into the desert, and laid siege to this place. 
 
 I cannot recount all the thrilling events of this rude cam- 
 paign, which will reniain for ever engraven on the minds of 
 those who participated in it, but I will only say that Zaatcha 
 held out fifty-two days before our very best troops. 
 
 It was only after a desperate conflict, in which the chief 
 exposed himself to the fire of the enemy like a simple soldier, 
 that the place was carried by assault. Three columns 
 advanced together under the command of Generals Canrobert, 
 de Lourmel, and Barral, and climbing the wails and fording 
 the ditches regardless of the withering fire from within, 
 stormed the city, and all the defenders of the place, including 
 Bou Zian, were killed at their posts. 
 
 Such is the African war, which is regarded by some 
 persons in too light- a manner; for the native, whether Arab 
 or Kayle, is endowed with great individual bravery, and when 
 the circumstances under which he fights are at all favorable, 
 we come oft" victors only with great loss, and there is no hope 
 or mercy for those who fall wounded on the field. 
 
A SKETCH OF AFRICAN WARFARE. 197 
 
 Wliat is very singular in this war is, that opportunities for 
 personal exploits rarely come to those that seek them, and at 
 the same time often fall to those who never are expecting 
 them. 
 
 After two years of African service in which, we had 
 exchanged hundreds of shots, my arms were still unstained. 
 Usually the infantry were making the attack while we were 
 mere spectators, and when it came our turn to charge, 
 although I hastened to disengage myself from the troops with 
 Rousselet at my side, as he said, to see that I was not carried 
 off, yet s'till, we never could reach our foes. Here or there 
 we would see a burnous flash out from the smoke of combat, 
 but it would disappear in the whirl of the battle, and we 
 would only hear the whistling ball of the watchful cavalier 
 singing a recognition to our chaise. 
 
 At the bivouac, Rousselet and I often talked of our want 
 of success, and mooted plans for the future, and it was finally 
 agreed between us that we should join in the campaigns of 
 Oran. He and I had both been appointed corporals, and we 
 thought that if we should - renounce our grade, we could 
 easily change our regiment ; so we returned to Guelma in 
 the spring of 1844, with our minds made up to leave that 
 part of the country for ever. 
 
198 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 
 
 When an event, either fortunate or unfortunate, happens 
 to an Arab, he sajs, mectoub, it was so written. 
 
 The reader may judge for himself if the phrase is appli- 
 cable to me. 
 
 One evening after our return to camp, from an unsuc- 
 cessful foray, I had been to visit my horse, as I was always 
 accustomed to do before retiring for the night, and was then 
 slowly walking back and forward on the high rampart that 
 ran near the stables, and overlooking the plain below, medi- 
 tating of the still night, and thinking of my anticipated 
 departure for Oran. 
 
 A group of native spahis were sitting on the edge of the 
 wall, silent and still as the stones of the fort. As I passed 
 near them, one of their number, an officer, and an Arab like 
 the others, took me by the hand, and drawing me towards 
 him motioned me to sit down by the side of the group, which 
 I did, and the same silence continued as before. The full moon 
 that silvered all the landscape, fell on their white burnous 
 and their bronzed faces, and I remarked an expression of sad- 
 ness with them all. As it had been a long time since they had 
 
Mr FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 199 
 
 visited their douars, on account of the length of the expedi- 
 tion, I supposed they had heard some bad news from their 
 families, and I asked the officer, who spoke our language with 
 great fluency, whether it was so. 
 
 " Listen," he said, pointing towards the open plain. 
 
 I listened and heard a distant sound, now sharp, and now 
 heavy, but which appeared extremely loud, judging from the 
 distance from which it came. Seeing that I heard it, the 
 officer turned to me and said : 
 
 " Do you know what that is ?" 
 
 " No," I answered. 
 
 " That is the lion, the lion of Archioua, who during the 
 time that we have been in the field, has decimated our 
 herds, and will yet take what is left." 
 
 " But since you have come back, and will to-morrow return 
 to your douars, you will hunt and kill him, and that will end 
 the trouble ?" 
 
 Never did a foolish speech meet with such a reception, as 
 the one I had just made in the innocence of my heart. After 
 innumerable sarcasms and jokes, they explained to me that 
 the Arabs would rather let the lion take w'hat he chose than 
 attack him themselves, and they showed as plainly as two 
 and two make four, that the lion has the perfect right to 
 mock at all the Arab race. 
 
 It was growing late, and the Arabs were about retiring, 
 when I said to the officer and his astonished spahis, " God 
 willing, I who am no Arab, will kill the lion, and then ho 
 will do you no more mischief." 
 
 Letting my acquaintances account as they pleased for this 
 
200 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 bold assertion, I resumed my seat on the rampart, and medi- 
 tated on the wild intention I laad conceived. 
 
 I cannot explain how, although passionately fond of the 
 chase, I had forgotten there was such an animal as the lion 
 in Africa, and was about to quit the country that offered to 
 me such a pleasant future. I remembered the strength and 
 prowess of the beast, and the respectful titles by which the 
 Arabs were always accustomed to speak of him. 
 
 My heart leaped with joy in thinking that soon this all- 
 powerful Seignor, the terror of the country, might bite the 
 dust under the ball of a Christian dog, and I enjoyed in 
 anticipation, the triumph of the feeble over the strong, and 
 the power that would turn the Arab scorn and hatred into 
 love and admiration. 
 
 As if to make me understand that my pride was carrying 
 me too fast and too far, at this moment the roar of the lion 
 again saluted my ear, and its muttering thunder seemed 
 more formidable than ever. 
 
 I listened to his deep unparalleled voice, and to the echoes, 
 repeated from hill to hill, in the dark distance, and when 
 it ceased I shivered from head to foot. 
 
 I had never seen the lion in his native freedom, but his 
 voice told me that he who was thus endowed, and could, 
 without exertion, make himself be heard in the volleying 
 tones to which I had just listened, must be immensely great, 
 and would regard a man as a right puny creature. 
 
 Without knowing how the animal could be attacked, I well 
 understood that the task w\is a difficult one, and having again 
 listened to his voice, I had to recall to my mind the promise 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 201 
 
 I had made to keep rayself faithful to my resolution. "When 
 I estimated in my mind all the chances, fortunate and unfor- 
 tunate, I thought the proposed attempt superhuman ; but again 
 thinking of the motives that influenced me, I considered that 
 my resolution was right before the Almighty, and then I felt 
 as if I could succeed even in the impossible. 
 
 The next mortiing, after having passed the whole night on 
 the ramparts, I communicated my projects to Rousselet, who 
 received them with enthusiasm, not because he desired to aid 
 me, for he was fully decided to leave the country, but because 
 he saw that the attempt was bold and hazardous, and because 
 he thought I could succeed in it. 
 
 It is ten years since I have heard or seen anything of 
 Rousselet. I do not even know where he may be at the 
 present time, but I would be glad if these lines ever meet 
 his eye, that he should know that whenever I found myself 
 in a desperate position, where I had need of a sure hand and 
 bold heart, it was only of him that I thought. 
 
 Without any further delay, I put myself in communication 
 with the spahis whose douars, situated on the Ouled-Meza, 
 were often visited by the lion. As my intention of freeing 
 them from their importunate guest did not appear to them 
 to be very serious, and they considered that one victim more 
 or less was not of much account, they readily proff'ered to 
 accompany me in a survey of the country frequented by the 
 animal. 
 
 I found four or five douars established on the right bank 
 of the brook running through the plain, that belonged to the 
 spahis and their families. 
 
202 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I was invited to rest under a tent that was immediately 
 filled with visitors. At first, I thought this ceremony was an 
 act of politeness, but it was not long before I found that they 
 were all ridiculing me and my pretensions. I was beginning 
 to learn and understand the language, and I heard several 
 times the Arab word, medjenoun^ crazy, uttered by the old 
 men of the village. 
 
 I did not attempt to prove to them that I was in possession 
 of all my faculties, but after a short repast, requested the 
 services of a guide to point out to me the haunt of the 
 lion. 
 
 A sort of Hercules who all the while I had been in the 
 tent, had been stretched out in front of me with his chin 
 resting on his two hands, and his eyes fixed on mine, bounded 
 to his feet, and lifting up the curtain of the tent so as to 
 show me the interior of the douar, said, in an angry tone : 
 
 " It is here that he comes at night, in the midst of the 
 men who are speaking to you. Is this a beard that I hold 
 in my hands ?" he exclaimed, seizing his own with both 
 hands ; " Is this a man's arm ?" throwing back the sleeve of 
 his robe to his shoulder ; " do you take us all for women, 
 you who come here and ask us to lead you to the lion when 
 he nightly comes to us to eat our substance, and we let him 
 do it ? Look here — the day you kill the lion, this beard of 
 mine will fall to the ground, and I will turn and be your 
 servant." 
 
 After this speech, at once curious and comical, the brave 
 fellow not being able to contain himself longer, and not 
 wanting to violate any of the laws of Arab hospitality, 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIE^•CE IN LION HUNTING. 20C 
 
 marched out of the tent, draping hinaself in the folds of his 
 burnous with a superb majesty. 
 
 A spahi then proposed that I should be placed in the 
 neighborhood of the douar, to wait for the lion when he 
 should come in the evening. With this, all the assembly 
 cried out that I would hurt some of the people ^\ith my 
 balls, and that if by chance I should wound the lion, it would 
 make him dreadfully angry ; but if I absolutely intended to 
 oflfer myself to him, there were many spots visited by his 
 majesty whei*e I could be placed, and where my folly would 
 do harm to nobody. 
 
 I followed my guides towards the hill, and presently they 
 pointed, out to me a rock, surrounded by a heavy thicket 
 that nearly concealed it in gloomy shadows, and told me 
 that there the lion stopped for a moment when coming from 
 his home in the Archioua to visit the scenes of his nightly 
 repasts, I asked if it was possible to visit the Seignior of 
 these domains in his own home ; they laughingly replied 
 that none of them had ever been there, but that if I desired, 
 they could readily put me on the road. Tn about a quarter 
 of an hour more of fast walking, we struck a path of about 
 three feet in width which came out of the woods. 
 
 " Here is the path," exclaimed the Arab who was leading 
 the party ; " this is the road the lord of the manor fol- 
 lows when leaving the woods. There is another the other 
 side of the brook, and both emerge to a point further up the 
 hill. Now, if you wish to make his acquaintance, all you 
 have to do is to build a cover for yourself, and then come 
 here at evening with a bait to wait his good pleasure. When 
 
204 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 you have killed him, we will come here to kiss your hands 
 and feet, and to call you our master ; in the meanwhile we 
 will go about our business." 
 
 Without more words the gentlemen retraced their steps to 
 the douar. 
 
 As if these words had been a sort of command to me, I took 
 my seat on a stone at the side of the path, and would have 
 spent the whole day alone immersed in the various reflections 
 they called up, had not a jackal that hovered around, by his 
 screams recalled me to action, and the perception of the 
 coming on of night. 
 
 It was already too late, and- 1 was too poorly armed, to do 
 anything that night, and I returned to the camp thinking of 
 the cold reception that had been given me by the people of 
 the village. Having come to their camps to free them from 
 an enemy that pillaged their property, and whose anger they 
 dare not awaken by any act of their own, I had hoped to see 
 some expression of thankfulness, and some readiness to teach 
 and to guide me. Instead of that, I had found them scoffing, 
 distant, and almost menacing in their addresses, for the great 
 Hercules of whom I have before spoken, gave evident symp- 
 toms of a desire to convince me by direct proof, that his arm 
 was stronger than mine. 
 
 I concluded from all this, that my task was more difficult 
 and hazardous' than I had first supposed, and that since they 
 all regarded my enterprise as quixotical and foolish, they 
 would hail its success with so much the more joy and 
 devotion, and after that time I did nothing but thiiik of th^ 
 means of success I might adopt. 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE Ix\ LION HUNTING. 205 
 
 With the assistance of several hands under the direction 
 of an Arab who understood the system, I caused a covered 
 blind to be made by the side of one of the paths used by the 
 lion. , 
 
 This was a hole in the ground of about a yard in depth, 
 and breadth, covered with large trees for a roof, and loaded 
 with the earth that was taken out from below, and with large 
 stones. Several loopholes were made on the side towards 
 the path, also a larger hole on the opposite side for a place 
 of entrance. A great stone brought expressly for the pur- 
 pose from a long distance, served as a door, and was so placed 
 as to be able to be pulled shut from within. 
 
 The blind thus constructed was a perfect citadel, which I 
 would readily have made in a simpler manner, had not the 
 Arab who served as architect assured me that he would not 
 be willing to pass the night there alone, and that the lion 
 could readily draw me out of my retreat, by tearing a hole in 
 the top if he should take a fancy so to do. 
 
 As I appeared to attach small consequence to this asser- 
 tion, he related the following anecdote. 
 
 " The Pacha of Algiers had selected among the Turks of 
 his army, some of the bravest to hunt the lion. One of them, 
 Chackar by name, acquired a great reputation in that 
 country. Every time that he returned crowned with success, 
 and bearing as a trophy the skin of the beast slain in fight, 
 the Pacha made him sit down by his side, an honor that he 
 conferred on no other person, and besides the gold that he 
 showered upon him at every victory, he gave to him a mantle 
 of velvet, all embossed with silk and gold, called a caftan, 
 
206 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 and which is given only to the chiefs of the highest rank. 
 Chackar was ennobled with gifts and honors, and all his 
 friends and relatives, and the Pacha himself said to him, 
 ' Enough, Chackar, enough ; let this be your last, God is with 
 you, it is true, but do not abuse his bounties ;' but Chackar 
 still followed the chase as ardently as ever, and never seemed 
 at home except when on the lion's trail. 
 
 *'One day he arrived at Mahouna, his favorite hunting- 
 ground, and the inhabitants received him as usual, with joy and 
 gratitude ; for there was a lion that, within a short time, had 
 taken up his residence in the country, and was eating great 
 and small, as if God had created them all only for his appetite. 
 
 " The first day the hunter devoted to repose, and in the 
 evening a beef was killed in consideration of the brave man, 
 and eaten in honor of the lioti, whose funeral they celebrated 
 in advance, with a fusillade of merry guns, in order that he 
 might be well notified of his coming decease. 
 
 " On the morrow, the hunter visited the different blinds 
 that he had made in the manner of this one, and he dis- 
 covered the tracks of the lion near one of them, so he 
 established himself there, and a little before nightfall, an 
 Arab brought him a kid, destined for bait. Chackar entered 
 first, the kid was pushed in afterwards, and then the door 
 was closed, and the Arab having said, ' God be with yoxi^ 
 took to his heels and was soon safe in his camp. The night 
 was clear and still, and the Arabs on the plain listened for 
 some sound that would tell of Chackar's success. About mid- 
 night the sound of a gun echoed through the mountains. The 
 Arabs rushed from their tents, and they heard the lion roar- 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 207 
 
 iiig SO loud that the rocks and the trees were shaken. The 
 report of a second gun followed the first, then a third, and 
 then the voice of the lion was still. 
 
 " On the following morning, all the natives from the neigh- 
 boring douars hastened up the mountain with the early light, 
 to find the blind where the hunter had been concealed, a 
 perfect wreck from top to bottom. Chackar's gun and pistol 
 and the body of the kid were buried under the ruin. In the 
 midst of the trunks of trees that formed the roof, and on the 
 stones were marks of blood and the print of huge claws ; 
 and the trail of a body that had been partly dragged and 
 partly carried, led into the woods. Following these tracks 
 for about twenty paces under the trees, the Arabs found the 
 second pistol, and then the body of the hunter and his prey 
 intertwined together like serpents. 
 
 " The head of Chackar was concealed in the mouth of 
 the lion, and his left hand buried in his mane, while his right 
 hand held the hilt of a dagger which was driven to the guard 
 in the side of the animal. • 
 
 "The three balls with which the Turk had loaded his 
 musket, had struck the lion in his side behind the shoulder, 
 the first pistol in the breast, and the third in the ear. 
 
 " You see from this," continued the Arab, as he finished his 
 story, " that there is no shame in hiding oneself in a blind, 
 and I promise you that when you are alone in this place you 
 will think many a time of the fate of Chackar, and look to 
 see if your roof is strong and tight." 
 
 What I would have liked, would have been to have met 
 the lion boldly face to face, by daylight, but I had not thought 
 
208 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 of doing the same by night, when the darkness destroyed all 
 my powers of defence ; nevertheless the manner of assassina- 
 tion that I was about adopting was very repugnant to me. 
 It seemed as if I was laying a trap, and was nothing more 
 than a common murderer ; and in spite of the story that had 
 been related, the veracity of which has since been proved to 
 me, I suspected that this manner of hunting would be 
 regarded by the natives as it was by me, only with disdain. 
 
 Not knowing the country and not being able to trust the 
 counsels of the Arabs, I found myself in a very embarrassing 
 position. It was only then and as a last resource that I con- 
 cluded to use the blind I had made. 
 
 In order to have every convenience* I consulted with the 
 veterinary surgeon, who had charge of all the sick horses of 
 the squadron, in order to get a dish fit for a lion, if not in 
 quality ^at least in quantity, and he promised me what I 
 wanted. My comrades engaged to explain my absence during 
 the night if it should be remarked, and on a beautiful evening 
 in the month of April I went out of the camp wrapped in my 
 burnous to conceal my arms, and joined the stable keeper on 
 the edofe of the woods, where he had a horse awailiniv the 
 sacrifice. 
 
 An hour after, the execution had taken place in front of 
 my block house, and my companion had returned to the camp. 
 
 I employed the little of the daylight that remained in 
 loading my army musket, and my two horse pistols, which 
 composed my whole arsenal. 
 
 The blind was situated in the heart of the mountain, and 
 on a little plateau that overlooked the plain. I watched the 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 200 
 
 distant horsemen, and the herds of cattle below, until the 
 prospect became obscure, and then I entered my little fort. 
 
 Hardly had I ensconced myself within and carefully closed 
 the door, before I heard footsteps along the path. In a 
 moment more I heard the wagging of jaws that were devour- 
 ing my bait with the greatest vigor. I looked through all 
 the loop-holes, but could not see the body of the horse, although 
 it was only five or six steps from me, and yet the animal con- 
 tinued to feed as fast as ever. 
 
 Was it the lion, or a hyena, or a jackal ? My eyes not 
 being able to inform me, I tried if my ears could give me any 
 satisfactory indication, and sought to judge of the size of the 
 beast by the noise he' made at his meal. In about half an 
 hour of listening, of watching and anxiety, I could hear not 
 only the sound of one animal, but it appeared to me a legion, 
 and a most infernal hubbub they made, not only near the 
 house, but all around me and over my head. There was growl- 
 ing and walking, tearing and scratching, as if all the demons 
 of hell had given rendezvous there for a bacchanalian orgie. 
 
 At one moment I thought the roof of my cell was about 
 to fall in on my head under their tramping feet. Just as I 
 seized my pistol, determined to sell my life as dearly as possi- 
 ble, the stone that occupied the place of a door was pushed 
 down, and a head with two great eyes protruded in the opening. 
 Without pausing to see what manner of beast it might be, 
 I fired my pistol directly at the eyes and the animal rolled 
 into my apartment writhing in the agonies of death. 
 
 That the reader may be as much reassured as I was on 
 that fearful occasion, I will tell him that the animal proved 
 
210 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 to be ouly a jackal, one of the band who had been feasting 
 the livelong night at my expense without any invitation, and 
 had now paid with his life for his unpardonable curiosity, in 
 poking his nose into my house to see my manner of living 
 when out in the mountains. 
 
 The remainder of the night passed quietly away, and when 
 the mountain loomed out of the shadows of night, my horse 
 was still there, but the lion had not appeared. 
 
 On the next evening I came to my post, where I found, 
 instead of my horse, only his skeleton, which was as cleanly 
 dissected as though it had come from a cabinet of anatomy. 
 It needed only a glance at the earth marked with the feet, 
 and strewn with the feathers of vultures, to tell me who were 
 the surgeons that had performed this dainty task. 
 
 I needed now another bait. While w^aiting a change for 
 the worse in the health of the horses of our squadron, I 
 thought I would try a kid, in imitation of Chackar. 
 
 The poor little thing cried as loud as it could while the 
 daylight lasted, but when darkness had fallen, and until the 
 next morning, it maintained a desperate silence. On the 
 morrow the kid was there to pay me for my trouble, but 
 with that exception I was no better off than I had been with 
 my last attempt. During my last night I had not been 
 altogether free from the importunities of the jackals although 
 they did not eat my bait. These troublesome fellows, in 
 spite of the lesson I had given them on the previous day, 
 came scratching at my door, and snuffing between the logs on 
 my roof. Some of them were so indiscreet as to put their 
 noses up to my windows, when I puffed tobacco smoke in 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 211 
 
 their faces, and they fled away, sneezing and expressing their 
 disgust at the smell of the weed by volleys of coughs. 
 
 On my return to Guelma I Imnted up the Arab, and asked 
 him how the Turk had induced the kid to cry during the 
 night. 
 
 " It is very easy;" he said, " you have only to tie a string 
 to its ear, and lead the other end to your blind, and then 
 whenever the kid keeps silent all you have to do is to pull the 
 cord and the pain will make it bleat fast enough." 
 
 In writing this book I have engaged to inform the reader 
 of the different sensations that I have felt in this kind of 
 chase. I will now avow a weakness that did not permit me 
 to torture an inoffensive kid, and that very day I returned the 
 kid to its herd. 
 
 A little time after I procured a second worn-out horse, and 
 and had him killed on the same spot as the other. The first 
 night was passed without any result, and in order to avoid a 
 second dissection by the vultures, I covered up the body 
 with branches, and laid heavy stones on them. During the 
 day I could see the vultures in a cloud hovering over my 
 horse, but when in the evening I had returned to my post the 
 animal was untouched. 
 
 To recount the many nights that I had passed in this 
 manner, and how many mules and horses I had sacrificed to 
 be eaten by the same beasts without the lion ever deigning to 
 draw nigh, would only shock the reader as it did the hunter. 
 I will only say for those who have any desire to kill witUout 
 any choice of the kind of beasts, that they can in a single 
 night, in the same situation, make a most perfect collection 
 
212 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 of carnivorous wild beasts, excepting, however, the lion. I 
 contented myself with some hyenas and vultures which some 
 of my friends had requested me to procure for them, and the 
 rest were suffered to go free. 
 
 After the first night of my entry into the blind I had 
 heard nothing of the lion. From time to time I questioned 
 the spahis about him, and they went on to tell of the losses 
 they were constantly sustaining on his account. I could not 
 understand the reason of my failure, and commenced to get 
 weary of my task and despair of success, when one even- 
 ing as I was going up to my post on the path I had so often 
 followed, I saw with joy the immense tracks of my game in 
 the sandy path. 
 
 I had never seen his track before, but there was no mistak- 
 ing it, the lion had walked that morning where I was now 
 standing. 
 
 But how was it that he could come here and I had not 
 seen his footprints this morning ? It must be that after I had 
 descended the mountain he- had ascended it by the same 
 road, and so I avoided meeting him on the path that he had 
 trodden an hour afterwards. I remembered that the evening 
 before,! had been informed that the squadron was to ride out 
 for parade, and that to avoid punishment I had quitted my 
 post with the early dawn to return to camp, but still it was 
 light enough to have seen the tracks if they had existed then. 
 By following my usual course I reached my blind without 
 losiyg the trail from sight a moment. 
 
 As I had been in such haste in the morning I had not 
 covered the carcase with branches as I usually did, neverthe- 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 213 
 
 less, the vultures remembering a slaughter I had made 
 among them a few days previous, had cot disturbed it. It 
 was easy to see that the lion had passed my bait without 
 even stopping to smell it. 
 
 I thought perhaps he was satisfied with food, but that he 
 would certainly come down that evening since he had seen 
 the dead horse on his route. My heart bounded with 
 pleasure. The mountain appeared to have grown more 
 beautiful, now that I was sure of the presence of its lord, 
 and I did not notice the weary hours, or the odor of the horse 
 putrifying in the heat, and I fancied my solitary covert in the 
 Avoods an abode of delight. 
 
 I should add that I examined again the roof of my cell, 
 and wondered to myself how long it would resist the attacks 
 of those paws whose huge traces I saw around me. 
 
 At the moment I was about to enter my cover I heard 
 from the mountain side above me, the loud squeal of a hog, 
 and then the cracking of branches and the rolling of stones 
 as though a troop of cavalry was charging down the hill. 
 "Without being able to explain the cause of this sudden 
 uproar, I cocked my gun and pistols, and turning my 
 face to the ravine, awaited the avalanche that seemed to be 
 rolling towards me. I could not tell from whence it was 
 coming, as it seemed to be on the right and the left, and was 
 the more suspicious from being so totally inexplicable. 
 
 All of a sudden an enormous wild boar rushed out in the 
 path, grunting and snorting, and ran down the hill at his 
 utmost gallop. I let him pass without a shot and right on 
 behind him came a whole troop of his comrades, as though 
 
214 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 possessed of the devil, an immense herd, and they rushed 
 down the hill, burying themselves in the wood that bounded 
 the circuitous path. When they had all escaped, and silence 
 had resumed its sway, I tried to discover the cause of this 
 sudden panic. I remembered the piercing cry I had just 
 heard, and I concluded that the lion, tired of beefsteaks and 
 disgusted with my horse dinner, had concluded to vary his 
 diet with bacon, and I entered my blind more for the purpose 
 of sleeping than for watching, mentally resolving that with 
 the morning light I should have my suspicions verified by a 
 personal examination. 
 
 In about an hour the lion cornraenced roaring. At first 
 softly, as though talking to himself, and then so loud that the 
 walls of my tent trembled with the shock. I was suflfocating 
 in my hole, and not being able to see anything either from 
 before or behind, I opened the door and walked out into the 
 open air the better to hear the sound. 
 
 The roarings of the lion were not very frequent; there 
 was an interval of fifteen minutes between them, sometimes 
 more, and sometimes less. 
 
 They commenced by a species of hollow guttural and pro- 
 longed sigh, which was made apparently without eflbrt. 
 After a silence of several seconds he would make a species of 
 growling coming from the breast and belching from the 
 mouth, as though made by blowing out the cheeks and keep- 
 ing the lips closed. This growling at first very low, though 
 with a great volume, was gradually increased up to a very 
 high key, and then gradually subsided as it began. 
 
 After having repeated this noise, a noise whose force I 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 215 
 
 cannot describe, five or six times, he would finish by the same 
 number of low harsh cries, which seemed as though they 
 were caused by an attempt to cast up something from his 
 throat, the last one being very prolonged. It seemed as if 
 to make it the lion must have opened his mouth to its full 
 extent, and attempted to vomit. 
 
 I tried to find some analogy between the roar of the lion, 
 and any noise I had theretofore h«ard but could find none. 
 The bellowing of the bull when angry, seemed to me the 
 nearest to it, although the voice of the one to the other was 
 as the report of a musket to the boom of a cannon. 
 
 After roaring for about two hours apparently without 
 leaving his place, he descended to the bottom of the valley, 
 doubtless to drink as his silence continued for a long time, 
 then he commenced again louder than ever, all the while 
 descending the mountain. 
 
 Shortly after I saw fires lit far out on the plain, and heard 
 the distant shouts of men and women, and the barking 
 of dogs from the douars. I supposed that the Arabs had 
 been awakened by the lion, and were lighting their fires 
 and making the racket in order to drive him away. As near 
 as I could judge, the lion followed the same road which I 
 had travelled with the Arabs the first time I came up the 
 mountain. 
 
 After a few moments of silence he roared among the douars, 
 when I could see the fires redoubling in number, and could 
 hear the sound of the uproar increasing on every side, and 
 yet the voice of the Hon surmounted all this hubbub, like a 
 roll of thunder as the night king continued his route, appa- 
 
216 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 rently compelling all the world when he went out to walk, 
 to get up from their beds and make music and illuminations 
 on his road precisely as would be done for the most powerful 
 monarch. I heard his regular roaring all night, until near 
 daylight, when he entered into his seigniory of Archioua, that 
 lay at three leagues from my post of observation. 
 
 As soon as it was suflSciently light the next morning to 
 distinguish a foot-print in Ae forest, I took up the trail of the 
 wild hogs I have before spoken of, to see what had been the 
 fate of the one who so lustily squealed at twilight on the 
 previous evening. 
 
 On reaching the edge of a clearing situated about a 
 thousand yards from my blind, I saw a dark stain on the half- 
 burned grass that grew in the opening. It was the 
 head of a wild boar armed with teeth remarkably large 
 and white. This with the tail, the four feet and some of the 
 entrails, was all that remained of the feast. 
 
 One might think that the earth would have been torn and 
 marked by the struggle between the two animals, the boar 
 and the lion. I was astonished to see only the marks of the 
 hind feet of the lion ; they were much longer, but less broad 
 than the front feet, and seemed to have been used to strike 
 down the prey in its flight. Noticing a large mastic thicket 
 a little distance in advance of the woods, I looked to see if 
 the lion had not made this, his place of ambuscade to watch 
 the herd of hogs, and I found I was correct, for in the dust 
 where the red partridges had been used to come and shuffle 
 during the middle of the day when the sun was hot, were the 
 marks of the lion's body, where he had Iain himself down to 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 217 
 
 wait. In measuring the distance from the mastic tree to the 
 head of the boar, I found it just twelve paces. After having 
 decided this nice point in controversy, and made the observa- 
 tions that I thought might some day be useful, I followed the 
 footsteps of the lion after his supper. I found that he had 
 lain down in many places around the edge of the clearing, 
 and then had gone through the woods to the brook at the 
 bottom of the valley, where he had again lain down to 
 drink. 
 
 At about a hundred paces from this he had left the woods, 
 and followed a path to the douars, to which he had given such 
 a night of terror. 
 
 In seeing me passing, several Arabs came out to ask if I 
 had heard the lion. I remembered too keenly the bad recep- 
 tion they had once given me to answer very kindly. As they 
 remarked how coldly I responded to their questions, they 
 commenced telling me that if I should ever succeed in free- 
 ing them from this scourge, no one would be equal to me in 
 their country, and that in testimony of such a benefaction 
 they would give me one half of all they possessed. Without 
 believing all they told me, which seemed to be said under the 
 effect of fear, I said to them I would do all that lay in my 
 power ; and that the past night had been more fortunate for 
 me than for the lion. 
 
 In fact, I had learned during that night a world of things 
 concerning the lion, of which, up to that time, I had not the 
 slightest idea. In the space of a few miles I had had the 
 opportunity of examining, of following, and comparing the 
 
 10 
 
218 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 tracks of the beast ; being a whole course of instruction in 
 venery. 
 
 I had learned that instead of going across country, like 
 other wild animals, he followed the beaten trail. 
 
 I had learned, to my own cost, that he preferred the living 
 animal for his food to any dead body, no matter how conve- 
 niently placed. 
 
 I had heard and studied the tones of his voice, and the 
 meaning of his roar. 
 
 I had learned that he would follow his own road, no mat- 
 ter what men might do to prevent him, and, lastly, I had 
 learned that many leagues were to him the course of an even- 
 ing's promenade. 
 
 I can hardly tell what I had not learned in that one night, 
 and what a horizon of anticipations had opened before my 
 eyes. Hereafter, no more close and cowardly blinds ; no 
 more baiting with dead animals, whose taint sickened the 
 night air ; no more posts arranged beforehand, whose unvari- 
 able dullness tired the hunter's patience; but instead of all 
 that, hereafter there would be the walk by the full of the 
 African moon, and the sudden meeting of pursuer and pur- 
 sued by the forest lake, or the mountain road, and at last the 
 one brave tete-a-tete, so long desired, with no obstacle 
 between me and the lion. 
 
 It was with all these anticipations and souvenirs crowding 
 on my mind, that I regained the camp at a later hour than 
 ordinarily. 
 
 On the next day, while I was sitting in the Cafe Maure, 
 
i 
 
 MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 219 
 
 which I frequented to learn the Arab language, I saw four or 
 five natives come in, carrying some fresh skins, which seemed 
 to me to have been taken from beeves. After having 
 sent one of their number towards the camp, with an injunction 
 to hasten, they sat down in silence on the mat-covered floor. 
 
 As I visited this cafe only for the purpose of learning the 
 language and customs of the people, each new-comer was a 
 subject of regard. Nothing escaped me, and if I did not 
 understand the language, their expressive native gestures, and 
 the play of their countenances, gave me the key to the whole 
 conversation. 
 
 In France, when you enter a cafe the waiters run in the 
 greatest hurry to know your wishes and to satisfy your wants. 
 In Africa you might enter an establishmefnt of this kind sit 
 down, and sleep there all night, without any one remarking 
 your presence ; so the new-comers took their places without 
 any one turning aside even to look at them. 
 
 I also had ceased regarding this taciturn and motionless 
 group, when their comrade, who had been sent away, returned, 
 leading a native spahi by the hand, and followed by two or 
 three others. 
 
 I remarked to myself that they had a disturbed air, and 
 that they sat down in the circle without exchanging any of 
 the ceremonies or compliments of the day, which is a very 
 unusual thing with the Arabs, and contrary to all custom. 
 
 " What has happened ?" at last said a spahi, in a short 
 gruff voice. 
 
 " Look at this," said one of the new-comers, throwing down 
 a bloody skin in the centre of the circle. 
 
220 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " And this," said another, casting down a second stin. 
 
 " And this," said another, placing a similar trophy on the 
 other two. 
 
 " What do you say to that ? here are the skins of three of 
 our best working oxen, and another was carried to the moun- 
 tain to be eaten ; and what makes it more humiliating, is that 
 they were all taken from before our tents at sundown, while 
 they were hitched to the cart." 
 
 The reader will pardon me, if for once in my life I rejoiced 
 at the misery of others ; for I committed this fault on this 
 occasion, when I learned that they were speaking of the lion 
 who had just sacrificed for his personal comfort a hecatomb 
 of beef. 
 
 One would have thought that the animal, if he had been a 
 moderate liver, might have contented himself with one ox 
 for his supper, and I am of that opinion myself, unless, as 
 it appears, that the blood of these oxen are to him what a 
 good bottle of moselle is to some of our bon-vivants after a 
 Hummer's dinner. Indeed it seems that a few swallows of 
 bloodj to this royal proprietor of broad-lands, is not more in 
 proportion to the size of his dinner and the measure of his 
 wealth, than the bottle of champagne that trickles down the 
 throat of a Parisian gourmand. 
 
 I rejoiced at these tokens of prowess on the part of the 
 seignior and master, and as the spahis charged their relatives 
 with cowardice in abandoning their teams at the approach of 
 the lion, the interview seemed to be about terminating in a 
 very sanguinary manner. They manaced and defied each 
 other, and without the intervention of the assistants of the 
 
MT FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 221 
 
 tafe they would doubtless have attacked each other in 
 order to revenge their common enemy. 
 
 When their feelings were somewhat calmed, and they were 
 seated again on their mats, the head of the establishment, 
 who was a Turk, and an old soldier of the Bey of Constantino, 
 recounted the feats of some of his comrades, and finished by 
 a comparison with the Romans but little flattering to the 
 latter. 
 
 I will here explain the various terms used in Algeria to 
 designate the French. 
 
 In the villao-es the Arabs, who beofin to lead a civilized life in 
 order to please their rulers, call the French, Francis. Among 
 the wild tribes they say Houmi, Romans, JVazari, Nazarenes, 
 and Kafer, Pagans. The first two expressions are those most 
 in use, and the latter is the sign of the most profound scorn. 
 It need not be inferred that when they speak of us as Romans 
 and Nazarenes that they mean any compliment; you have 
 but to look at the Arab's face to see the utter dislike that 
 mantles his dark blood whenever the name comes to his lips. 
 
 As I could not suffer the Turk to treat us thus disparag- 
 ingly, I joined in the conversation to tell them I knew a little 
 Roman who could cause all the Turks to be forgotten by 
 gaining greater renown than they. Being urged by the 
 Musselmen present to name this person of whose existence 
 they were utterly ignorant, I turned to the spahis and 
 said: 
 
 " If I obtain permission from my officers I will go with you 
 this very day in search of the lion." 
 
 They looked at me from head to foot as if to measure my 
 
222 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 height and weight, and a wag who frequented the ca/e, where 
 he had made a sort of reputation by his jokes and play upon 
 words, took advantage of the pause to say :^— 
 
 " Let him go, the lion won't attack him for fear of not 
 being able to find the pieces after the first blow.'* 
 
 This man was sitting on the window-ledge that looked out 
 over the market, and I advanced up to him quietly, as though 
 without intending any retaliation, and the next second he was 
 astonished to find himself out in the street upon the shelf of 
 a crockery vendor, who immediately seized upon him for 
 damages done to his goods. Every one laughed at this 
 occurrence, as the man had created no little ill feeling by his 
 unpleasant manners and cutting tongue, and I left the cafe 
 very well pleased with the moral efiect of the correction on 
 the minds of the Arabs. 
 
 An hour afterwards thirty or forty of the native spahis 
 came to my quarters, and we went together to the command- 
 ant to get leave of absence for a few days. As soon as he 
 understood the motive of my demand, he flatly refused, 
 telling me I was a fool. 
 
 The next day my friends the spahis tried again, without 
 any better success. 
 
 A few days after I renewed my request to the command- 
 ant, who endeavoring to dissuade me, related the particulars 
 of a hunt that was made by General Yusuf, from which the 
 hunting party returned with the loss of a dozen men and 
 horses. This was done for the purpose of discouraging me 
 in my attempt, but my mind was so fully made up that 
 nothing could turn me aside. The captain at last understood 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING, 223 
 
 ray feelings, and engaged to get the permission of Monsieur 
 de Tourville, who commanded at this time in the district of 
 Guelma. 
 
 There was nothing more for me to do than to procure 
 suitable arms for my expedition, the one barrelled rifle 
 answering very well for a blind, but not safe to be carried in 
 the open field when two shots would be absolutely necessary. 
 I knew among the colonists of Guelma one of ray country- 
 raen naraed D'Olivari, who was a good hunter, and owned a 
 double barrelled rifle of number sixteen bore, which he was 
 kind enough to lend me, and I entered on my campaign 
 during the first of June. 
 
 I left the camp in company with a spahi of the squadron 
 naraed Bon Aziz, whose douar, situated near the Ouled Ziraba, 
 at two leagues from Guelma, had been sadly ravaged by the 
 lion. We reached the douar a little before night, and I had 
 time to see the country which I was about to hunt. It was a 
 wide and deep valley, the two sides of which were covered 
 by a thick wood, and the place so solitary and savage 
 seemed to smell of lion a league away. The douar where 
 we were to pass the night, was established on the open 
 valley, and surrounded by a hedge of olive trees of about 
 eight feet in height by three feet in width. 
 
 We entered by an opening in the hedge, and found our- 
 selves in the centre of the camp, where we were immediately 
 assailed by a multitude of villianous dogs, that bit our 
 horses' legs, and sprang up from time to time to seize our 
 own. 
 
 Two or three Arabs came out of the tents in order to open 
 
224 
 
 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 a road for us with sticks and stones among the crowd of 
 brutes that disputed our entrance, and we dismounted in 
 front of the tent of Bon Aziz, who did us the honors of the 
 place with all the grace of a king. 
 
 Every man, woman and child in the douar came forward 
 to examine me, and they expressed their diflferent opinions 
 with all the frankness that they would have done had I been 
 a hundred leagues away. 
 
 When the supper hour arrived the women and children 
 disappeared and the men of the tent, together with the invited 
 guests, squatted themselves in two circles. A man then 
 brought and placed in the centre of the circle where I was 
 sitting, an iron vase filled with water, into which each of the 
 guests, without hesitation stuck his hands, more or less dirty, 
 and then the vase was carried to the second group, that did 
 the same. This was the preparatory ablution, and it is safe 
 to say that it was needed. 
 
 In a few minutes after we heard a great racket in that part 
 of the tent that belongs to the women, and a man was seen 
 coming in carrying a dish on his head, and preceded, followed 
 and surrounded by a crowd of dogs of a shaggy coat and 
 ugly countenance, that were pushing, scrambling, biting, and 
 fighting each other up to the very guests that sat in the circle. 
 The men in attendance tried their best to keep them back, 
 but without success, until they threatened to take the supper 
 by assault from the head of the waiter who was bringing 
 it. 
 
 With us we hardly ever punish a dog even with a whip ; 
 here, on the contrary, I have seen them struck often with the 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 225 
 
 tent poles, which are young trees with the branches trimmed off. 
 If, sometimes, the beast runs away doubled up under the blow, 
 he oftener turns upon his assailant, who is obliged to defend him- 
 self with a great deal of skill to avoid being severely bitten. 
 One cannot understand this spectacle without having seen it» 
 and it appeared to me more than ridiculous, particularly 
 when an Arab gravely handed to me a stick of the same 
 kind with which to defend myself, and preserve my food 
 while at dinner. 
 
 Order having been again established, the man in attendance 
 at last reached our party, and deposited in the midst of the 
 circle a large wooden dish of about a yard in diameter, filled 
 to the brim with couscoussou, a kind of semoule, and covered 
 over with the half of a sheep. Hardly had the tray been set 
 down, when all the guests attacked the mutton with nature's 
 forks, and an appetite worthy of the brutes that formed an 
 outer circle, and were kept at a distance by two or three men 
 armed with sticks. I watched the operation of eating with 
 the greatest curiosity, but with little relish. My host noticing 
 that I did not partake, came around to my side and snatching 
 away a piece of mutton from the fingers of my busy neigh- 
 bors, tore it in strips and laid it before me. As even this did 
 not tempt me, he made a sort of hole in the couscoussou and 
 then pouring into it a species of liquid colored white and 
 brown, which seemed to be a mixture of milk and soup, he 
 stirred it up with his finger as if he was niaking mortar. 
 
 Seeing that I still was in doubt about joining in their feast, 
 he sent for a woooden cup with which I dipped up some 
 couscoussou from that portion of the dish that seemed the 
 
226 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 least handled. This I found to be a very good article of food, 
 and I thought I would soon become accustomed to this 
 national dish, if I was not obliged to adopt the republican 
 manners of the guests with whom I was dining. 
 
 After our circle had dined, the huge tray was lifted over 
 our heads, and carried to the second group that was patiently 
 waiting below. Then the jar of water which we had already 
 used was presented to us the second time, accompanied with 
 a piece of black soap. 
 
 The divers other things I had seen at this refined meal, 
 but which I cannot describe, had so disgusted me with the 
 company I was in that I turned my back to them, letting 
 them take it as they would, and took my seat on the carpet 
 which was spread next to the division of the tent separating 
 us from the apartment of the females, resolved to wait for 
 some more favorable time for dining, and in the meanwhile 
 to amuse myself by watching the manners of my neighbors. 
 
 I had hardly been seated with my back against the women's 
 tent, before I felt some one drawing the skirts of my coat 
 from behind. 
 
 The French who are always a little presumptuous in regard 
 to the women, think they have nothing to do but to show 
 themselves in order to please a lady. I have heard a certain 
 goose among my countrymen declare, after he had made an 
 excursion among the tribes of Algeria, that the women were 
 so much in love with him, that they would seize him by the 
 lapel of his burnous when asleep at night under his tent. 
 I will now give my experience. Turning around to see who 
 might be the fair creature that was so interested in the 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 227 
 
 stranger, I saw, I confess it frankly, dear reader, as the truth 
 compels me to disclose it, I saw the eyes and white teeth of 
 one of the ugliest dogs in the whole tribe, as he was hauling 
 in my coat-tail, and endeavoring to get a bite at my legs from 
 the other side of the canvas. 
 
 This is a fair specimen of the amiability of these villainous 
 curs, that bite whatever comes within their reach, even their 
 masters, and that are all the while having desperate battles 
 among themselves, where the vanquished are often eaten by 
 the victors. One can understand from this, how doubly 
 unpleasant the familiarity of these animals must be to 
 strangers visiting the douar. About bed-time these gentle- 
 men, I refer to the dogs, climb up on the top of the tents, 
 without doubt hoping thereby to gain a better view of the 
 surrounding landscape. Then the sleeper has to endure over 
 his head a chorus of five or six discordant voices, that join in 
 the uproar that is made the live-long night on the neighbor- 
 ing tents, and altogether forming a noise that would waken 
 the dead. 
 
 If by chance there comes a momentary lull, an Arab who 
 may be sleeping next to you, and whom you thought fast 
 locked in the arms of Morpheus, commences to halloor with 
 all his strength, whereupon the doggerel is renewed louder 
 than ever. 
 
 Contrary to the habits of other people, noise brings sleep to 
 Arab eyes, and silence awakens them ; which is explained by 
 the necessity they are under of being always on guard. If it 
 happens that some chilly dog takes refuge under the tent to 
 snatch a little rest, he is immediately assailed by the men 
 
228 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 and womeD, who shower on him a storm of blows and curses 
 that sound strangely to the European who is waked from his 
 first soft slumber. 
 
 This is a fair sample of the many nights I have passed in 
 this way, without describing the insects and household var- 
 mints without name or number, that devour alike the host 
 and his guest. 
 
 I found this, my first night in camp, excessively long, and 
 more than once I regretted tny blind in the mountain, where 
 I could at least take some rest between the intervals of 
 watching. But fatigue at last brought sleep to my eyes, and 
 I gradually had travelled to the land of dreams, where I 
 would have wandered until morning had I not been awakened 
 by a sudden increase in the barking around and above me. 
 An Arab who was on guard, came rushing into the tent, and 
 jumping over my body, commenced unceremoniously kicking 
 up all the sleepers. 
 
 In an instant, all the men who the moment before were 
 snoring around me, were on their feet, shouting and vocifera- 
 ting with such vehemence that the voices of the dogs were 
 completely drowned. The women and children joined 
 in thei?: turn to form a chorus of yells in a higher 
 key. 
 
 I stumbled out of my tent and saw fires lighted before all 
 the tents, and Bou-Aziz carrying dry wood with some of his 
 comrades. Having reached the limits of the park, an armful 
 of wood was lighted and thrown over the hedge, with cries 
 of Jew, pagan, and heathen. In a few moments, all the people 
 of the douar had joined in this gport with a z«st that made 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 229 
 
 me think it was a species of fireworks that they were accus- 
 tomed to display for their amusement. 
 
 At the moment when these new kind of fusees were burning 
 with their brightest flame, and the concert of men, women, 
 children and dogs had attained its height, everything was 
 suddenly hushed, and disappeared as if by enchantment. 
 
 The firemen dropped their brands, and men and dogs 
 made a rush, head over heels to the entrance of the tents 
 they had just left, dragging me with them in their flight. 
 The dogs just before so noisy and anxious to bite every 
 one within reach, immediately became dumb and as gentle 
 as lambs. 
 
 All of a sudden, in the midst of this general silence, a 
 fearful noise arose from the enclosure of the douar, that made 
 me tremble in spite of myself; and in an instant the tent was 
 invaded by a herd of animals that came crowding and rush- 
 ing on one another, and trampling down men and women 
 without thought or pity. There were horned cattle and 
 sheep, canaels and asses, horses and mules, and they all bel- 
 lowed, and whinnied, and brayed as they rushed over and 
 past us, tearing down tents and fences in an utter rout. It 
 seemed as if the trumpet had blown for the final judgment. 
 I had never fancied such a babel of beastly sounds, even in 
 the ark of Father Noah. 
 
 I do not know how I came there, but I found myself in the 
 women's apartment together with crying children and fright- 
 ened animals. I hastened to get out to learn what was going 
 on, and found the Arabs on every side armed with their guns, 
 
230 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 and the park, lately so crowded with animals, completely 
 deserted. 
 
 I understood less and less every moment, what was the 
 meaning of all this, when an old woman that belonged to 
 the family of Bou-Aziz came to relieve me of my embarrass- 
 ment, saying, while she tore out her grey hairs, " It is the 
 lion, see how he treats us, the Jew, the pagan, the cousin of 
 the devil !" ' 
 
 I now comprehended the meaning of it all, except the men 
 running about hither and thither with their arms. The old 
 woman explained that a part of the cattle had taken refuge 
 in the tents, and a part had broken a hole in the hedge and 
 escaped, and the men were now endeavoring to drive them 
 back. 
 
 At this moment I saw Bou-Aziz pushing before him seve- 
 ral head of horned cattle, and in a little while the park was 
 as full as before, with the exception of the black bull that 
 was missing, and that had, without doubt, served as a break- 
 fast for the lion. I say, breakfast, for hardly had order been 
 re-established before the tents began to redden with the 
 early light. 
 
 Bou-Aziz, whom I reproached for not having warned me 
 that the lion was coming, declared that it was a most dan- 
 gerous thing to attack him in the neighborhood of the douar, 
 and to prove the correctness of his assertion, he related to- me 
 the following occurrence that had happened the previous 
 year. 
 
 " A lion known throughout all the country by the name of 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 231 
 
 el-Ahor, which signifies lame, had visited a certain douar so 
 constantly, that it was nearly depopulated, and one of its 
 inmates had become so much enraged that he resolved to put 
 an end to the importunities of the robber once and for all. 
 This was a hair-brained resolve, and the Arab took good 
 care to keep his intentions secret. 
 
 As the lion took not the least notice of the fires that were 
 lighted, or the noise that was made at his approach, nor 
 of the talismans that were written by the most famous mara- 
 bouts, and as he followed the douar wherever it might be 
 removed, the people had at last become resigned to the will 
 of God, and made no further resistance. 
 
 With the shades of the evening, the Arab took his place 
 near the spot where the enemy was accustomed to jump over 
 the hedge to get at the cattle. About midnight, the jabber 
 of the jackal, that always follows the lion, could be heard 
 from the plain, and the dogs began to bark. The Arab 
 cocked his gun, and in a few minutes the lion cleared the 
 hedge at a single bonnd, and stood within three paces of 
 him. 
 
 The gun sounded, and in the winking of an eye, the lion 
 with a broken shoulder bounded on the venturesome man, 
 and crushed him to the earth, and then rushed upon the tent 
 that happened to stand nearest to him, killing all that he 
 found within it, with the exception of a woman with a child 
 in her arms, who managed to reach the next tent and 
 climbed on the top of it, hoping that the lion would rather 
 seek the women who were shrieking beneath, than climb after 
 her. But the animal, furious to see this last victim escaping. 
 
232 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 followed her tracks, and springiDg on the tent after her, the 
 whole of the frail structure fell to the ground under his 
 weight. The mad beast, feeling the living bodies under him 
 struggling in the folds of the tent, relinquished his hold of the 
 woman and child, already dead and mutilated, and with teeth 
 and claws, commenced tearing and crushing every moving 
 thing he could find under his paws. 
 
 To crown the tragedy, the fires caught the fallen tent, and 
 though driving away the lion, burned every living soul of 
 the family that had not been already destroyed by the rag- 
 ing beast, all the inhabitants of the douar that were free, hav- 
 ing taken advantage of the occurrence to escape. 
 
 On the morrow, forty armed men returned to the scene of 
 the disaster, to find only the charred and mutilated bodies of 
 their friends ; the lion had departed after proving to the chil- 
 dren of Adam that there was no strength equal to his, and 
 that whatever they possessed was owned together in com- 
 mon. 
 
 " And this lion, what has become of him ?" I asked. 
 
 " The lion is still living, he is cured of his wound, only he 
 limps in his fore foot ; we have often seen him, and he is called 
 el Raib, the limper, and Bou-Acherin-Radjel^ murderer of 
 twenty men." 
 
 I understood, after the story, that the lion was never bewil- 
 dered by his nocturnal excursions among the tents of the low- 
 lands, and could readily comprehend why it was that Bou- 
 Aziz did not want me to know of his coming. 
 
 Nevertheless, I resolved to see if I could find what had 
 become of the missing black bull ; and early in the morning I 
 
MY FIRSr EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 233 
 
 started on the search, together with Bou-Aziz and several of 
 the Arabs, among whom was the unhappy late proprietor of 
 the animal. 
 
 We found the body about a gun-shot from the camp ; the 
 lion had eaten a shoulder and thigh of the weight of about 
 fifty pounds. 
 
 The owner of the animal, after walking two or three times 
 around the body, came to me and said : 
 
 " This is the tenth he has taken from me since spring ; 
 there are forty remaining, and I will give you half of them if 
 you will free me from the destroyer. There is only one thing 
 I ask : that is to be informed of it before the rest, that I may 
 pull out his cursed beard with my own hands. 
 
 The Arabs who were with him, thinking that it might 
 encourage me, made the same offers in proportion to th© 
 amount of cattle they possessed, or the losses they had sus- 
 tained. Only one among them all decried me, saying that 
 he did not see how Bou-Aziz, who was a man ordinarily 
 of good of sense, could encourage such a foolish undertak- 
 ing. • 
 
 I was not altogether satisfied with the answer to this obser- 
 vation. Instead of taking a serious view of the matter, he 
 answered with a strange smile, AchJcoun Yarf? " who 
 knows ?" 
 
 The was something in his smile and ambiguous reply that 
 seemed to say, " You imbeciles, what difi'erence does it make 
 to any of us if this man gets chewed up. If he succeeds, we 
 will be gainers ; and if he loses his beard, we will be none the 
 worse for it, it will be only one Christian the less." 
 
234 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I returned to the douar somewhat saddened by the kindly 
 ■feelings displayed by my host for my personal safety. 
 
 I received that day, the visit of two or three hundred 
 Arabs, from neighboring villages, and we held in the open air 
 • a sort of court to decide upon the fate of the lion. 
 
 If the accused was absent, and was neither represented by 
 counsel, nor had called witnesses in his own behalf, it still 
 could be said on the other side, that the charges brought 
 against him were beyond all justification, and it would have 
 been difiicult to have found the slightest mitigating circum- 
 stance in such a fearful category of misdeeds. 
 
 There was, therefore, no pleading, either for or. against, the 
 criminal, but the assembly resolved itself in one great jury, 
 and after unanimously finding him guilty, they consulted like 
 judges, as to who among them having sufiered the most, 
 should have the revenge of pulling out his beard. 
 
 Each one of the judges present having made an estimate 
 of his loss, it was found there were many who had suflered 
 equally, which presented another unforeseen difficulty in the 
 way of a decision. 
 
 Then an old man all in tatters, and supporting his chin on 
 a stick, cried out : 
 
 " I am the one to tear out the lion's beard, I who have lost 
 everything but this old burnous that a beggar would not 
 wear." And thus speaking he exposed to our eyes the most 
 abject misery and nakedness. 
 
 As the Arabs laughed at the patriarch, who had only lost 
 a couple of cows, I took the floor in turn, and said : 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 235 
 
 " To thee I give the lion's beard, if it please God to mate 
 me successful." 
 
 The poor man came to my side as fast as his legs would 
 carry him, and before I could prevent him, had kissed me on 
 the head, and- cheeks, and hands, saying : 
 
 " You will succeed, my child, you will succeed." Then 
 whispering in my ear, he said : " You are a Roman, but I 
 don't care, if you can kill this lion I will give you my 
 daughter, or if you like it better I will adopt you as my 
 own son." 
 
 At first I was overcome at this brilliant offer, so contrary 
 to all the principles and customs of the Musselmen, and if 
 after a little I had to laugh at the glorious opening in life it 
 pointed out for me, I was still the more persuaded I had 
 adopted the right course, and that the hatred of the Arabs 
 would fall with my first lion. I had already forgotten the 
 scene with Bou-Aziz, and resolved that before long he should 
 have better feelings toward me and my people. 
 
 As the day waned, and the sun was kissing the western 
 horizon, I hastened to quit the douar to go on the mountain, 
 being the more anxious to commence my work, as I had 
 leave of absence for only three days. Bou-Aziz and myself 
 shouldered our guns and left the camp to the pleasure of all 
 the Arabs, with the exception of a few kind-hearted souls, 
 who suggested that we had better return' to Guelma. 
 
 As the natives do not understand how one can be willing 
 to go on foot who has the means of riding, Bou-Aziz wanted 
 me to mount my horse, but I refused, being persuaded that 
 he would be a trouble instead of a service, and we set out to 
 
236 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 walk. After following for about an hour a forest path, we 
 gained a bare plateau on the ridge of the hill overlooking all 
 the country. 
 
 Another path here joined into the one we had been travel- 
 ling, and Bou-Aziz told me that this place was often visited 
 by the lion, and that we could hear him roar from there after 
 dark, and perchance see him come down the hill. As he 
 used the plural we in speaking, I told him that I intended to 
 do the fighting, and that I only needed him as guide. He 
 replied that this was precisely his own intention, and that I 
 could assure myself that the moment there was anything like 
 a collision between me and the lion, he would relieve me 
 from his presence with a great deal of pleasure. 
 
 Having settled these preliminaries I loaded my rifle with 
 great care, and took my place on a high rock that overlooked 
 the different paths of the lion, and yet was quite near the 
 open ground I before mentioned. 
 
 The night came on without our having seen anything but 
 the wild hogs as they came rooting in the glades, the jackals 
 prowling about, and the hares that fed and gambolled at our 
 very feet, secure in the wild fastnesses of the hills. Bou- 
 Aziz had supposed I was going to return to camp at dark, 
 and was surprised to see me making my preparations to 
 spend the night. Nevertheless his mind had become so 
 much interested in the attempt, that he only left me for a 
 little while, and then returned with two Arabs, bringing 
 with them my supper. Seeing that this might give rise to 
 diflSculty, I told Bou-Aziz once for all, that he need not take 
 care of my meals, that in the morning we would put into tho 
 
MT FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 23*7 
 
 cape of our burnous a meal cake with a handful of dates, 
 and that would suffice. As to the water we had the moun- 
 tain streams, and as they sufficed for the lion, they would 
 answer for us. The men who had brought the couscoussou 
 being afraid to return to the douar alone, we kept them with 
 us all night, but the morning came without any lion. 
 
 The entire day being spent in repose, the evening found 
 Bou-Aziz and myself again at our posts, he a little more con- 
 fident, and I more reserved than ever. When it came dark, 
 he told me that we would be more likely to meet the lion by 
 following up the different paths than by remaining in the 
 same place. 
 
 Accordingly, we left our post on the rock, and struck into 
 a path that led down the hills towards the plain. The 
 heavens were serene and the moon flooded the pure air with 
 silver, leaving even the shadows under the woods in a mellow 
 twilight. The path was so narrow that we had to march 
 single file, and I followed my guide, pausing now and then to 
 watch the effect of the light and shadow, or the gleam like 
 snow of the distant water or sleeping tents. 
 
 All of a sudden Bou-Aziz turned around, and seizing mo 
 by the sleeve, drew me aside in the woods. Once there, he 
 crouched down and obliged me to do the same. Seeing that 
 I was about to speak, he said : 
 
 " Chut — keep quiet or we are lost." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" I said in my usual tone. " Here we 
 are marching on the path in order to meet the lion, and now 
 you hide me that he may not see us ?" 
 
 " It is a cloud " (saga), he said ; " keep still." 
 
238 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I was utterly confused by this answer of my comrade. 
 I at first thought that he had seen the lion, and was afraid 
 of a cloud obscuring the moon at the moment that we were 
 about to meet him, which would certainly have been danger- 
 ous. But the moon was sailing in beauty over the trees, and 
 as far as the eye could reach there were nothing but stars. 
 
 " There, they have heard us, and are on our track, cock 
 your gun." 
 
 I listened, and heard the sound of murmuring voices and 
 the rustling of burnous against the trees. 
 
 " But these are men," I whispered to Bou-Aziz. 
 
 " Yes," he replied, " a band of marauders." Judging from 
 the noise they made there could not have been less than a 
 dozen. I had two barrels to fire and Bou-Aziz another, and 
 in spite of my dagger and his sabre, it seemed to me that we 
 were in as bad a position as two unlucky wights might ever 
 find themselves. 
 
 After cocking ray gun and trying to see if my knife was 
 loose in its sheath, I sprang to my feet, saying, " Come, let us 
 charge the beggars." 
 
 He was on his feet almost as soon as myself, and throwing 
 the skirt of his burnous over his shoulder, he cried, " You 
 dogs, you never saw men — wait till we teach you a lesson !'' 
 and we rushed forth from our concealment to be saluted with 
 peals of laughter, and hear our names coupled with many a 
 covert joke. 
 
 "Bah! they are my cousins," said Bou-Aziz, laughing, 
 " they are going out for a walk, let's find out something 
 about the lion." 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 239 
 
 I was more surprised than ever. Were these men just 
 going out for an excursion, or were they a band of robbers 
 and assassins? As a climax to my wonder, I recognized 
 among the band that had been tracking us like wild beasts 
 several of the guests with whom I had dined so badly on the 
 first night of my arrival at the douar. 
 
 After laughing heartily on both sides, the men told us 
 that they heard the douars on the Ouled-Bou-Sousa making 
 a great noise, and that, doubtless, the lion had been over there 
 to pass the night. We consulted about following him, but 
 Bou-Aziz said that it was too far, and we would reach there 
 too late for any service. I then proposed that we should take 
 some place of concealment, and wait for the lion until he 
 returned to his lair with the morning, and the plan was imme- 
 diately adopted. The cloudy as they called themselves, gave 
 us the honor of their company to the edge of the wood, when 
 they left us to continue their nocturnal expedition. 
 
 As we had now nothing to do but wait until day dawn 
 with our eyes fixed on the plain, awaiting the motions of our 
 game, I questioned my comrade in regard to our late encoun- 
 ter, and I will here relate what he told me. 
 
 It may seem a breach of confidence to write for the public 
 what was told me in secret, but since that time I have proved 
 it to he true by my own experience, and I give it to the world 
 that it may be of use to those travelling in Africa, or entrusted 
 with the government of the Arab tribes. 
 
 "You," commenced Bou-Aziz, "love the child that ^our 
 wife bears you, equally much if it is a male or a female." 
 
240 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I beg pardon of my readers ; but this was the way my com- 
 panion expressed himself. 
 
 " With the Arabs, however, there is more joy over the 
 birth of a colt than a girl, but a male child never comes into 
 the world without the firing of guns in honor of his advent. 
 
 " On him reposes the honor and hope of the family, of the 
 douar and the tribe, who expect from him great personal 
 bravery ; and if they do not find this quality early exhibited, 
 the child soon finds himself the subject of scorn and dislike, 
 even from his father. • 
 
 " The women, who with you look upon every man in the 
 light of a husband, particularly regard those who are hand- 
 some. With us the women compare a handsome man to a 
 female, and a brave man to a lion." 
 
 Here I observed that these two qualities might be united 
 in the same person, particularly among the Arabs, who are 
 a fine-looking race ; and I asked my instructor if an Arab 
 woman would love a man who was infirm, lame, hump- 
 backed, or mutilated, and at the same time endowed with 
 great bravery. His answer seems to me to be full of good 
 sense and imbued with the true spirit of philosophy. 
 
 "Deformity would never be an object of dislike to a 
 woman if it was the result of an encounter in which the man 
 had proved his valor. If it was a natural deformity, the 
 woman would despise him, because she would know that God 
 in creating him in that manner had not intended to create a 
 man." 
 
 Under this generally received opinion, the unfortunate 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTINO. 241 
 
 creature who is brought into the African world a cripple, 
 never seeks to gain those qualities from which nature and 
 reputation has debarred him, but forms one of a separate class 
 half way between men and beasts. Fortunately, however, this 
 class of persons is very smalL During twelve years passed 
 in Africa, I have never encountered but one hunchback, and 
 he was carried around from tribe to tribe, like a strange 
 animal, and the children heaped upon him jokes and dates, 
 witliout number, in their curiosity and glee. 
 
 "You can therefore understand," continued Bou-Aziz, 
 " why the boys as soon as they grow to man's estate, endeavor 
 to gain the respect of the men of their tribe, and the regard 
 of the women, still more difficult to win. For you see our 
 women are never mistaken about the character of a man, 
 and they elevate or cast him down according as their judg- 
 ment is favorable or not. 
 
 " Formerly, when our tribes were at war among themselves 
 or against the French, it was an easy matter for our young 
 men to give proof of their courage, but since our swords have 
 returned to their scabbards, what are we to do ? 
 • " There are occasionally family feuds which give to a young 
 man the occasion of stealing by night under the tent of an 
 opponent, and in spite of the watchfulness of the dogs, stabbing 
 him to the heart, which is a feat infinitely more diflScult and 
 courageous than your duels in the open air by daylight. 
 
 " But all of us do not have a father's or brother's death to 
 revenge, and when we have not, there is nothing left for us, 
 by which we can show to the world that we are men, but 
 gallant adventures or plundering excursions. 
 
 11 
 
242 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 "To follow, during the darkness of the night, the mountain 
 paths worn by the lion, is of itself no child's sport. But to 
 enter the precincts of a well-guarded douar, and creep under 
 the curtain of a tent to enjoy the embraces of a mistress, 
 sleeping by the side of her husband, when you well know 
 there are strong hands and ready pistols all around to punish 
 your reckless love, this you must confess is worthy of a bold 
 heart, and the hero who performs it may well swear by his 
 beard, and walk with a high head among his fellows. That 
 is the manner that young men of any soul, prove it to sleepy 
 husbands who carry a stone in their bosoms in place of a heart. 
 
 " As I have already said, the woman Vv'ho is proud of the 
 bravery of her husband will always be faithful to him ; the 
 woman who finds she is coupled with a poltroon who has 
 never done anything but eat couscoussou by day, and snore 
 soundly at night, will take the greatest pleasure in deceiving 
 him, and conferring his rights upon men better able to guard 
 them. By such a course of conduct the woman never offends 
 her own conscience, and public opinion very justly exonerates 
 her fair name from all blemish. 
 
 " As she has been joined without her own consent to a man 
 Avhom she never knew until after marriage, the moment that 
 she learns his true character, and discovers that he is a pol- 
 troon, she endeavors to get rid of him in order to get a better 
 one, for the Arab widow may choose a husband according to 
 her fancy. 
 
 "Then she selects a lover from the young men of her 
 acquaintance, one who has a lion's heart and an iron arm, 
 that will not shrink from the sweet meetings, dangerous 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 243 
 
 though they be, even when the rendezvous is given under the 
 family tent, and who is ready to do battle with the husband 
 for the favor of those dear eyes that brighten the darkest 
 night. It sometimes happens that the woman herself removes 
 her husband from the field of his earthly avocations by the 
 blow of a mallet or a draught of arsenic. 
 
 I pause in the repetition of Bou- Aziz's dissertation, hearing 
 my reader call out, " Stop there, where are the laws of the 
 land that allow murders to be committed on every side, out 
 of mere pleasure or unhallowed love ?" 
 
 The law of the land I will give you ; it is as follows : if a 
 man is killed by fire, steel, or poison, the accused shall be 
 cited to appear before a council of war, that shall condemn 
 him to death or the galleys. 
 
 Or the convicted criminal shall pay the price of blood, 
 called the dyah by the Arabs, which is one thousand francs 
 for a man, and five hundred for a woman. Reparation in the 
 the shape of damages is also imposed upon the accused, 
 which is a sum equal to one-half of the dyah. 
 
 The citation to appear before the court martial, does not 
 take place until the accusation has been examined at the 
 Arab Agency, and suflScient proof has been gathered for a 
 conviction. In the other event, the parents accept the price 
 of blood, and forego their revenge. It sometimes happens 
 that a man is killed without the government being able to 
 tell or to suspect the assassins, and then the whole tribe pays 
 the forfeit. 
 
 This measure, generally adopted throughout Africa, has 
 brought about excellent results, particularly as regards the 
 
244 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 safety of travellers, and it has brought to light a crowd of mur- 
 derers who otherwise would have remained for ever unknown. 
 
 What I have just said about the law of murder, is only 
 applicable to the tribes under the military government. The 
 civil courts apply the French laws to the natives living under 
 their jurisdiction, but the district governed in this manner is 
 so small, that it is useless to speak of it except in terms of 
 comparison. Is it better to apply to the Arabs the laws we 
 found in force with them, or to bring them under subjection 
 of the laws of our country ? 
 
 This is a question of much importance in connection with 
 the moral conquest of Algeria. There are so many things to 
 be said on each side, that I will leave the question to those 
 who are more interested in it than I, only referring in passing 
 to the difficulties that must ever be experienced in Africa in 
 punishing crimes against the person and property, when the 
 whole people are so thoroughly nomadic. How is it possible 
 to get at the truth of an affair of this kind, when its causes, 
 as well as the deed itself, took place among a people whose 
 customs and language are so little known to us ? 
 
 The government should require of all its agents who are 
 charged with these duties in Africa, a perfect knowledge of 
 the language, customs, and habits of the people in their own 
 homes, and under their very tents. This qualification should 
 be the more strictly enforced with the military and civil 
 officers, whose duty it is to be the intermediaries between 
 the people and the government. There are men whose long 
 residence in Africa has left them nothing more to acquire, 
 but I am sorry to say that they are so few that one could 
 readily enumerate them. 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTINa. 245 
 
 I return to Bou-Aziz and his famous {saga), or cloud, to 
 ■which he had as yet given me no explanation. 
 
 I demanded of him, " Where do they go on these noctur- 
 nal expeditions — where, for example, are your brothers and 
 cousins going this evening ?" 
 
 " I can't say precisely where my brother and cousins are 
 going, but they don't usually return empty handed." 
 
 After a great many turnings and hesitations, I learned 
 from him that the young men who go out after this fashion 
 at night, are nothing better than robbers and assassins. 
 Robbers, because they carry off by ruse or by force the cattle 
 from the douars they visit, and assassins because they kill 
 whoever opposes them in their attempt, and sometimes those 
 whom they encounter on the road. According to Bou-Aziz, 
 the Arab who has never killed a man is entitled to very 
 little respect. 
 
 Once on the subject that seemed to him to be very interest- 
 ing, he finished by telling me that after having lost all his 
 herds in a razzia, he had made his fortune good again by pil- 
 laging here and there, and killing whoever disputed his laud- 
 able endeavors. 
 
 Nevertheless, while still talking, stretched out on the grass, 
 the day began to dawn, and the lion had not appeared. 
 
 "Would you could have been with me that morning, fellow- 
 hunter, perched on a cliff by the edge of the forest, overlook- 
 ing the hundred paths that converged hither from the plains, 
 crowded with animals of every kind, that were returning to 
 the shelter of the woods. From the earliest light to sunrise, 
 it was one continuous defile of wild game, marching leisurely 
 along, according to their different modes or fancies, as though 
 
246 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 no lion had ever existed. Bou-Aziz, accustomed to the spec- 
 tacle, paid no attention to it, scanning the distant fields in 
 search of our nobler prey ; but when he saw the wild hogs 
 walking home with leisure confidence, he said that the lion 
 was not in the neighborhood. At length, the sun showed 
 his red face over the purple hills, painting the earth with 
 crimson, and warming the air with his breath, and we 
 returned to the douar. 
 
 After several hours of sleep, I told Bou-Aziz that I would 
 like, if possible, to visit the den of the lion, not only for the 
 chance of meeting him on the road, but also to gratify 
 my curiosity in seeing the domestic arrangements of the syl- 
 van king. 
 
 This was a bold request to make, but the hardy fellow 
 decided, after some hesitation, to accompany me with a dozen 
 of his friends. 
 
 Judging from the preparations of these men, one would 
 have thought that they were going to battle, instead of going 
 to make a visit of curiosity to a wild beast's lair, which proved 
 that the fortress of the beast was none the less difficult to 
 enter, because it was without defences. 
 
 It may not be uninteresting to the reader to know what is 
 the Arab's battle costume, and I will attempt to des- 
 cribe it. 
 
 We all know, or rather we do not all know, that the Arab 
 dress commences with a long shirt, descending to the middle 
 of the leg, without any collar, and with sleeves as large as 
 those on a surplice. Above this shirt is then placed a haik^ 
 made of silk or linen, which envelops the body and breast, 
 and winds around the head in five or six folds, where -it is 
 retained in its place by a white or brown cord, made of 
 camel's hair. Outside of all that, are two or three burnous, 
 which complete the national costume. 
 
 The covering for the feet, which is not uniform, only pro- 
 tects the bottom and sides for the footmeu : if it is a cava- 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 247 
 
 lier, he wears a species of red morocco boot, called the- 
 maques. 
 
 When an Arab is preparing for some expedition of danger, 
 where he may be called on to fight on foot, he commences by 
 taking off his sandals, if he has any. Then he lays aside his 
 burnous which might be in the way, his camel's hair cord, 
 by which he might get strangled, and his haik which might 
 get torn. He only retains a red cap to protect his head, and 
 a shirt which he raises above his knee, by means of a leathern 
 girdle at his waist. Nothing is left that can in the least 
 interfere with the activity of the body, except the loose sleeves 
 that are drawn up to the shoulder, and then fastened behind 
 the back. 
 
 Add to this a cartridge-box on one side, a yataghan on the 
 other, one or two pistols behind the back, and a gun six feet 
 in length in the hand, and then you have the complete war 
 costume of the country. 
 
 There is another pretty of much the same kind, with the 
 exception of the arms, and it marks the professional robber 
 who roams abroad either alone or in company. These fellows, 
 in order to have a respectable and inoffensive appearance, 
 leave their guns behind them, and fasten around their bodies 
 under their shirt, a complete armament, the more dangerous 
 for being invisible. 
 
 It was with a dozen of these bandit-looking fellows, whom 
 I first described, that I made my first call upon the lion at his 
 own residence. I had expected rocks and caverns of a savage 
 and gloomy appearance, but I found nothing but a beautiful 
 wood. 
 
 While examining this spot, known all through the country 
 as the Lion's Garden, I could easily understand how it had 
 been chosen by its royal occupant. It was a beautiful thicket 
 of wild olive trees, so closely joined together that they all 
 seemed to have grown from one root. The dark tint of their 
 leavfcs contrasted strongly with the prevailing green of the 
 
248 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 forest, and gave a certain twilight air that well befitted the 
 kingly retreat, and called forth respect and awe from the 
 visitors. 
 
 Up to the time of reaching these olive trees, I had been 
 closely followed by all my valorous comrades, but the 
 moment I approached the precincts of the Garden, they fell 
 back and let me precede them, awaiting my return at a safe 
 distance behind. Three of the number, however, preferred 
 the railleries of their comrades to the anger of the lion, and 
 had long since gone home, and the countenances of those 
 that were left, became ludicrously long and grave. 
 
 As I advanced, step by step, with difficulty under this 
 obscure arbor, where the verdure above shut out all sunlight, 
 and the soil beneath my feet was impressed with the tread of 
 the lion, my heart beat louder and stronger. 
 
 At every step I was pulled by the arm, or by the skirts of 
 my coat, by those behind me, and beseeched by trembling 
 voices, praying me to go slowly, and to be cautious ; and when 
 I turned my head I saw my Arabs' faces absolutely pale with 
 fear, in sjDite of their dingy skin. I would willingly have 
 sent them all to the devil, if by that means I could have been 
 free from their importunities, and I took the first opportunity 
 of teUing them to wait in a little opening we crossed, till my 
 return. 
 
 The grass in this little glade was marked in many places 
 by the beds the lion had lately made. It was here that 
 when he awoke, with the coming of evening, he came forth 
 to make his toilet, like a cat, and to embellish his face and 
 comb his moustache, previous to descending the hills to visit 
 the douars on the plains, and from here he announced his 
 coming by his first low nmttered roar. 
 
 It was with a good deal of difficulty that I persuaded the 
 Arabs to remain in this place while I was gone, and it was only 
 their sensitive fear of ridicule that prevented their beating a 
 precipitate retreat. Bou-Aziz having insisted so hard on accom- 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 249 
 
 panying me, that I believed it was not merely for form's sake, 
 I gave him permission, and we continued our researches 
 together. 
 
 Not far from the clearing, I found several sleeping-places 
 the lion had made, to be used, sometimes one and sometimes 
 another, according to his fancy. All the roots, stones and 
 leaves that interfered with the softness of the couch, had 
 been carefully removed by the sybarite sleeper, and the 
 ground between the different beds was covered with the bark 
 of the trees that he had scratched off Avhile amusing himself, 
 or sharpening his claws. 
 
 While I was examining these curious details of the bearded 
 king, my attention was roused by a low growling noise, like 
 the commencement of a lion's roar, accompanied by the 
 cracking of branches. My companion, leaning forward 
 towards me, whispered, " Did you hear that ?" I nodded 
 assent, and he continued with such a piteous air that it made 
 me smile, " The* master is not pleased at our coming here 
 like two thieves." 
 
 " What if he isn't ?" I replied. 
 
 " Oh, you will see in a moment more," he continued, 
 creeping close to me. 
 
 The branches continued to crack, and the noise to increase, 
 when Bou-Aziz putting his ear to the ground, shouted out, 
 with pleasure lighting up his whole face, " It isn't the lion, 
 it isn't the lion, but only the fire our friends have lit in the 
 grass below." 
 
 Sure enough, in a few moments more the fire had caught 
 the whole thicket, and we came near being roasted alive by 
 these rascals, who had decamped without giving us any notice. 
 
 We were obliged to hasten away, and it being now too 
 late to seek the other haunts of the lion, we went to a spring- 
 where he sometimes came to drink, and waited for the 
 night. 
 
250 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 Midnight came, but no lion, and having heard the dogs 
 and men making a great nproar in the plain, we descended 
 the hill to find out the cause. Just as we reached the edge 
 of the woods, two or three guns fired, and we heard the balls 
 whistling past us. They came from the guards who were 
 watching the pits were the Arabs stored their grain. These 
 men had taken us for thieves coming out of the woods to 
 rob them. In a moment more and the guns were answered 
 from douar to douar, all along the hills, as though to prove 
 that the occupants were keeping good watch, and never slept 
 at all durinor the nii^ht. 
 
 The night passed away like the others, without any success, 
 and the next day, instead of sleeping as usual, I returned to 
 camp, where my first thought was to obtain another leave of 
 absence. This was granted with a good deal of hesitation, 
 as my visit to the country had been without any success 
 whatever. After a rest of two or three days, I left the camp 
 with Bou-x\ziz for another trial. 
 
 As we passed by douar after douar, the people came run- 
 ning out, praying us to halt for a little, while they should tell 
 us of the misdeeds that the lion had committed since I had 
 been in camp. If they were to be believed, we had nothing 
 to do but to go out in the evening and meet the enemy, for 
 only the evening before he had roared at sunset, and had 
 come to drink at the brook were the women were bathing 
 at a gun-shot from the douar. 
 
 At sundown we reached the douar where he had been seen, 
 but the darkness came without any sound of his approach, 
 Bou-Aziz, now full of confidence in me, said : " Decidedly 
 God is with you, for you silence the lion at your coming, and 
 you will certainly kill him at your first meeting." I would 
 have preferred the incredulity of our first acquaintance to 
 such blind assurance. 
 
 The whole of the first night was devoted to following the 
 piountain paths without any success. Early in the morning 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 251 
 
 we returned to the tent where we had left our horses, 
 and for the first time I saw symptoms of respect from the 
 natives. The host, seeing that I desired to sleep, closed his 
 tent, and sent away all his family that I might not be dis- 
 turbed. 
 
 I had hoped to have won this consideration only by the 
 merit of success, but since they all attributed the absence of 
 the lion to some innate power of mine, I began myself to 
 believe, not in my power to frighten away the animal, but in 
 the protection of an invisible hand, without whose sustaining 
 power we can achieve but little in situations of mortal 
 danger. 
 
 When my eyes first opened in the tent of my host, after 
 a long and refreshing sleep, I saw around me a circle of Arabs 
 seated in silence on the ground, awaiting my awakening. 
 They had entered so softly, and sat so quietly, that I had not 
 even been aware of their presence. When I had risen to a 
 sitting posture, one of them came towards me, and with an 
 air of sadness, cried out: 
 
 " Chera Allah ! Cher a Allah ! the justice of God ! the 
 justice of God !" and thirty voices from the circle responded 
 in the same wild tone, " Chera Allah ! Chera Allah .^" 
 
 " W^hat's the matter ? explain !" I called out, confused by 
 the novel spectacle, and the wild cries of my visitors. They 
 all hushed in a moment, and the one who had arisen, spoke 
 as follows : 
 
 " In the name of Allah, listen to what I have to tell thee, 
 and grant me justice if I have the right on my side. 
 
 " I had a beautiful mare that my people had ofi'ered to buy 
 of me for ten camels ; would I sell my mare whom I loved 
 as the pupils of ray eyes ? 
 
 " Yesterday, after dinner, I rode her to the brook to give 
 her a bath, and then I led her to the edge of the woods, 
 while I returned to make my ablutions and say my prayers. 
 While in the water, I thought I heard my mare rolling, but 
 
252 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I did not look to see, as she often played me that trick, and 
 I only had to wasli her over again. 
 
 " I had finished my prayers, and was going up the bank, 
 when a heavy footfall sounded above me, and I looked and 
 beheld what makes my blood run cold merely in thinking of 
 it. I beheld a lion looking down at me with a smile on his 
 countenance. 
 
 " ' My mare, my mare !' I cried, throwing the water in his 
 face, ' where is my beau tifiil, my love V 
 
 " He answered not, but mockingly stretched himself out on 
 the grass and looked down at me. 
 
 " I became mad with grief, and threw stones at him, but he 
 did not move, and then I saw my beautiful one stretched out 
 on the ground where I had left her, and all around the grass 
 was wet with her blood. 
 
 " I moved to go near her, but the lion bounded in front of 
 me, roaring like the thunder in the heavens. 
 
 " I sprang back into the brook and plunged into the deep- 
 est water. Y^hen I came again to the sunlight, the lion was 
 standing at the brink, lapping the water and keeping his 
 great eyes fixed on me. 
 
 " ' May the water you drink poison you,' I cried, ' you dog, 
 you pagan ; may you die before you gorge yourself on my 
 beautiful one.' 
 
 " The lion paid no attention to me, he didn't even move 
 when I walked out of the brook, and as far as I could see 
 him while running home, he stood there drinking as calmly 
 at though he was not a thief, and a. fiend. 
 
 " This monster has a stomach like the sea, a stomach that 
 drinks up our rivers and consumes all our substance, and is 
 ever empty. 
 
 " Thou seest, oh heaven-sent-stranger, that I am wronged, 
 and that I am right in coming to thee — render me justice." 
 
 " C/icm Allah/ Chera Allah P'' repeated all the com- 
 panions of the speaker, still seated in their circle, " we have no 
 
MY FIKST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 253 
 
 more sleep and no more security. It will suffice if you 
 come to our douars, and we will give you tHe half of all we 
 have." 
 
 I endeavored to make my audience understand that my 
 presence could not intimidate the lion, and that if he had not 
 roared during the nights that I was in the country, it was 
 only owing to his good pleasure, and that if he came back 
 when I was gone it was merely because he had so chosen to 
 act. But what are explanations worth with a people as 
 superstitious as the Arabs. All my reasoning did not alter 
 their convictions. At last an Arab, whom I recognized by 
 his pure language, his importance of bearing, and the chaplet 
 he constantly carried in his white hands, as one of the wise 
 men of the country, arose and said : 
 
 " For a long time every one has been speaking of a Roman 
 who had the reputation of a lion hunter, and they spoke of 
 his blinds on the hills of Guelma. While he remained at a 
 distance, or followed the lion after the fashion of the Arabs, 
 we mocked his pretensions ; pardon the doubt that may have 
 offended you, oh seignior. It was because we know how both 
 the lion and man are created, and that the prophet has told 
 us, ' God has given to man the strength of a man, but to the 
 lion the strength of forty men, in order that he might make 
 us remember that fill return to God that made themJ After- 
 wards when we heard that this stranger was among us, hunt- 
 ing the lion without blind or fort, ei/e to eye, we thought him 
 a dead man. We were afraid that his kindred would 
 hold us responsible for his blood, so we consulted the wise 
 men who know all things, and the wise men said to us : 
 
 " ' God is great, and Mahomet is His prophet, and he can 
 do what he listeth. This man, who comes from beyond seas, 
 is not a Roman, but a servant of God. If he waits for the 
 lion, eye to eye, 'tis because his heart is of steel and his eye of 
 fire. God made him thus to bow down those who are strong 
 in themselves. The lion will fly from his presence as we fly 
 
254 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 before tlie lion, but yet this ravager will die by his hand, and 
 not only he but many others. Find out this man, he will 
 bring peace to your tent. Kiss his hand, it will protect you. 
 Shower blessings on his head, for God has sent you a savior 
 in him whom he has chosen from all the world. So let it 6e.* 
 
 " This is what the wise men said to us, and thou hast made 
 their words true by chasing away the lion by thy presence 
 only. But we are all children of the same Adam, and it is 
 not riglit that one tribe should monopolize thy presence at 
 the expense of others who come to pray for the same pro- 
 tection. ^ Follow us to our douars, where thy coming is 
 awaited by great and small, and where they told us at part- 
 ing, don't come back unless you bring him with you." 
 
 " I will go with you," I said, rising, " under one promise, 
 and that is that you will show me the lion within eight days, 
 being the time fixed for my return to camp." 
 
 They promised everything, and I set out with my heart 
 full of hope. 
 
 El Archioua, the country I was going to explore, is situated 
 between the two rivers, the Ouled-bou-Sousa and the Ouled- 
 Aliah ; its aspect is equally wild, as the district I have before 
 described. 
 
 On my arrival at the douars of Archioua I was received 
 with open arms, and the reins of my horse were seized by a 
 tumultuous and noisy multitude, that disputed for the honor 
 of my entertainment; but I gave the preference to the Arab 
 who had told the pathetic tale of the loss of his mare. 
 
 If the men were full of joy and enthusiasm at my arrival, 
 it was not the same with the women of the tribe, who did not 
 conceal their suspicion, and under a thousand pretexts came 
 to look at me through the curtains of the tent. More than 
 once my attentive ear was greeted with the sound of the 
 word, roumi, which I had supposed no longer applicable to 
 me. If some of the women said among themselves, " Poor 
 young fellow, he is going to be devoured ;" others did not 
 
My FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 255 
 
 endeavor to conceal their dissatisfaction in seeing a Nazarene 
 in their tents, and gave evil prophecies for my success. 
 
 This constant aversion of the women was of the less conse- 
 quence to me, now that I had the good opinion of the men, 
 yet nevertheless I anxiously looked forward to the time when 
 I should command their respect. 
 
 Accordingly, I told Bou-Aziz that we would start in an 
 hour so as to spend as much of the seven remaining days as 
 possible on the mountains. He seemed anxious in regard to 
 the manner that we should live in the woods, but I told hira 
 we could take our customary supply of cakes and dates, and 
 if this did not suffice for him, that there were a plenty of 
 douars in the neighborhood of the hills where he might go 
 to get a more substantial meal. This pleased him well, and 
 he immediately commenced preparations for our departure 
 together with our host, who had made up his mind to 
 accompany us. 
 
 I was a spectator of a curious scene that took place 
 between the latter gentleman and the ladies of his household, 
 who in no wise relished his intended departure. 
 
 At the moment that he was taking out his gun from its 
 cover in his tent, seated quietly by my side, one of his wives 
 bounded like a panther out of that portion of the tent reserved 
 for females into the place where we were seated, and before 
 the husband could comprehend the reason of this act, so con- 
 trary to all Arab ideas of propriety, she had snatched the gun 
 from his hands and had escaped into her own apartment. 
 
 The husband glanced at me from under his turban, to see 
 what I thought of this novel proceeding, but I acted as 
 though I had not seen it, and continued my preparations. 
 
 He then lifted the curtain that separated the two apart- 
 ments, and passed into his wife's chamber. I now heard a 
 veiy animated discussion arising between the two spouses. 
 The husband wanted his gun, but the lady remained firm 
 saying, "You are mad, let this dog of a Christian give him- 
 
256 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 self as food to the lion, since he has not father nor mother, 
 nor wife nor children ; but you, you shall not go. 
 
 " Therefore, because he is childless he ought to revenge me 
 the loss of my beautiful mare ?" 
 
 " Oh ! this beautiful mare," cried several shrill voices at 
 once, " oh ! you ought to be revenged for its loss, since you 
 loved it more than us or your children, and since you lost 
 your head when you lost your horse." 
 
 " Will you hold your tongues, you dogs - of wives, and let 
 me have my gun and go ?" 
 
 " Go — go then," shrieked the women in a chorus, " and I 
 hope the lion will claw you well for it !" 
 
 The sound of half a dozen hea,vy blows followed this 
 Christian wish on the part of the ladies, and it appeared that 
 the correction was more efficacious than words, for in a 
 moment the injured husband appeared with his gun in one 
 hand and a big stick in the other. Nothing more was seen 
 of the ladies, although until we left the tent we heard nothing 
 but sobs and moans from the canvas Eden. 
 
 One hour after we were in the forest, and as the night 
 came on apace, had taken our position by the side of a path, 
 when a distant roll of thunder, that needed no interpretation, 
 came to our ears. 
 
 " It is at Bou-Sousa," said Bou-Aziz, " the very country we 
 came from yesterday." 
 
 It was two good hours' walk from where we were to where 
 the lion was roaring, yet I said to my companions that I 
 would go there, either with them or alone. They told me 
 there were two rivers to cross ; I said they would have nothing 
 to wet but their shirts, and so we set off at a fast walk. 
 
 On arriving at the first gulley, my guides offered their 
 services to pull off my boots and pantaloons, but I answered 
 their ofler by walking through the water which in the deepest 
 place came up to my armpits. While wading I heard one 
 of the men say to the other, 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 257 
 
 " This devil of a Christian will drown us like two dogs in 
 the dark" 
 
 " Your wives were right in stopping you," answered Bou- 
 Aziz, laughing, " and you will find after you have followed 
 him for a week, that you will be twenty pounds the lighter." 
 
 This conversation, carried on in the midst of the river, was 
 interrupted by a singular encounter, which I will mention as 
 a curious incident of African travel. 
 
 When mounting the bank of the river I had looked all 
 around me at every bush and stone, to guard again-st any 
 surprise. For a moment, while stepping up the bank, I caught 
 sight of a thick-set tree growing in our path, when I thouglit 
 I remarked it moving to the right. A moment after, I saw 
 the same tree, and it seemed to move to the left. But in a 
 moment more, the question could not be decided at all, for 
 the tree had altogether disappeared. 
 
 I halted till Bou-Aziz came to my side, when I communi- 
 cated to him what I had seen, and he said, 
 
 " They are night robbers, let us straight at the dogs." 
 
 A rather curious name I thought for my friend to apply to 
 gentlemen of his own profession. 
 
 In a moment we were on the spot when the tree had dis- 
 appeared, and we found it lying flat on the ground. It was 
 a beautiful mastic, about twelve feet in height and bearing 
 thick-set branches from the root to the top. While I was 
 walking around this peripatetic plant, trying to make out 
 what manner of tree it might be, it suddenly arose to its feet, 
 if feet it had, and two men perfectly naked and without 
 any weapons, walked out from under it, and politely bowing, 
 said to us, " Peace be with you." 
 
 " Do you understand all that ?" I said to Bou-Aziz, who 
 was standing by, regarding these novel travellers with a dis- 
 dainful air. 
 
 " No," he said, " we will just strangle them or shoot them 
 as you please, which shall it be ?" 
 
258 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 "Oh, you don't want our lives," said the poor devils, falling 
 at ray feet, " you couldn't do that. We are saved when we 
 can touch your dress, for you are the Roman who hunts the 
 lion, and you would not slay defenceless men." 
 
 " Defenceless, eh ! What is this, then ?" said Bou-Aziz, 
 who threw out from the branches of the tree a pistol with a 
 barrel about a foot in length. 
 
 " Oh ! it is not mine," cried out one of the marauders, " it 
 isn't mine, I will swear by the head of the Roman." 
 
 " Nor mine," said the other, throwing a glance of disdain, 
 and the epithet of traitor and coward, at his companion in 
 misfortune. 
 
 At this instant Bou-Aziz drew a second pistol out of the 
 ambulating tree, then two cartridge-boxes, and then a bunch 
 of false keys to open the hopples that are used to fasten 
 horses, and lastly two poniards. 
 
 "And this!" called out Bou-Aziz, at every new discovery. 
 
 " Not ours — not ours," repeated the marauders, swearing to 
 the truth of their assertion, now by the head of the Roman, 
 and now by the head of the Nazarene. 
 
 " You are infamous liars, not worthy of the least pity, and 
 you are to follow us that you may be sent to-morrow to the 
 camp at Guelma," I said, as I shook off their embraces. 
 
 " We don't lie," they cried louder than ever, in piteous 
 accents, " these arms are not ours, they were loaned to us." 
 
 This subterfuge appeared so comical, that I could not resist 
 laughing, and the fellows seeing my amusement became more 
 pressing than ever. 
 
 " You are wrong," said Bou-Aziz, " for these hyenas would 
 have devoured you had they met you alone." 
 
 " Coward ! You don't know what a night robber is, you 
 dare not go abroad except in the day-time or by moon- 
 light," said one of the marauders, placing himself fiercely 
 before Bou-Aziz. 
 
 ^' You were sucking your mother's milk when I was chief 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 259 
 
 of the cloud," retorted haughtily Bou-Aziz. " And I was 
 born son of Bou-RMJah." 
 
 " Oh pardon," cried the marauder, abasing himself to the 
 earth, " I know thee by name but have never seen thee, thou 
 are greater than we, and we are but children before thee. 
 Yet believe us, young as we are, we look on the Roman as 
 the lord of the night. Wherever we meet him we give way 
 for him, and he might kill us all without our ever hurting a 
 hair of his head." 
 
 To the great regret of Bou-Aziz, who wanted very much to 
 keep them, I returned the weapons to the men, upon the con- 
 dition that I should not hear from them while in/ the country, 
 and that they would engage to keep their comrades out of 
 my path under pain of being shot down without pity. 
 
 " Thank you, master," they replied in parting, " the hunter 
 of the lion is equal to the lion, and we are only jackals." A 
 few minutes after, we could hear them calling in the distance, 
 ^^ Bahnadie ha., we are only jackals." 
 
 We still kept on our way, although I had not heard the 
 lion roar for some time, and asked Bou-Aziz what it meant. 
 He said that he was preparing at that moment to attack some 
 douar, but that we would be soon informed of his presence by 
 the sound of the dogs and hurrahs. 
 
 So we continued our course, talking of the adventure we 
 had just met, and I asked Bou-Aziz to explain the use the 
 marauders made of the tree. He said that it was a ruse to 
 approach the douars without being observed, and to escape 
 notice of other gentlemen of the same profession, whom they 
 might encounter in numbers greater than their own. Those 
 sportsmen who have ever made use of the artificial tree, or 
 the walking hut, which is in use in some parts of France, 
 can readily understand the utility of such a ruse on the plains 
 of Algeria. 
 
 " But how do they avoid the lions ?" I asked of Bou-Aziz. 
 
 "Will the master harm his own servants?" he replied. 
 
260 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " Are the robbers then servants to the lion ?" 
 
 " When he encounters thera with booty he takes what suits 
 him best, when he meets them empty handed he makes them 
 work for him." 
 
 " But how does the lion recognize his servants." 
 
 " By their toilet. Those who have no shirt he can recog- 
 nize a league off. Those who wear only a shirt he can see 
 half a league off; those who wear more than a shirt he does 
 not recognize at all, and eats them or kills them with 
 fright." 
 
 It was about one o'clock in the morning when we reached 
 the banks of the Ouled-bou-Sousa, which we crossed in the 
 same manner as the first river. As we approached the 
 douars, we found the Arabs all asleep, the dogs quiet, and 
 nothing visible but the fires that were burning at a douar a 
 little way off, to which I sent Bou-Aziz to find out some 
 news. 
 
 " There is nothing for us to do," he said on returning, 
 followed by several Arabs, " but to go back where we came 
 from. This douar that offers us hospitality has been visited 
 by the lion, and as he has not roared since, we cannot tell 
 the way he has gone." 
 
 I had resolved not to enter a tent during the whole of my 
 leave of absence, and so after my two comrades had been to 
 the douar to get some refreshment, we returned to the edge 
 of the forest to await the coming of daylight, and return of 
 the wild animals that were roaming the plain. This day, as 
 on the others, we could overlook the defile of wild game of 
 every kind escaping from the light and heat of the plain to 
 the dusky woods. A spectacle full of interest for the hunter, 
 and that brought to my mind the lines of my friend Leon 
 Bertrand : 
 
 When sun-rise gemmed the prairie grass, 
 The loitering stags to covert pass. 
 With lithesome step they track'd the dew, 
 While herald birds before thera flew, 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 261 
 
 And bowed their crests where sunshine lay, 
 
 In golden bars across their way. 
 
 A stately march to music free 
 
 That chimed beneath the forest tree ! 
 
 But alas ! the sad disappointment was repeated, and I 
 counted all these beasts of the desert and plain, stags with 
 their kingly crowns, and beasts of prey, mingled with wild 
 hogs and tapirs, but the king of beasts was not there. 
 
 I spent the whole of my remaining time in the woods, 
 sleeping during the day in thickets, and at night beating up 
 the paths frequented by the lion, until my leave of absence 
 had expired, when I returned to the camp at Guelma. 
 
 The next day and the day following, the complaints of the 
 Arabs came to the camp more numerous than ever, and it 
 was by reason of their importunity that I had granted to me 
 another leave of absence for five days, that was told meshould 
 be my last. 
 
 For the first few days and nights the lion seemed to be 
 hidden in the earth. I was at my wits' end, when a shepherd 
 came to me, saying that the cattle he was tending upon the 
 edge of the woods had scented the lion, and had run in a 
 great fright to the douar. 
 
 It was about five o'clock when this news was brought 
 me, and it took two hours to reach the designated place. I 
 sent back the horses with the Arabs who accompanied us, 
 and kept with me only Bou-Aziz, a native spahi named Ben- 
 Oumbark, and a dog that bore the glorious cognomen of 
 Lion. 
 
 While riding, I had carried my gun by a strap on my 
 shoulder, and when I was about loading it, I discovered that 
 the hammer of the left barrel had dropped ofl", therefore 
 I could only make a single shot. This discovery was 
 exceedingly mortifying, and at another time might have 
 made me hesitate about risking an encounter, but as it was 
 my last day of absence, I would do my best as I was, and 
 leave the rest to fate. I loaded the right barrel of my riflo 
 
262 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 with the greatest care, and selected a place to await for the 
 awaking of the lion. 
 
 Already night drew the curtains of the earth. Distant 
 objects disappeared, and nearer ones assumed a dusky hue 
 while the shadows blackened in the forests, under the cork 
 trees. I knew that there was no moon that night, and yet 
 each minute shortened the twilight, and nothing announced the 
 coming of the lion, unless perchance it might be the absence 
 of the wild boars that were usually rooting in the forest glades. 
 
 I can hardly tell the anguish and anxiety that tortured my 
 mind. I counted, and recounted the days that had passed 
 since I left the camp, and I came to the conclusion that I 
 must go back on the morrow, and this time with no hope of 
 ever trying the chase again. 
 
 My companions, harassed by dangers, and worn out with 
 fatigues, were anxious to avoid passing the night in beating the 
 mountain paths, and had risen from the turf where they were 
 stretched, with the intention of leaving. Bou-Aziz pointed to 
 the stars that were already burning brightly in the sky, and 
 said: 
 
 " It is too late to meet him here, he has already left the 
 woods for the plains by some other path." 
 
 I could not bear to leave, though I saw my companions 
 shoulder their guns, and start. 
 
 " You can go," I said, " I will follow you by and by." 
 
 They had hardly taken ten steps when the heavy roar 
 of the lion sounded in the ravine below. I was so wild 
 with delight that, not thinking of the condition of my gun, 
 I sprang into the woods to run straight to the lion, followed 
 by my two comrades. When the sound ceased I paused to 
 wait. 
 
 Bou-Aziz and Ben-Oumbark were close on my heels, pale 
 as two spirits, and gesticulating to each other that I had 
 gone mad. In few a moments more the lion roared again, 
 about a hundred paces distant, when I rushed forward in 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 263 
 
 the direction of the sound, with the impetuosity of a wild 
 boar, instead of the prudence of a hunter. 
 
 When the roar ceased, I made another halt in a small 
 opening, where I was rejoined by my two companions. The 
 dog, that until then did not seem to understand what was 
 required of him, threw up his nose in the air, and with his 
 bristles raised, and his tail low, commenced taking a scent 
 that he followed into the woods. In a little while after, he 
 came runing back, all doubled up with fear, and crouched 
 himself directly between my legs. 
 
 In a moment more I heard heavy steps on the leaves that 
 carpeted the woods, and the rubbing of a large body against 
 the trees that bounded the clearing. I knew it was the lion, 
 that had risen from his lair, and was coming right to where 
 we stood. 
 
 Bou-Aziz and the spahi stood with their guns to their 
 shoulders, awiting the coming struggle with firm hearts. I 
 motioned them to a mastic tree, a few steps behind me, 
 enjoining them with my hand to remain there. 
 
 These brave fellows were deserving of the highest honor, 
 for in spite of their mortal fear, they would not leave me 
 alone. You may call this kind of courage by what name 
 you please, but I consider it one of the strongest tests of a 
 man's mind to remain a quiet spectator of a doubtful combat, 
 when his own life depends upon the issue. 
 
 The lion slowly approached, and I could measure with my 
 senses the distance that separated us. Now I heard his steps 
 — now his rustling against the trees — and now his heavy and 
 regular breathing. I stepped one or two paces further for- 
 ward, towards the edge of the opening, where he was to come 
 out, to have as close a shot as possible. 
 
 I could still hear his steps at thirty paces distant, then at 
 twenty, then at fifteen, and yet I was all the while afraid lest 
 he might turn back, or in some manner avoid me, or that my 
 gun might miss fire. 
 
204 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 What if he should turn aside ? what if he should not come 
 out of the woods ? With every new soun d, my heart beat 
 in heavy throbs with the intoxication of hope. Now all the 
 life in my body rushed through my veins, then again my very 
 life was stilled by the emotion. 
 
 The lion, after a momentary pause, that appeared to me an 
 age, started again, and I could see the slender tops of a tree, 
 whose base he brushed, trembling as he passed almost within 
 sight. Now, no more barrier between me and him, but the 
 thick foliage a single tree. 
 
 I glanced at the sight on my gun, it was barely visible ; 
 thanks to the lingering day, that still hung on the horizon, the 
 transparency of the air, and the stars that were already burn- 
 ing ab oveme. This was enough for a close shot, and I 
 stepped still further ahead that I might have a nearer 
 mark. 
 
 But still the animal did not show himself, and I began to 
 fear lest he should have the instinct of my presence, and, 
 instead of walking slowly out, would clear the mastic tree 
 with a single bound. 
 
 As if to justify my fears, he commenced growling, at first 
 with two or three guttural sighs, and then increasing to the 
 full force of his voice. 
 
 Fellow hunter, it is for you I am writing. You only can 
 understand and feel my emotions. There in the solemn 
 forest at ni^ht, standing alone in front of a thicket from 
 whence are coming roars that would drown the roll of the 
 thunder. I thought of my single ball to hurl against a foe 
 that has the strength of a hundred men in his single arm, 
 and that kills without mercy when he is not killed himself. 
 
 You can truly say that if I had counted on my own 
 strength that my heart would then have been troubled, my 
 eye dim, and my hand trembling. I confess that those roars 
 made me feel my own littleness, and that without a firm will 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 265 
 
 and an absolute confidence founded upon that Arm that is ever 
 around us and supports us, I would have faltered and failed. 
 But instead of that I could hear that roar so near me without 
 a fear, and to the last remained the master of my own heart 
 and the director of my actions. 
 
 When I heard the lion making his last steps I moved a 
 little to one side. 
 
 His enormous head came out from the dense foliage, as he 
 stepped with a commanding grace into the light of the open 
 glade, and then he halted half exposed, half concealed ; while 
 his great eyes dilated on me with a look of astonishment. I 
 took my aim between the eye and ear, and pressed the 
 trigger. 
 
 From that instant until the report of the piece, my heart 
 absolutely ceased to beat 
 
 With the explosion of the gun, the smoke shut out every- 
 thing from my view, but a long roar of agony stunned my 
 ear, and frightened the forest. 
 
 My two Arabs sprung to their feet, but without moving 
 from their places. I waited with one knee on the ground, 
 and my poniard in my hand, until the smoke that obscured 
 the view should dissipate. 
 
 Then I saw, gradually, first a paw — and, heavens ! what a 
 paw for a living beast — then a shoulder, then the dishevelled 
 mane, and at last the whole lion stretched out on his side 
 without sign of life. 
 
 " Beware ! don't go near him !" shouted Bou-Aziz, as he 
 threw a large stone at the body ; it fell on his head and 
 bounced off; he did not move, the lion was dead. 
 
 That was the evening of the eighth of July, one thousand 
 eight hundred and forty-four. 
 
 Without giving me time to approach my prize, the Arabs 
 sprang upon me like two madmen, and I was nearly thrown 
 down and crushed by their transports of joy and gratitude. 
 
 12 
 
2G6 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 After me it came the lion's turn ; and they overwhehnocl him 
 with recriminations and blows, and then from time to time 
 fired their guns in the air to spread the glad tidings to the 
 distant douars. After they had leaped and gambolled, and 
 hurrahed over the animal, I was permitted to draw near him, 
 and examine him at ray ease, to look at the size of his teeth, 
 and to measure the strength of liis limbs, and place my hand 
 on his tawny mane. I had no difficulty in recognizing him 
 by the Arab description of the venerable. 
 
 To give an idea of this lion, it will suffice me to say that 
 the united strength of us three men was not sufficient to turn 
 him over as he lay, and that his head was so heavy that I could 
 scarcely lift it from the earth. 
 
 With the echoes from the reports of my companions' guns, 
 came the distant sound of musketry ; now here and now 
 there, as the signal was rung from douar to douar, around 
 the whole base of the mountain, until at last it was a general 
 fusillade. In about an hour, the Arabs came in on foot and 
 horseback, hurrying forward to touch and insult a foe that 
 had chilled their very souls while living. After great eflbrts, 
 we at length were enabled to put the lion on two mules, 
 placed side by side, and in this manner marched down the 
 mountain. It was about midnight when we reached the . 
 douar, and made our triumphal entry by the light of huge 
 bonfires with the sound of music and of guns, and the women 
 chanting the war-song to the clapping of their hands. The 
 body of the fallen king was laid out in state on a mat between 
 two fires, and the vv^hole population of the country marched 
 in front of him in stately procession, that they might admire 
 and apostrophize the mighty dead, and all night long and 
 until the sunrise of the morrow, high revel and a royal wake 
 was held in all the tents for the lion of El Archioua. 
 
 Early in the morning I left for Guelma, accompanied by a 
 thousand heartfelt benedictions. The hatred of the women 
 
MY FIIIST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 267 
 
 had fallen with the lion, and now they were more grateful 
 and ardent in their affection than the men, and they all 
 desired to enrich me by gifts of cattle and herds. The 
 proposition that was made to me by the Arabs reminded me 
 of a custom in force in some of the departments of France, 
 where a hunter who has killed a wolf is in the habit of 
 marching from village to village, and the farmers and culti- 
 vators pay a tribute as he passes. 
 
 The Arabs wanted me before leaving, to visit all the douars 
 scourged by the lion in order to receive a beef from every 
 tent. The offer was made in perfect good faith, as they 
 proposed to commence with themselves, and to send horse- 
 men with me to drive my herds into Guelraa after the body 
 of the lion. 
 
 I could have entered the city that evening if I had accepted 
 their generous offer, with a thousand head of horned cattle 
 bellowing victory. I preferred entering with my lion. 
 
 You were a rich man to refuse this gift worth a hundred 
 thousand francs, I hear you say. 
 
 Heavens ! no, I was poor as Job ; but does not a pay- 
 ment destroy the worth of a good act ? Yes, or no, I have 
 refused the same offer a hundred times since then, and never 
 yet regretted my decision. 
 
 Nevertheless, we marched on towards Guelraa as fast as 
 the weight of the lion, the resistance of the frightened ani- 
 mals that carried it, and the curiosity of the thousands of 
 Arabs who came out to see the cortege, would permit. 
 Already the distant walls of the city arose from the sandy 
 plain, when I saw a horseman coming at full run, with a man 
 behind him on the crupper. Having reached the procession, 
 the man mounted behind slid to the earth, and I recognized 
 the old-man to whom I had promised the lion's beard, who 
 had come to demand the honor. 
 
 The execution was had on the spot, and I was as happy in 
 
268 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 being able to keep my word, as the old fellow seemed to be 
 in possessing so great a treasure. 
 
 Upon our arrival in Guelma, the lion was exposed as a 
 curiosity to the inhabitants of the city, and finally skinned, 
 divided and «aten by my comrades. 
 
 This lion was so large as to produce a curious impression 
 on the mind of the spectator, which my friend Valle, an offi- 
 cer in the regiment at Guelma at that time, who is speaking 
 to me as I write these lines, just recalls to me. 
 
 All those who called to see the body in the place where it 
 was deposited, when they returned to it again, found it larger 
 and more beautiful and majestic than before, and I, who had 
 not lost it from sight for a moment since it marched out of the 
 woods in front of me, whenever the crowd shut it from my 
 sight for a few moments, was equally astonished to find how 
 it had grown. 
 
 There was another remarkable fact connected with this 
 lion, which was one of the red species. 
 
 The body had been placed in the barrack where the spahis 
 lodged, and it was here that it was skinned and cut in pieces, 
 but although the doors were kept carefully closed, yet for 
 several days the horses and mules that were accustomed to 
 be led past this building to water, absolutely refused to come 
 near it, and exhibited the utmost signs of terror, and the very 
 horsemen who were coming into the city from the plain, 
 were stopped short by this invisible " lion in the path." 
 
 A few days afterwards, I was summoned to Bone, to receive 
 from the hands of General Randon, a rifle that was sent me 
 as a gift by his royal highness the Duke d'Aumale, and my 
 captain, to whom I had given the skin of the lion while he 
 was still alive, gave me a double-barrel rifle to use in my 
 future hunts. 
 
 On my return to Guelma, I saw that I had already become 
 an object of interest to the eyes of the Arabs, who came all 
 
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 269 
 
 the way from the mountains expressly to see me, "and who 
 already had commenced speaking of me as JBou-Sioud, or 
 Katel-Sioud^ the Lion's Master, or the Lion Killer. 
 
 I was, however, only a novice in the art. I desired the 
 chance to better merit the title, and that chance was not 
 long in coming. 
 
270 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 AN EXCURSION IN THE MAHOUNA COUNTRY. 
 
 MY SECOND LION. 
 
 On the 4tli of August, 1844, T received an invitation from 
 the inhabitants of Mahouna, the lion's paradise, that I imme- 
 diately accepted, and the setting sun saw me dismount at the 
 douar that had called me. 
 
 Having found the village surrounded by immense piles of 
 light wood arranged for the reception of the lion, that paid 
 them nightly calls, I forbade their being lit, and immediately 
 selected the place I intended to occupy, to wayky him that 
 very night, in case he should come as usual to depredate on 
 the herds. 
 
 The douar was placed upon a plateau of land overlooking 
 the surrounding country, and was surrounded by a hedge 
 eight feet in height. As the lion cleared this hedge some- 
 times from one side, and sometimes from another, and as the 
 place was of large circumference, it was difficult to tell with 
 any certainty from what side the attack would be made. 
 At last, by careful searching, I found the route by which the 
 animal usually came, and took my seat directly in his path, 
 to the great terror of the Arabs, who said : " Don't remain 
 there, he will walk right over you." 
 
AX EXCURSION IN THE MAHOUNA COUNTRY. ^ 2*71 
 
 Seeing that I did not attend to their solicitations, they 
 hastened to bring me mats and cushions, and in a few 
 moments afterwards, a smoking repast was placed by the 
 side of tlie couch that was to serve me for the night, and as 
 tlie ogre^ as the Arabs called their guest, would not arrive 
 before midnight, they did me the honor of their company 
 until the apprehension of his visit caused their retreat. This 
 was a sort of lion soiree, where every one brought his tale 
 more or less tragic, illustrating some of the misdeeds of the 
 lion. 
 
 AVhile waiting until our hero shall come upon the scene, I 
 will give my readers one of the stories that was told that 
 night, and that has remained in my brain while the many 
 are long since forgotten. The written tale will lack to the 
 reader the wild dress and gesture of the speaker, the curious 
 circle of listening figures, with the women in the background^ 
 the white tents of the douar, and the flood of moonlight that 
 bathed all in beauty, and lent a double interest to the young. 
 Arab's words. 
 
 Thus ran the story : 
 
 On the desert, when an Arab, the owner of a large tent, 
 marries a wife, he bids all the world to the wedding, and the 
 guests all go to the bride's tent to conduct her to her new 
 home. ■ The girl is carried in a palanquin, and the guests 
 march by her side, making the night gay with music, and a 
 general fusillade. 
 
 But as all men do not herd the same number of cattle, so 
 all marriages are not alike. If one is honored by a great 
 cortege, and gay cavaliers, rich in trappings and well-earned 
 name, caracole by . the side of the future spouse ; another 
 groom may not have the means even to pay the fiddler tliat 
 makes the music. 
 
 Small, a young warrior of our tribe, belonged to this latter 
 class, and his last crown had been spent to endow his bride. 
 
272 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 His retinue was confined to his near relatives, and on the aus- 
 picious day, he came on foot to the tent of his future father- 
 in-law, like a very peasant. 
 
 Here the brave couple, and their friends, feasted on mutton 
 and couscoussou, and when the repast was done, they fired 
 away with powder and ball, taking care to reserve enough to 
 use, in case of need, on their way home. They did not take 
 the precaution to sign the marriage contract, for not one of 
 the party could write even his own name, and the evening 
 coming on, they separated with mutual good fellowship, and 
 well wishes for the future. 
 
 The douar of the husband was only a lengue and a half 
 away ; it was a bright moonlight evening, and the party num- 
 bered nine guns — what was there to make them afraid ? But 
 is it not when the tent is the gayest, that trouble draws the 
 curtain and steps in at the door 
 
 Truly, the good people were gay, and as they returned, in 
 merry mood, they sang as they frolicked over the sand • 
 
 Allez-vous-en, gens de la noce, 
 Allez-vous-en, chacun chez tous. 
 
 Smail walked at the head of the procession, with his dark- 
 eyed wife, and his head was bent, and his voice was low, 
 whispering soft promises of the pleasures that were awaiting 
 them under his tent. His friends were behind, discreetly loi- 
 tering at a little distance, and from time to time, their guns 
 awoke the echoes among the distant hills. All went merry as 
 a ^arri age-bell. 
 
 But on a sudden, the devil, who had not been bidden to the 
 wedding, presented himself before them, in the shape of an 
 enonnous lion, and crouched down in the very path of the 
 procession. 
 
 What was to be done ? 
 
 They were half between the two douars, and it was equally 
 
AN EXCURSION IN THE MAHOUNA COUNTRY. 2Y3 
 
 dangerous to return as to advance. The occasion to win the 
 devotion of his wife for ever, was too tempting to Smail, 
 to allow it to pass. The guns were all loaded with ball, 
 the bride was placed in the middle of a hollow square 
 formed by the guests, brave men all, and the escort marched 
 on, led by the bridegroom. They came to within thirty 
 paces of the lion, and yet he had not moved. 
 
 Smail ordered the party to halt, and then, saying to his 
 wife, "Judge if you have married a man or not," he 
 walked straight up to the wild beast, summoning him in a 
 loud voice to clear the road. 
 
 At twenty paces, the lion raised his monstrous head, and 
 prepared to spring. 
 
 Smail, in spite of the cries of his wife, and the entreaties of 
 his friends, who counselled a retreat, bent one knee to the 
 earth, took aim, and fired. 
 
 The lion, wounded by the shot, sprang on the husband, 
 hurled him to the earth, and tore him in pieces in the twink- 
 ling of an eye, and then charged the group, in the middle of 
 which stood the bride. 
 
 " Let no one fire," shouted the father of Smail, until he is 
 within gun's length." 
 
 But where is the man who is strong enough at heart to 
 await, with a firm foot and steady band, this thunderbolt" of 
 hell that is called a lion, when, with flowing mane, blazing 
 eye, and open mouth, he charges on him with immense 
 bounds ? All fired at once, without regarding whither their 
 balls went, and the lion fell on the group, dashing them 
 hither and thither, breaking the bones and tearing the flesh 
 of all he found within, his reach. 
 
 Nevertheless, some escaped, carrying with them the bride 
 half dead with terror. In a moment more, and the lion w;is 
 after them : there was no refuge and no defence, and the 
 wounded beast seized and tore to pieces one after the other, 
 
 n* 
 
274 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 until but one was left of all the party. He, more fortunate 
 than the others, reached the foot of a steep rock on which he 
 placed the w^oman, and then began climbing up after her. 
 He had already reached twice the height of a horseman, 
 when the lion gained the foot of the rock as furious as ever. 
 With a single bound he seized the unfortunate man by the 
 leg, and dragged him backwards to the ground, while the 
 woman reached the summit of the rock from whose inacces- 
 sible height she watched the horrible spectacle — the death 
 agony of the last of her defenders. After one or two unsuc- 
 cessful bounds', the lion returned to the dead body of his last 
 victim," and commenced mangling and tearing it in small 
 pieces, in revenge for the loss of the poor wife that looked 
 down at him from above. 
 
 The rest of the night passed slowly away to the lonely 
 woman. AVhen the morning dawned, the lion retired to the 
 mountain, but he departed reluctantly, and not without stop- 
 ping and returning more than once with a covetous whine, for 
 the cowerino' bride he left behind him. A few moments 
 after he had gone, a group of cavaliers appeared on the plain. 
 The widow of Small without any voice to call, waved her 
 bridal veil as a signal of distress. They came to her at a 
 gallop, and carried her to her father's tent, where she died the 
 next night at the hour of the wedding. 
 
 That was the Arab's story ; but I will omit the exclamations, 
 taunts, and reproaches, that were hurled at the murderer 
 after it was finished. One after the other, they told their dif- 
 ferent tales, and it was not until late that the party broke up, 
 the Arabs to return to their tents with many God's blessings 
 for my success, and I to remain on the watch, with a native 
 corporal of the spahis, named Saadi-bou-Nar, whose brother 
 was Sheik of this country. 
 
 My comrade was armed with a government carbine, and I 
 with the double-barrel rifle given to me by Captain Durand. 
 
AN EXCURSION IN THE MAHOUNA COUNTRY. 2*75 
 
 The path on which we were lying, ascended the steep hill 
 side, from a densely-wooded ravine, where the Hon kept him- 
 self by day, to the high plateau on which the douar was 
 placed. If he should follow his accustomed path, coming up 
 from the ravine, T would be able to have my shot at him 
 from above ; if on the contrary he should gain the douar by 
 some other route, I would be beneath him. In this uncer- 
 tainty I took my position so that I could see through the 
 cork wood trees either above or below me, and would have a 
 free sight in either direction for about thirty paces. 
 
 At about one o'clock in the morning, Saadi-bou-Nar, but 
 little accustomed to these niglit watches, plead guilty to being 
 very sleepy, and stretched himself out behind mc, where, to 
 do him justice, he slept most soundly. I know a great many 
 men who, in spite of their greater pretensions to bravery, 
 would not have done as much in such a place, at such a time 
 as this. I had taken the precaution to have all the dogs tied 
 up under the tents so as to quiet their customary clamor, and 
 now in the midst of the dead silence around me, I could 
 detect the faintest noise or motion. Up to this time the 
 heavens had been serene, and the moon clear, but soon clouds 
 gathered in the west and came scudding past before a warm 
 sultry wind a little later, the sky was all overcast, the moon 
 was gone, and the thunder rolled around us in heavy peals, 
 announcing a coming tempest. Then the rain fell in torrents, 
 and drenching my companions they awoke, and we consulted 
 for a moment about returning to the douar. But while we 
 were talking, an Arab called from the camp, " Beware, the 
 lion will come with- the storm!" 
 
 It is needless to say that this decided me to remain at my 
 post, and I covered the locks of my gun with the skirts of my 
 coat, while Saadi-bou-Nar draped himself in his burnous with 
 the heroic resignation of a beaver. Soon the rain ceased, like 
 all rains that accompany a thunder gust, and we only saw its 
 
2*76 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 passage by the lightning that tracked the distant horizon, 
 and the moon, more brilliant than ever, came in and out 
 from the fleecy clouds over our heads. I took advantage of 
 every one of these short instants of clear sky to survey the 
 country about me, and to sound each clump of trees or fallen 
 log, and it was in one of these brief moments that all of a 
 sudden I thought I saw the lion, I waited breathless till the 
 moon came out again. Yes, by Jove ! it was he, standing 
 motionless only a few paces from the douar. 
 
 Accustomed to see fires lighted at every tent, to hear a 
 hundred dogs barking in terror, and to see the men of the 
 douar hurling lighted brands at him, he, without doubt, was 
 at a loss to explain the rather suspicious silence that reigned 
 around him. 
 
 While I was turning slowly around in order to take better 
 aim, without being seen by the animal, a cloud shut out the 
 moon. I was seated with my left elbow on my knee, my 
 rifle at my shoulder, watching by turns the lion that I only 
 recognized as a confused mass, and the passing cloud, whose 
 length I anxiously regarded. 
 
 At last the scud passed, and the moonlight, dearer to me 
 than the most beautiful sunshine, illuminated the picture, 
 and again showed me the lion • still standing in the same 
 place. 
 
 I saw him the better as he was so much raised above me, 
 and he loomed up proudly magnificent, standing as he was 
 in majestic repose, with his head high in air, and his flowing 
 mane undulating in the wind, and falling to his knees. It 
 was a black lion of noble form and the largest size. As he 
 presented his side to me, I aimed just behind his shoulder, 
 ;ind fired. 
 
 I heard a fierce roar of mingled pain and rage echoing up 
 the hills with the report of my gun, and then frpna under the 
 smoke, I saw the lion bounding upon me. 
 
AX EXCURSION TO THE MAHOUNA COUNTRY. 2*7 7 
 
 Saadi-bou-Nar, roused the second time that night from his 
 slumbers, sprang to his gun, and was about to fire over my 
 shoulder. With a motion of mj arm I pushed aside the 
 barrel of his gun, and when the beast, still roaring furiously, 
 was within three steps of me, I fired my second barrel 
 directly in his breast. 
 
 Before I could seize my companion's gun, the lion rolled 
 at my feet, bathing them in the blood that leaped in torrents 
 from his throat. 
 
 He had fallen dead so near me, that I could have touched 
 him from where I stood. 
 
 At the first moment, I thought I was dreaming, and that 
 it was impossible that the huge bulk that lay motionless 
 before me, was the same animal that, endowed with super- 
 human strength, and vomiting peals of thunder, was just 
 before leaping through the air. But the cries of Saadi-bou- 
 Nar calling the Arabs of the douar, proved to me that it was 
 no dream. I cannot explain the reason, but the death of the 
 lion did not give me the same pleasure as that of my first 
 victim, but how could it be otherwise ? 
 
 In looking for my balls, 1 found the first one, the one that 
 had not killed, just behind the shoulder where I had intended 
 it to hit, and the second, that bad been fired in haste, and 
 almost at hazard, had been the one that was mortal. From 
 this moment I learned that it docs not suffice to aim cor- 
 rectly to kill a lion, and that it is a feat infinitely more 
 serious than I had at first supposed. 
 
 But slowly my pre-occupation became dissipated, and little 
 by little, as I contemplated the lordly grace of my victim 
 crouched at my feet in death, and heard the reports of mus- 
 ketry carrying the fame of my victory from camp to camp, I 
 became less thoughtful, and drank with pleasure the intoxi- 
 cating cup of success. 
 
 Nevertheless, I wondered at the lethargy of the Arabs, 
 
278 THE LION KILLEU. 
 
 who had not yet come out from their douar, but Saadi-bou- 
 Nar explained this apparent indifference, by saying that they 
 were afraid the lion was not yet dead. 
 
 It took about half an hour for them to decide to come out- 
 side of the hedge to bring me a vase of water I had called for, 
 and when three of the boldest had decided upon risking the 
 attempt, the following was the order of procession of this 
 prudent triumvirate, bound on their hazardous mission 
 
 First, an Arab walking slowly with the step of a cat, and 
 looking now on one side, and now on another, with his gun 
 to his shoulder, ready to fire at anything that moved. 
 
 Second, the water carrier with his llagon of water in one 
 hand, and the other holding on to the skirts of his leader's 
 burnous, stopping when he stopped, and advancing when he 
 advanced. 
 
 Third, the rear guard holding the burnous of his prede- 
 cessor in one hand, and brandishing a yataghan in the 
 other. 
 
 This was the order of march until they arrived within 
 sight of the lion, and then they called a halt, and Saadi-bou- 
 Nar was obliged to strike the body with his hand, before 
 they would altogether venture into the presence of his late 
 majesty. 
 
 // TtJy a que le premier pas quixoute, it is said, and the 
 result justified the motto, for in five minutes the people of the 
 douar, who had doubtless been watching the process, made a 
 a rush for the spot, and men, women, dogs and children (;ame 
 hurrying out to kiss the hand of the victor they formerly 
 despised, and insult the fallen greatness, that had ever made 
 them tremble in their very tents. 
 
 Before sunrise, the Arabs were coming in from every side, 
 with their families. I received that day hundreds of visitors, 
 carefully observing their gestures, and treasuring their words, 
 to guide me in my future intercourse with the people. At 
 
^ AN EXCURSION IN THE MAHOUNA COUNTRY. 279 
 
 one time an entire village arrived at once from the side of 
 the ravine. One man on horseback marched at the head of 
 the column as leader, the rest follovred, leading their mules 
 carrying their women and children. 
 
 I saw one mule loaded with five women, all astride, one 
 behind the other. The cavalier that led the troop, came on 
 boldly to within thirty paces of the lion, when his horse, 
 catching the scent, suddenly plunged so violently, that he 
 came near rolling the whole harem down the hill. The rider 
 and his wives dismounted, and the men came within ten 
 paces of the lion, while the women clustered behind, 
 impressed with the undefined terror that affected them 
 all. 
 
 It was a spectacle at once curious and instructive, to see 
 these men halting at a respectful distance before this animal, 
 that had been their scourge for a lifetime, and was now 
 motionless claj^ They took their seats on the ground, cross 
 legged, and in silence, with their women behind them, each 
 party grouping itself together around its chief. For a long 
 time not a word was said, their eyes only were eloquent, as 
 they moved from the lion to the hunter, and back again to 
 the lion. 
 
 There were men of all ages and conditions among this 
 multitude, and there was depicted on their countenances such 
 a melange of astonishment and fear, of admiration and 
 respect, that I was more touched by their mute homage, than 
 with the more noisy enthusiasm of the people of El-Archioua. 
 f had not left the spot since the night, and it was on the very 
 field of battle that each family advanced in turn to off'er me 
 its congratulations and thanks. ' 
 
 The men, with stately grace, kissed the hem of my burnous, 
 or my rifle that lay at my side, saying, " May God strengthen 
 your arm, and bless you." 
 
 The women kissed my hand, saying, " God bless the mother 
 
280 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 that bore you," or " May God make your wife fruitful and 
 happy." 
 
 While the men were examining the lion, the women 
 gathered around me, and asked a hundred questions at once, 
 about my country, my mother, and family. There were more 
 than fifty crowding around me, the same women, who a month 
 before would have fled from me as from a noxious beast, 
 whose very appearance was repulsive. Now they talked, and 
 wondered, and chatted with a mixture of familiarity and 
 respect, that they would not have shown even to one of their 
 own countrymen. 
 
 The mothers lifted up their children in their arms, that 
 they might touch me and kiss me, saying, " Don't be afraid, 
 he only harms the lion, he is our friend and our brother. 
 
 While the young girls, more timid at my presence, were 
 whispering among themselves, their mothers never ceased ask- 
 ing me questions, principally about my mother. They never 
 thought, dear souls, of all their demands and praises, there 
 was but one that touched my heart, and flattered me to 
 tears. 
 
 There were there around me beautiful faces, that were rarely 
 seen unveiled, above all, to my countrymen. There were 
 there hundreds of brave men, warriors all, crowding around, 
 and one after the other lauding my deeds with honest praise, 
 that would have exalted more modest souls than mine. Yet 
 with all that, I can say it with all sincerity, there were no 
 voices so sweet as those that named my mother's name, 
 that asked me her age, and when I had left her, if I ever 
 heard from her now when far away ; if I wanted to see her, 
 and if she was ever coming in their country, and that termi- 
 nated their questions by invoking a thousand blessings on 
 her honored head. 
 
 The death of the lion had truly been a blessing, since it 
 summoned up to my mind such pleasant remembrances of a 
 
AN EXCURSION IN THE MAHOUNA COUNTRY. 281 
 
 far-away home, and her I loved so dearly. No sweeter praise 
 could have been bestowed on the stranger — no greater triumph 
 could have been won from the hostile tribes. 
 
 The women desired, and I could not refuse their request, 
 some locks from the lion's mane, and to wear his heart, 
 which they wanted to divide among their boys, who would, 
 after eating it, become brave as the lion himself. 
 
 At noon the lion made his triumphal entry into Guelma, 
 and suffered the extreme penalty of the law : that is, he who 
 had devoured so many victims, was hung, drawn, and quar- 
 tered, and his flesh divided among the difi*erent cantonments 
 of soldiers, served that night on many a merry board, when 
 the soldier forgot his fatigues wiih song and wine, and talked 
 of hunts and razzias, and fought old battles o'er again. 
 
282 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE LION OF KROU-NEGA. 
 
 On my return to Guelma, my first care was to break the 
 fever that had driven me from the field. But this was a 
 difficult task, for the disease followed my path like a blood- 
 hound on a scent, until at last, towards the end of the month 
 of February, 1844, I concluded to go to Bone for a change of 
 air. 
 
 The first news that I heard after reaching this place, was 
 that my old friend, the black lion, was sacrificing a hecatomb 
 of beef for his weekly supplies, most of it taken from a fiirm 
 near the mosque of Sidi-Dendon. Although I was still 
 unwell, I sent for my arms that I had left at Guelma, and 
 started out from Bone with two rifles, intending to renew 
 liis acquaintance. The first night I spent at the farm, and 
 the evening following, I dismounted at the douars of the Ouled- 
 Bou-Aziz, opposite the mountain of Krou-Nega. The lion, 
 after a long jaunt he had taken a short time before, when I 
 had trotted after him like a jackal, had returned to his old 
 haunts on the hill. The Arabs informed me that every even- 
 ing the douars were thrown into consternation by his 
 attacks, which occurred very early in the evening, and conse- 
 quently, I immediately loaded my guns in anticipation of h^is 
 coming. At the moment I was putting the caps on the tubes, 
 the lion sounded his first roar. 
 
 Being little acquainted with the country, I requested a guide 
 to come with me, and show me the fords and mountain-paths, 
 
THE LION OF KROU-N^GA. 283 
 
 and Ahmed-Ben-Ali having offered his services, we immediately 
 set out together. Soon the liglit of the sunsei disappeared, 
 and the night became so dark that I could not even see my 
 guide, who was walking two paces ahead of me. 
 
 Having reached a secluded brook all covered with trees, 
 and embowered here and there with trellised vines that fes- 
 tooned the water-oaks that grew by its side, he said to me : 
 This is the* fording-place the lion usually crosses, and he 
 will be here in about an hour, more or less ; but if you 
 have any confidence in me, I would advise you to return to 
 the douar until the rising of the moon, and then we will come 
 to watch for hiin when he comes back again, after he has 
 made his expedition, or we can hunt him up to-morrow at 
 daylight. 
 
 The forty nights I had spent so unsuccessfully in the open 
 air, were still a sore point with me, and I would not let pass 
 so fair a chance for revenge, so I told my guide that he might 
 return to the camp if he desired it, but that I would remain. 
 Seeing that he had no fancy for going alone, I pointed out to 
 him a thicket a little way behind me, with a very heavy 
 foliage, telling him that he might hide himself there as best 
 he could, which he immediately did, keeping himself as close 
 as a rabbit. 
 
 After having examined the ground I was occupying, partly 
 by my eyes and partly by hand, I sat down on a stone that 
 overlooked the steep sides of the ford, bracing my feet on 
 a root that curved out of the bank. 
 
 Having shut my eyes for some minutes, I was enabled to 
 see, on opening them, that the bank on which I was sitting 
 fell off perpendicularly, caused by the earth having been cut 
 away by the overflow of the brook, and that the ford was a 
 couple of yards below me ; and by the occasional flashes' of 
 foam, I could feel rather than see, the water hurrying down 
 over the rocky bed of the river. 
 
 I had just made these observations, and decided upon firing 
 
284 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 upon my foe wliile he should still be in the water, trusting 
 to the height of the bank to save me from his first attack, 
 when from the other side of the brook, and a half mile up 
 the hill, T heard the heavy moaning that precedes the lion's 
 roar, and then his full-toned voice belched forth its detonations 
 until the black night was tremulous with the sound. 
 
 When the roar ceased, I took my position to fire, and 
 allowing time enough for him to come from the' spot where 
 I had last heard him roar, I awaited his coming with my 
 elbow on my knee and my gun at my shoulder. Minute 
 after minute stole away, and the time began to appear long, 
 with nothing but the sense of hearing to inform me of the 
 approach of the foe. 
 
 Suddenly, from the other bank of the brook, and directly 
 opposite to where I was sitting, came a deep guttural sigh, 
 endins: in a lonor moan, that sounded like the death-rattle in 
 a man's throat. I had never heard such a sound before. I 
 looked in that direction, and saw fastened on me, like two 
 burning coals, the eyes of the lion. The fixed stare of his 
 look, which seemed to cast a dim effulgence without showing 
 anything around, not even the head of the beast, sent all the 
 blood in my veins back- to my heart. One minute before I 
 was trembling with cold, now the perspiration stood on my 
 forehead in large drops. 
 
 The desolate place and dim presence moved me in spite of 
 myself, and I was more aflfected by my utter helplessness than 
 by the fierce spirit of my foe, for all the while it seemed as if 
 the lion said, / see you there, and all the while / could see 
 nothing but the impalpable night and the intangible phospho- 
 rescence of his gaze. But this supernatural dread vanished 
 like the phantoms of sleep, and when the eyes disappeared^ 
 and I heard the lion walk down towards the brook. The 
 prospect of action brought me back to life, and I became 
 perfectly impassible, no matter what might happen. 
 
 A pause, and I heard the lion in the water, which splashed 
 
THE LION OF KROU-NEGA. 
 
 NEGA. 285 
 
 under his regular tread. He marched with assurance 
 towards my side of the ford, but it was not until he was 
 five or six paces frora^rae that 1 again caught sight of 
 his glowing eyes. I had several times taken aim to try if I 
 could distinguish the sight on my gun, but I could not even 
 see the barrels; nevertheless, the lion's eyes suddenly 
 appeared again, fixed and burning, and riveted my regard 
 with their spectral intensity. I tried to judge of the direc- 
 •tion of his body by their position, and with my eyes wide 
 open and my head erect, I took my aim, and pressed the 
 trigger. 
 
 The flash of fire that followed brought out every feature 
 of the scene with the utmost distinctness. For an instant I 
 saw the huge animal in the water, the surrounding trees, the 
 deep ravine, and then again nought but utter darkness, that 
 rung to a savage roar of mingled pain and rage. The lion 
 was wounded. 
 
 Having withdrawn my feet from the root that overhung 
 the bank of the brook, I stood on the defensive. I could 
 have fired my second barrel in the same way I had fired the 
 first, but I resolved at all hazards to retain it in case of need. 
 For a few moments I could hear the lion struggling and 
 splashing in the water below me, and then I could hear 
 nothing at all but the swirl of the brook. 
 
 I listened for some time, but in vain. Presently the Arab 
 came out of his concealment, where he had listened to the 
 whole of the performance, and said that the lion must be 
 either dead or crippled to judge by his roaring. Not being 
 willing to explore that region of shadows in company with 
 such game, we returned to the douar to wait for daylight, that 
 never seemed so long in coming. 
 
 The first thing I saw in the morning, after reaching the 
 spot of my evening adventure, was the root on which I had 
 braced my feet, cut in two by the teeth of the lion, and all 
 
286 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 the bank beneath furrowed by his claws. Beneath, by the 
 edge of the brook, Ahmed-Ben-AIi picked up a piece of bone 
 the size of his finger. The bone, together with the mark 
 of a single front paw, when the animal had bounded against 
 the side of the bank, made me conclude that he had his 
 shoulder broken. As be had followed the course of tlie 
 stream, probably to soothe his wound in the water, it was 
 impossible for us to find any traces of him, although we spent 
 the whole day in the attempt. 
 
 On the next day a great number of the Arabs came 
 together to aid me in the hunt; and we beat through all the 
 woods in the neighborhood without any success. I then 
 gave up the lion as dead, and was making my arrangements 
 to return to Bone, when I heard loud cries together with th-e 
 reports of guns from the side of the mountain. I mounted 
 my horse and rode in the direction of the sound as fast as 
 possible. 
 
 When I reached the place I saw the body of the Arabs at 
 a goodly distance off on the other side of the brook, but there 
 were about a dozen that had approached the wounded animal 
 as they said, to finish him, and had turned tail and were 
 fleeing like mad, while the lion was chai-ging close after them. 
 Over rocks and mastic bushes they came, helter skelter, Sheik 
 and servant together, their horses so mid with fright, that 
 there was no checking them, and they did not halt until 
 they had placed a long distance between themselves and 
 their pursuer, who would have made short work of the whole 
 party had he not heeu dragging after him a broken leg. 
 
 The animal came to a halt in a small opening, growling 
 with a menacing mien. How grand and beautiful he was, 
 standing there on one side of the brook, with his regal 
 carriage, his bristling mane, and lashing tail, while sixty 
 armed horsemen stood trembling on the other. 
 
 I dism©unted from my horse, and giving him in charge to 
 
THE LION OF KROU-NEGA. 287 
 
 an Arab, started forward, -when a number of the hunters ran 
 up to me to prevent me, urging all the reasons they could 
 suggest, and actually detaining me by force, until I was 
 obliged to leave my burnous in their hands to get away. As 
 I ran towards the lion they followed, but one by one dropped 
 off* as I advanced, until only one of the party remained by 
 my side. It was ray guide of the evening before, who said 
 as he hurried along : 
 
 " I have received thee under my tent, and am responsible 
 for thee before God and man, and am ready to die with thee 
 if needs be." 
 
 In the mean while the lion had left the open spot for a 
 thicket a few paces off. I carefully followed his foot-prints 
 halting whenever they passed through bushes, and casting 
 stones in to drive him out, or make him give some sign of 
 his presence. 
 
 Presently a stone thrown at random was answered by a 
 sullen growl, and the animal dashed out wild with pain and 
 rage, and carrying his Avounded leg with the toes turned 
 inward, which gave him the appearance of a bird-dog on a 
 point. 
 
 As soon as I saw him I kneeled, the Arab squatting behind 
 me and calling out to me, "fire, now! do fire!" and then 
 uttering fervent ejaculations to the prophet. 
 
 The lion made a short bound of four or five paces, which 
 was to be followed by another, when my first ball struck him 
 in the forehead near the eye and he fell to the earth. Ahmed 
 was already murmuring his untimely thanksgiving, when the 
 lion reared himself on his hind legs like a horse. He was 
 only five paces off; Ahmed hushed his chant in an instant to 
 resume his prayers, and my second ball struck the animal in 
 the breast and penetrating his heart, he fell over dead. 
 
 My first ball had broken his shoulder, my second had been 
 flattened on the frontal bone without doing it any injury, and 
 
288 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 only the third had been mortal, although they had all been 
 fired at about five paces. I learned from this result, that my 
 projectiles had not sufficient penetration, and after that day 
 I used the iron ball, instead of the leaden. 
 
THE LION A MESMERIZER. 289 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE LIOX A MESMERIZER. 
 
 It was early in the pleasant montli of June, that the people 
 of Mahouna sent me a messenger, praying me to come and 
 pass judgment on certain criminals of the leonine tribe, that 
 had been acting the part of great sinners towards them, and 
 were still at large and unpunished. This was, however, not 
 so much owing to their not deserving the penalty of the law, 
 as to a certain timidity that universally prevails on the part 
 of the lawgivers towards these powerful freebooters. 
 
 I accordingly put myself under the guidance of the 
 mahogany colored mercury that brought the message, and 
 after a few hours of reckless riding over the undulating plain, 
 I threw myself down on the mats of the hospitable douars of 
 his tribe. The evening had already cooled the day, and old 
 and young gathered around the ruddy fire to tell of old 
 adventures, or speculate on the chances of the morrow. 
 Legend and tale followed each other in rapid course, and apt 
 quotations from the Koran, proved the truth of facts that 
 might otherwise have been met with incredulity. 
 
 From all these sources I learned the following habits of my 
 favorite animal, that I give the more readily as they are con- 
 firmed by my after experience. 
 
 The lion treats a man very differently from any animal that 
 he is accustomed to kill for food. If he kills a person who 
 
 13 
 
'290 THE LIOX KILLER. 
 
 has fired at him he never eats the body. If he meets in his 
 nightly promenade a man well clothed in burnous, his 
 experience shows him that he is not a marauder, and he may 
 either kill him for food,.or if the fancy happens to take him, 
 he will kill him by fear, little by little, just as a pas- 
 time. 
 
 In the first case he will give him barely time enough to 
 say his prayers, and then bounding on him will crush his 
 head with a single bite, instead of strangling him as he is 
 accustomed to do with other animals. 
 
 In the second case, he sometimes will bar the passage of 
 the unfortunate fellow by lying down before him, and then 
 he will walk along by his side, purring and showing his teeth 
 like a tiger. Sometimes he makes believe to go away and 
 leave him alone, and then making a long detour he will con- 
 ceal himself along the path, and charge at him with a roar. 
 Sometimes he crouches down like a cat and bounds on his 
 victim, who gives himself up for lost, but the tantalizer only 
 knocks him over with his paw, or walking around him strikes 
 him in the face with a blow like a flail from his muscular 
 tail. 
 
 At last the victim succombs to the agony that is greater 
 than a thousand deaths, and dies of very fear. 
 
 These pastimes of the lion, that as one can well imagine 
 have never been told by the victim himself, are reported by 
 his comrades who, having been in company sought safety in 
 flight, by taking refuge on rocks or trees, while the poor 
 soul that was captured, too much frightened to imitate their 
 example, died before their eyes of terror while they could do 
 nothing for his relief but pray to the prophet, who only 
 heard when it was too late to save. 
 
 These attacks, so horrible in their fascination, have given a 
 certain semblance of proof to the universally accredited belief 
 in the magnetizing power of the lion. Whether it may bo 
 
THE LION A MESMERIZER. 291 
 
 • 
 
 true or not, the following story wliicli I heard at the douar, 
 will not be amiss. 
 
 Once upon a time, and that time about thirty years ago, 
 a young man of the tribe of Ameraera, which tribe holds the 
 lands that lie by the foot of Mount Aures, loved and was 
 beloved by a beautiful girl. He applied to the father of the 
 maiden for the hand of his daughter, but the old man, more 
 thoughtful for flocks and herds than youthful sentiments, 
 refused a groom who could scarcely endow his bride with a 
 goat. 
 
 Yet still the love was not diminished, though the heavens 
 did not smile, and one* fine night the lady's tent was empty, 
 and she on the open plain with her arm on her lover's 
 shoulder, was seeking a dearer home. 
 
 Seghir, her intended, was armed as an Arab should be, 
 with steel and gun, and though the distance from douar to 
 douar was long, yet still the feet of love are swift, and the 
 tents of Seghir's tribe already shone white in the starlight 
 before them, and Seghir's hounds could be heard baying 
 hoarse welcome to their approach — when suddenly a lion 
 sprang up in the path before them. 
 
 The girl shrieked so loud in her terror, that the raen in 
 the camp heard her cries, and came rushing to her succor. 
 When they reached the place guided by the voice, they saw 
 the lion walking slowly towards the woods, with his eyes 
 fastened on Seghir, who was following him. 
 
 The young girl tried hard to draw her lover back, but he 
 held her hand and pulled her along in spite of her resistance, 
 saying : 
 
 " Come, dearest, our seignior calls us !" 
 
 " No ! No ! Your arms, Seghir, are they useless to save 
 me?" 
 
 " My arms, I have none," answered the fascinated man ; 
 "don't listen to her, my seignior, she does not speak the 
 
292 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 truth, I have no arms, and will follow you wherever you 
 will." 
 
 The Arabs who had come to the rescue of the lovers 
 numbered about ten, and seeing that the couple were about 
 to be drawn into the woods, they all took aim together at the 
 lion and fired, when perceiving that the animal did not fall, 
 they all ran away together towards the tents. The lion 
 instantly bounded on Seghir, and crushed his head with one 
 crunch of his jaws, and then laid himself down by the side 
 of the young girl, putting his paws on her knees. 
 
 The Arabs, emboldened by seeing that they were not pur- 
 sued, after they had re-charged their guns, returned to the 
 attack. Fearing for the young girl, they tried to get the lion 
 away from her before firing at him, which they succeeded in 
 doing, but when they lowered their guns to take aim, before 
 they could pull their triggers, the animal bounded on them, 
 and seized one with his teeth, and one with each of his front 
 paws, and then drawing them together in a heap, he lay 
 down on the writhing bodies and commenced slowly to tear 
 them in pieces, and crunch their heads as he had done that 
 of Seghir. 
 
 Those that escaped, fled to the douar where they told what 
 had happened, and the lion picked up the girl and carried her 
 into the woods, while the men in the douar could hear her 
 screams imploring them for help, but did not dare to go to 
 her assistance. 
 
 On >the next day, all the men of the tribe went out to 
 gather the bodies of their friends, but nothing was to be 
 found of the young girl, except her white garment that lay 
 in the woods tangled in her long tresses of hair. Her 
 ravisher had eaten the rest. 
 
 Is it true that the lion can so influence certain feeble 
 minds as to cause them to follow him ? The Arabs firmly 
 believe it, and will cite hundreds of examples 
 
THE LION A MESMERIZER. 293 
 
 As for myself, I can freely say that when I have found 
 myself in the presence of this monarch, I never felt the least 
 desire to join his company, or to say with the poet : 
 
 Out, de ia suite, 6 roi, de ia 8tiite,j^en atds. 
 
 Though I can easily understand how the fixed gaze of the 
 lion, together with his majestic bearing and imposing front 
 may so awe a man who suddenly comes into his presence, 
 that he may be rendered totally powerless of escape. 
 
 On the next night, about the middle of the night, while on 
 tlie hunt, I met a young lion, which seeing me coming to 
 him lay down in the path to await my approach. 
 
 The moon was shining brightly, and I walked to within 
 fifteen paces of him while he siill remained perfectly motion- 
 less. I judged by his tactics that it was safest not to come 
 to any closer quarters, and so putting one knee to the ground, 
 I aimed just behind the shoulder, and fired. 
 
 I don't know precisely how it happened, but before I saw 
 or knew anything more, I found myself down on my back, 
 and the lion standing over me, and my arm lying against his 
 front leg. Most fortunately for me, I wore a heavy turban, 
 the folds of which preserved my head. As quickly as I could 
 I slipped my head out of my turban, which the lion was 
 tearing in pieces, and crawling from under my burnous which 
 I also left in his grasp, I found myself once more free. 
 
 I immediately took advantage of my liberty to drive a 
 bullet through the brain of the young fool, who still con- 
 tinued tearing to^pieces my burnous and turban. 
 
 Upon examining the body of my young acquaintance, I 
 traced the first ball that had entered at one side and gone out 
 the other just behind the shoulder. The second ball had 
 made its entrance in one ear, and its exit by the other. This 
 was the fourth lion I had killed in Algeria. 
 
294 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF TWO LIONS THAT " WOULD NOT DOWN." 
 
 In tlie month of August, of tlie same year, I again visited 
 the Mahouna country. 
 
 While I was sitting at dinner, in the tent of Ahmeh-ben- 
 Amar, the sheik of the Ouled Amzah, at about eight o'clock 
 in the evening, we heard a lioness roar not far from the 
 douar. In a quarter of an hour we met face to face, within 
 twelve paces of each other ; I immediately fired, and she fell 
 with the report of my gun. 
 
 I waited an instant, and not seeing her move, I threw a 
 stone at her, which struck her body and bounced off. This 
 producing no effect, I walked up to her, and found the mark 
 of my ball that had entered at her temple, but had not gone 
 through the head. Not seeing any of tbe Arabs approachmg, 
 I walked back to a little eminence, from whence I could see 
 the tents of the douar, and called to the Arabs to bring a 
 mule to carry home the lioness. 
 
 The men came running after me in haste fo see the animal, 
 asking me where she lay, I pointed out to them the spot, and 
 they ran on. When I came up to them they said they could 
 not find her, and on my coming after them a moment laier, to 
 my inexpressible astonishment and mortification, the lioness 
 was nowhere to be seen. Yet it could not be a dream. My 
 liands were all red, and I found the soil at the place where 
 she had been lying soaking wet with her blood. It was 
 
TWO LIONS THAT "WOULD NOT DOWN." 295 
 
 there I had seen her fall, and even lain my hand upon her. 
 I passed a large portion of the night hunting for her in the 
 neighborhood, but without any result, and retired to my tent 
 with the intention of following her traok by daylight. But 
 in the night, a sudden storm arose, and when morning came 
 every track in the desert was obliterated. 
 
 A few days afterwards the body of the lioness was found 
 at a league from the douar. This long walk after such a 
 wound, may give the reader some idea of the vitality of this 
 animal. 
 
 In the month of September, 1845, the men of the tribe 
 Meizia, sent me a messenger with a petition, praying that I 
 would come and deliver them from the presence of an old 
 black lion that was destroying them without any pity. 
 
 After lying in wait for three nights outside of the douar, 
 for which he seemed to have the greatest preference, and 
 never being able to see his lordship, I commenced to examine 
 the forest. The result of this inspection was the discover}', 
 that when he came down or went up the mountain, he always 
 followed one path. The next night I profited by my infor- 
 mation, by posting myself in the path which ran through a 
 ravine, called by the natives, the Lion's Garden, making use 
 of a large rock as a partial shelter, and as a rest for my 
 gun. • 
 
 About eleven o'clock, I thought I detected a distant step. 
 In a moment more, I heard a regular tread ; it was he, there 
 was no mistaking it, the lion was coming. 
 
 This country is so wooded and broken, that I could not see 
 the animal, but as he approached me he roared, and there 
 was something in (he sound of his voice that immediately told 
 me he suspected my presence. When I first caught sight of 
 him, he was within ten paces of me, and had halted with his 
 face towards me, growling with a heavy harsh sound, and 
 looking at me with a very wicked eye. 
 
296 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I was all ready for his coming, and the moon was shining 
 brightly from between the trees, so that we had scarcely laid 
 eyes on each other, before ^ ball struck him directly in the 
 forehead. With the explosion of my gun the lion sprang at 
 me with a roar, I felt a sudden shock at my shoulder, his 
 breast struck the stone that was before me, and before I could 
 fire my second barrel, or do anything to save myself, I was 
 hurled to the ground. The next instant I found myself lying 
 on my side, with my legs pinned fast by the rock that had 
 rolled on me, while the lion, stunned by the blow he had 
 received, was lying at my side, but so near that I could not 
 use my gun. 
 
 I seized my poniard, that lay under my hand, having been 
 placed there beforehand, according to custom, and struck the 
 animal a heavy blow in the temple. 
 
 He immediately rose to his feet, and without seeing me, 
 walked over my body, reeling like a drunken man, and took 
 refuQfe in the wood, carryino; with him two inches of the blade 
 of my dagger. 
 
 Thus I escaped with a few bruises, from an encounter that 
 I should think was the most dangerous that I had ever expe- 
 rienced, and I can verily say, that my escape was most pro- 
 vidential, and an event I little expected when I first found 
 myself lying side by side with the monstrous brute. 
 
 In fact, if the lion had not been so stunned by the concus- 
 sion of my ball, which had struck him in the middle of his 
 forehead, or if I had not been preserved from his first charge, 
 by the stone that covered my body, or had he not, after I 
 struck him with my poniard, lost all his wits, so as to have 
 no idea whatever of my presence, I would, most certainly, in 
 either event, have been torn to pieces, without a moment for 
 thought. 
 
 This lion was one of the finest that I had ever had a 
 chance of shooting. The only reason why his skin never 
 
TWO LIONS THAT 
 
 297 
 
 hung before my tent as a trophy, was that I had forgotten 
 my iron pointed bullets, and had only been able to send him 
 a leaden token of my regard, which the result proved, was 
 not a sufJicient consideration for so great a person. I knew 
 he could not survive, but I still had the regret, that I had 
 not been able to obtain the body of a lion that had brought 
 me so near death's door. 
 
 All Europeans whom I have ever heard speaking of 
 encounters of this kind, seem to think that the only thing 
 necessary to be done to succeed, is to be skillful, courageous 
 and cool. To hear them argue, one would think that it was 
 only a question of practice, as though every lion did not teach 
 you the contrary by the difference of his attacks, and the 
 circumstances attending it. There is hardly a French officer 
 of the African army that does not think in this wise. One 
 must be sure of himself, and then he is sure of the lion ; such 
 is their constant reasoning. To be sure of one's self then, as 
 they express it, means the patience of waiting for a lion that 
 is seen or heard approaching, the courage of walking up to 
 him when he does not come fast enough, and the coolness 
 and skill of aiming quietly and hitting him when you aim. 
 
 But when one has done all that, and when he has besides 
 sufficient control over himself to say, I will go and sit down 
 on this stone or that root, and I will either kill or be killed 
 without taking a step in retreat, or without even raising from 
 my seat when the lion shall charge ; when one has done all 
 that and yet discovers that eight times in ten, he can only kill 
 Avith the second and third shot, then he is convinced, in spite 
 of himself, that courage, and* address, and impassibility are 
 only accessories to the result, and that safety in these wild 
 and unequal combats is accorded only to those who are 
 fortunate. 
 
 I had, even at this period of my life, begun to rely on 
 myself only for these two things ; to find the lion and to 
 
 12* 
 
298 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 attack him openly. Every battle I commenced I was filled 
 with two very opposite feelings, doubt and confidence — doubt 
 as to the eflfect produced by my shot, and confidence as to 
 the protection that the Great God throws over all His 
 creatures. 
 
 For a long time I thought of a comparison that would 
 convey to the mind the unequal antagonism that is waged 
 between a man and a lion ; the one armed with the best rifle 
 that can be made, and the other with his teeth and claws, 
 and that vital power that renders him so terrible to those that 
 attack him. 
 
 I never found a better comparison than this. 
 
 Suppose a duel to the knife should take place, without 
 witnesses, in the night, and in the open forest, between two 
 bitter foes, the one clothed in the lightest fighting costume, 
 the other armed cap a pie, with hauberk and greave, and yet 
 in spite of his heavy armor, perfectly free in all his movements 
 like the other. Place a sword in the hand of each gladiator, 
 and say to the first that perhaps he will not be killed if he 
 can touch with his sword two little points that are just dis- 
 cernible between his enemy's armor, and unprotected. Sup- 
 pose an equal amount of courage and coolness with each 
 combatant, and then, if the man in armor is killed, will you 
 not agree with me that the other was lucky ? 
 
 Let this battle be renewed over and over again in other 
 places, and at other times, yet always under the same unequal 
 terms, the same defenceless champion always coming forth 
 from the valley of the shadow of death as the victor, and 
 then you will agree with me that it was not his strength that 
 gave the victory, but the strong right Arm which all invisibl}^ 
 protected and guided him. 
 
 I think I can hear you say with suspicious tone, " How 
 then do the Arabs ever kill the lion ?" 
 
 The Arabs catch the lions in pits, or while they themselves 
 
TWO LIONS THAT " WOULD NOT DOWN." 299 
 
 are perched iu trees or hid behind forts ; and when once in a 
 great while they take vengeance on one, face to face, like 
 honest foes, they have many of their bravest men torn to pieces 
 before their eyes, and do not even then always remain masters 
 of the field. If any one wants to prove this with his own 
 eyes, he has only to come here with my book in his hand as 
 a guide, and he will find the wounded heroes of Beni-Meloul, 
 the Ouled-Cessi, and the Chegatmas, who will " fight their 
 battles o'er again," pointing to the wounds they carry, in 
 proof of their valor, and may offer to give him a lesson in 
 the field, even though their hearts be feeble and their hands 
 weak. 
 
 But let us leave this dissertation, and come back to the 
 more interestmg facts of actual life. 
 
300 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A LIOX KILLED ON HIS OWN HEARTHSTONE. 
 
 After the encounter I have just narrated, I remained in 
 the Mahouna country quietly waiting for something to bring 
 rae into action, and holding a levee every morning under my 
 tent, to hear the reports of the Arabs Avho were exploring the 
 country. Finally not receiving any further news of lions, I 
 returned to Guelma towards the end of September. 
 
 A long repose of two months followed, when I was again 
 called into the field by the mountaineers. 
 
 On reaching the high plateaux, I found about a foot of 
 snow on all the hills, with the thermometer below zero, and a 
 miserably cold air. Nevertheless, in spite of the blanket of 
 white that covered the land, and the icy wind that glazed 
 the trees, which is not a supportable thing to this kind of 
 animal, if we can believe the naturalists, a lioness had taken 
 up her home on the hills. 
 
 I found her customary path, and watched for her arrival in 
 the evening, having first agreed with the Arabs, that if she 
 came to attack the douar during my absence, they should 
 lio-ht a fire to give me notice. At about ten o'clock, I heard 
 the dogs making a great noise, and in a little while I saw the 
 aoreed signal, ^d left my station to return to the village. 
 
 I arrived only in time to hear the lamentations of an old 
 woman from whom the lioness had taken the only sheep she 
 possessed in the world. Sh« «ried like a Junatic, poor old 
 
A LION KILLED ON HIS OWN HEARTHSTONE. 301 
 
 sou] ! But I couldn't help laughing to myself as I heard her 
 amid her sobs soundly rate her son for his cowardice. The 
 hopeful boy was a great booby about forty years of age, and 
 the old woman said to him, speaking of me, 
 
 "Law me, that's what I call a man. Ilappy the girl that 
 has him for a husband, she will have a man to protect her." 
 
 Then she added seriously, " Oh ! if 1 could grow young 
 again I would marry him, Christian, though he is." 
 
 I told the old lady, that on the next day she should eat 
 some of the lioness's flesh, and that would make her young 
 again. 
 
 " x\h, but I can eat her flesh with a good appetite, heartless 
 wretch that she is, to go and eat up my poor little lamb." 
 
 I here left the affectionate parent, and -went to the fire to 
 thaw out my half- frozen limbs. 
 
 Early the next morning, when I was getting ready to leave 
 the camp, my inamorata of the previous evening presented 
 herself at my tent, bringing me some cakes made after her 
 own fashion, and her warmest prayers for my success. I left 
 the douar with several Arabs, following the tracks the lioness 
 had made when carrying away the stolen sheep. Her course 
 lay along a path that ran parallel with the one I had been 
 watching, and I could see in the snow that she had walked 
 at an easy pace, stopping from time to time, to rub off the 
 snow that clogged her feet. At about a mile and a half from 
 the douar we came to the place where she had dined. There 
 was nothing remaining of the old lady's sheep but its skin, 
 which had been neatly pulled off, and was rolled up and cast 
 aside with the extremities of the four legs. From here the 
 trail ran on for about a pistol-shot, and then went into the 
 woods. Here the Arabs came to the conclusion, that it 
 would be safest for them to w^ait and kindle a fire, not 
 intending in the least to hinder me, in case I desired to carry 
 my researches any further. Rather pleased than otherwise 
 
302 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 to be free from their company, I continued on the trail alone, 
 and followed it into the woods being armed with my double 
 baiTel rifle and a poniard. 
 
 As I advanced into the woods, the walking became more 
 difficult, and the close vault of trees overhead more compact, 
 and every minute I was obliged to stop to unfasten my 
 burnous that had caught in the bushes, until finally I took it 
 oflf altogether and left it behind. At about a half mile 
 from the edge of the woods, I saw what I thought w^as the 
 lion's cover. It consisted of a dense thicket of olive trees, 
 about a hundred yards in circumference, and so closely 
 packed that it formed a perfect roof ; snow laden above, but 
 dry beneath, and warm with the soft siftings of the many 
 foliaged trees, a goodly chamber for the forest queen. The 
 place seemed to breathe the very odor of sanctity, and I could 
 see here and there the marks of her majesty's feet, or more 
 sacred still to plebeian eyes, the very impress of her person as 
 she had lain here and there where fancy led her. 
 
 Knowing how soundly the lion sleeps after he has well 
 eaten, I hoped to be able reach her while still in dreatnland, 
 and awaken her only by the ringing of my rifle. So I 
 advanced slowly, step by step, with my body bent, and my 
 eye following the tracks or scanning the thicket around me. 
 Sometimes a thorn would catch my shirt and hold me back, 
 sometimes a vine had fastened its strong tendril across my 
 path, and I would have to stop to free myself with the 
 greatest caution, or on hands and knees glide under the 
 obstruction. 
 
 Finally, I came to a halt before an olive tree closer than 
 any of the others, under whose low sweeping branches the 
 lioness had glided, crouching like myself. In vain I tried to 
 see behind these branches ; they formed an impenetrable veil 
 that shut out all eyes from my lady's bower. I was certain 
 she must be here, it was directly in the middle of the grove, 
 
A LION KILLED ON HIS OWN HEARTHSTONE. 803 
 
 which was not a large one, and as I had been all around it 
 I was sure that she had not passed out after entering it. 
 
 As the conviction forced itself on ray mind, my heart beat 
 so full with emotion, that I was obliged to keep quiet for a 
 moment or two that my blood might flow on its accustomed 
 course. 
 
 When I became perfectly collected again, I carefully pushed 
 aside the branches that impeded my view with the end of my 
 gun. I was right — there lay the lioness only five steps from 
 me, stretched on her side, with her head pillowed on one 
 paw, dreaming in perfect quiet, with the soft respiration of a 
 girl in her slumbers. 
 
 I made ready to fire, but when my gun was at my 
 shoulder, and my eye ran along the barrel, I found myself in 
 a most perplexing situation. 
 
 The lion was lying in such a manner that I could see the 
 whole of her form, and yet being obliged to fire while kneel- 
 ing, I feared lest the horizontal position of her body should 
 injure my shot. 
 
 In a dangerous position, haste or delay are equally bad ; but 
 inspiration came to my mind to free me from my troubles, 
 and I adopted a bold course. Rather than send a doubtful 
 ball into the jaws of the animal, or into the uncertain region 
 of the heart, I resolved to awaken the lioness, and only shoot 
 her when she should raise herself up. In order, therefore, 
 that her awakening might be calm and natural, I proceeded 
 with the greatest caution. While my left hand held my gun 
 to my shoulder, with the right I broke a little twig at my 
 side. 
 
 The lioness slept on. I broke another a little louder. 
 Hardly had my hand reached the trigger before the lioness 
 was on her belly. Her eyes lazily opened, her ears were lain 
 back on her head, her lips moved up and down, and her 
 glance, fearful with its fixed intensity, wandered around her 
 
304 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 chamber to seek the cause of the undefined sound that had 
 caught her senses. 
 
 Before she r.aw me I sighted her right ear, and fired. 
 
 The smoke of my gun lay so heavy in the air that I could 
 not see before me, but I heard a short strangled roar, that 
 sounded like a good omen. Soon I could see the lioness 
 stretched out where she was lying when I fired. 
 
 Her sides heaved, and her feet moved back and forward 
 with a quick, convulsive motion. 
 
 I saw in an instant that she was only stunned, and would 
 be on her feet in a moment more. 
 
 I hastily wound my turban around my arm, and sprang 
 into the cover. Without losing a moment, I placed the 
 muzzle of my gun to her head and fired. The bold spirit 
 that ruled the woods was quenched with the report of my 
 gun, and her graceful form lay at my feet a corpse. 
 
 I found my first ball had entered at the corner of the eye, 
 and gone out at the top of the head, fracturing the skull 
 without piercing it. 
 
 In an hour after my shots had been heard, this part of the 
 forest, heretofore so silent and sacred, was invaded by a crowd 
 of Arabs, who with a thousand wild cries and songs, placed 
 the body of the lioness upon a rough litter, and bore it in 
 state to the douar. There it was lain out upon a mat in the 
 centre of the village, a black bull was killed in honor of the 
 patron Saint, Sidi-Amar, and the entire night devoted to 
 festivities. 
 
 It was a spectacle worthy of an artist's pencil, and fantastic 
 and memorable even to an eye that was used to the daily 
 life of the nomads. 
 
 The fires of cork and oak-wood flashed bright, while 
 moving groups and spreading trees cast dark shadows on the 
 background of snow. In the red light the women of the 
 douar went to and fro, as they distributed the flesh of the 
 
A. LION KILLED ON HIS OWN HEARTHSTONE. 305 
 
 beef and tlie lioness. By the caldron that would have 
 boiled an ox, Abdallah, the minstrel, chanted rude songs of 
 valorous deeds, and the softened notes of a flute came from 
 the women's tents. 
 
 Here sat the girls babbling away some romance 'of their 
 Amcy, there were grouped the men holding high converse on 
 warlike deeds, and talking powder and ball. The herds in 
 the park lowed at the unwonted light, the dogs came in and 
 out from the shadow to seize a stray morsel, and pet gazels 
 shook their heads, and rung their bells doubtfully at the 
 bonfires. 
 
 Then, swelling and dying, the war-song rose on the air to 
 the clapping of hands, and the gleam of waving steel, and all 
 the people — wild phantoms draped in their white burnous, 
 arose to their feet as will arise one day the dead that lie in 
 the valley of Jehcshaphat. The women sound the shrill battle 
 cry, the men reply with the firing of guns, which roll away 
 on the hills and come back in repeated echoes, and then the 
 spectres sink again to the ground, and only the sighing flute 
 breaks the sudden stillness. 
 
 The scene excited my fancy with its beauty, and my pride 
 with its triumph ; and I can never forget its kindly memories 
 or the grateful hearts of these mountaineers. 
 
 When the stars gave place in the sky to the reddening 
 dawn, the women retired to their tents. The men j^athered 
 around the tomb of Sidi-Amar, and with their faces to Mecca, 
 devoutly listened to their holy seer as he recited the morning 
 prayers. Then one by one the whole tribe came to me to 
 bid me fiirewell, and I leaped in my saddle and pricked over 
 the plain towards Guelma, with a heart at ease with myself, 
 and full of emotion at the curious life I had witnessed. 
 
 Unfortunately for man, his physical powers have a limit, 
 beyond which they cannot be pushed with impunity. 
 
 Since my first hunting expedition, I had passed more than 
 
30G THE LION KILLER. 
 
 a hundred niglits in the open air, sometimes secreted in 
 the corner of a clearing, sometimes following the moun- 
 tain-paths, always on foot, and crossing and re-crossing 
 running streams as though they were dry ravines. At the 
 same time, I had been badly fed, for although the Arabs 
 oft'ered me every hospitality they could afford, yet I hardly 
 ever gave myself time to eat anything but cakes and dates, 
 while I quenched my thirst at the mountain brook, and in 
 addition to all this, whenever I was in the field, I was under 
 the influence of the most powerful emotions. It may be that 
 there are natures sufficiently rugged to stand such tests, but 
 for me, I returned to Guelma seriously ill. 
 
MY FRIEND ABDALLAH, THE MINSTUEL. 307 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 MY FRIEND ABDALLAH, THE MINSTREL. 
 
 While waiting for my health to become stronger, that I 
 may continue the story of my divers hunts in their order, I 
 will sketch for you, my dear reader, the character of two of 
 the hosts that presided at the banquet in the Mahouna 
 country that I have just described. 
 
 The first of these dignitaries is Abdallah, the improvisatore 
 and minstrel. 
 
 One, day, or rather, one evening, while returning home 
 from a party where he had been a guest, he saw a big herd 
 of wild hogs rooting up his newly sown wheat-field, with a 
 pleasure apparently much greater than that of their host in 
 making the discover}^ 
 
 To run to his tent and hang up his flute where whilom 
 hung his gun, required but a moment for one who understood 
 how hard work it is to plant a field of wheat, and in two 
 minutes he had regained the field, accompanied by five or six 
 of his comrades. But, alas, the grunting, ungrateful herd, 
 having eaten their fill, had disappeared, without even calling 
 for their bill, leaving nothing but confusion and tracks to 
 mark their place. Instead of the wild hogs, however, the 
 party suddenly came across a lioness, that lay crouched in 
 a furrow near where the boars had been at work. 
 
308 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 Abdallali, who was at the head of his band, saw her first, 
 as she lay tranquilly watching their coming. 
 
 The minstrel halted and pointed out her highness to his 
 friends, who laughing, said to him, " Since she does you the 
 honor of reclining on your ground, you should return the 
 favor by singing something for her. 
 
 Abdallah was piqued by the ridicule, and seeing that it 
 was a young lioness, about two years old, he walked forward 
 towards her, supposing that she would escape when she 
 saw him approaching. 
 
 When within about fifty paces, he struck up a ballad, the 
 chorus of which ran in this wise : 
 
 " Oh, where is your spouse, my lady small, 
 For without your spouse you're nothing at all." 
 
 He had not completed his verse before the lioness was on 
 her feet, and with her head almost to the ground, and her 
 ears lying close to her neck, she marched right uj) to the 
 impertinent minstrel. 
 
 Abdallah was no coward because he was a great singer. 
 He knelt down on one knee, and when the lioness was within 
 ten paces, he sent three balls into her breast. 
 
 But this was a small wound to one of her species, and 
 before the gay improvisatore could sing again, or fly, he lay 
 senseless on his back, with the claws of the lioness on his 
 shoulder, and her ivory teeth grasping the throat that had 
 insulted her with the scandalous song. As the poor man 
 gave no further sign of life, she then left him, and quietly 
 withdrew from the field, stopping from time to time, to lick 
 the blood that trickled from the wounds in her breast. 
 
 When she had completely disappeared, these valorous com- 
 rades who had at first fled, returned and carried ofi" the breathless 
 body of Abdallah. They thought they were bearing a corpse, 
 but were mistaken, for thanks to a native physician, and a 
 
MY FRIEND ABDALLAH, THE MINSTREL. 309 
 
 rugged constitution, in a few months, our friend was as well as 
 ever. 
 
 At the time I first made his acquaintance, his wounds had 
 not yet healed, but this did not prevent his singing, if not 
 very sweetly, yet at least on a very high key, and in a very 
 loud voice. As with the Arabs the one that makes the greatest 
 din is reputed the most brilliant singer, therefore in the 
 Mahouna country, Abdallah occupied a very high rank among 
 the native vocalists of his age. 
 
 . After his discomfiture with the lioness in his own wheat- 
 field, he always retained a most inveterate dislike, not 
 only to lionesses, but also to lions of every sex and degree ; 
 and it was owing to my perpetual war on this animal that he 
 immediately took me to his afi'ections, and with every new 
 victory sounded my praises in triumphal verses, far and near, 
 with a voice that would not have discredited one of the bulls 
 of Bashan. 
 
310 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 MY FRIEND MOHAMMED-BEN-OUMBARK THE MARAUDER. 
 
 The second personage of this part of the country whom I 
 desire to introduce to the acquaintance of my readers, is 
 Mohammed-ben-Oumbark. 
 
 Like his melodious compeer, he resided on the southern 
 slope of the Mahouna, and in plain English was nothing more 
 or less than a retired robber. 
 
 But such a robber ! He had a well-earned name that will 
 be handed down to future generations undimmed by the touch 
 of years, though, perchance, the only time that his name was 
 ever written, was when it found a place on my pages. 
 
 This was the way we made each other's acquaintance. 
 
 On my second visit to this country I noticed in my explofs- 
 tions, a ford where a half dozen paths converged, and think- 
 ing it a probable route for a lion, I had taken my post of 
 observation on the bank, one evening as the night fell on the 
 forest. At about eleven o'clock I heard a foot-fall, on one of 
 the paths that came down to the water's edge. The place 
 was so embowered in trees that scarcely a sunbeam ever 
 touched the earth beneath, during the daytime, and much less 
 likely the feebler rays of the moon at night, and so I relied 
 almost entirely upon my ears to give me information of pass- 
 ing events. 
 
 I was comfortablv seated on the root of a tree that grew by 
 
MY FRIEND MOIIAMMED-BEN-OUMBARK. 311 
 
 the path, and a bush on either side of me, sheltered me from 
 being seen by any animal on the road, until it came directly 
 opposite to me. The noise approached little by little, though 
 it appeared to be less than that made by a lion when walking 
 on the stony path, whose heavy foot-fall one can hear from a 
 considerable distance. At this moment I heard a cough. 
 Now I have often heard the lion sneeze, but I never heard 
 him cough, and judging from his voice, I should say, that if he 
 ever did^ it would be something like the explosion of a powder 
 blast. " If it is not a lion, it must be a man, and a bold one 
 to venture in such a place at midnight," said I to my- 
 self. 
 
 I confess I was displeased at the prospect of encountering 
 so dangerous a marauder. Being constantly in the Mahouna 
 country, as a matter of policy I had always avoided shedding 
 blood under every circumstance, though I found myself in this 
 instance almost obliged to do so for my own safety. 
 
 I resolved to try a surprise in order to avoid this sad 
 necessity. 
 
 I placed my gun at my side, having first cocked it, and 
 loosened my dagger in its sheath ; I then took off my burnous 
 and held it loose in my hand, waiting the approach of the 
 marauder. At the moment he came opposite to me, I threw 
 my burnous over his head, and grasped him around his body 
 with both my arms pinning his own to his side. 
 
 The word traitor was the first he uttered. I did not stop, 
 however, to parley words, but taking advantage of the posi- 
 tion in which I held him, and my old habit of wrestling, I 
 passed my leg around his, and threw him to the earth. 
 When down, I called out: 
 
 "Never fear; down with your arms, I am Gerard, the lion 
 killer !" 
 
 My night wanderer immediately gave up. In five minutes 
 more we were smoking the same pipe around a fire, that 
 
312 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 brought out the figure and face of my new acquaintance in 
 bold relief. 
 
 He was a man of the ordinary stature, but dry, nervous, 
 and with a most impressive and extraordinary countenance, 
 and when animated, his blue eyes lighted the dark shadows 
 of his capuchin like tapqrs. His gestures were few, but they 
 spoke like words. After an hour's talk, we two, who had 
 met only at the hazard of our lives, were like old comrades, 
 equal in everything, save the dignity that the character 
 
 ' of " The lion killer " gave me, a dignity I never declined, and 
 that Mohammed The marauder^ was pleased to acknowledge. 
 So we passed the rest of the night together watching the 
 
 "* lion's path, and the intervals of waiting were beguiled by 
 Mohammed's stories as he related the history of his life. 
 
 After this time, from which I date the commencement of a 
 valuable friendship, Mohammed-ben-Oumbark never failed in 
 coming to see me when I came in the Mahouna country. 
 Ordinarily it was the middle of the night that he chose for 
 his visit, coming up to my side in the depths of the forest, 
 and sitting down beside me like an invited guest. When in 
 camp, he tells to all the world that I am his best friend, and 
 that he will kill like a hound any one who harms a hair of 
 my head, and generally finishes his proclamation by declar- 
 ing that there are only two men in Africa at the present 
 time, to wit — he and I. 
 
 Now that my friend, coming under the influence of civiliza- 
 tion, has adopted a regular mode of life, and made an 
 honorable amende for a crowd of past errors by penitence and 
 reform, now that he has smoothed the ermine fur of outraged 
 justice, whose anger had burned at his vagabond tricks, now, 
 in a word, that he has put his house in order, I am free to 
 give to my reader some of the tales that he recounted to me 
 under the listening stars. The truth of these stories is known 
 to all the inhabitants of the Mahouna country, whose 
 
MY FRIEND MOHAMMED-BEN-OUMBARK. 313 
 
 children for fifteen years were lulled to quiet by threats of 
 the coming of the great night robber, my friend, the hero of 
 this chapter. 
 
 Mohammed belonged to a family formerly of some wealth, 
 but that had been despoiled of its goods before the French 
 occupation. After the death of his father, he found himself 
 the fortunate possessor of a young and lovely wife, a tent 
 rather the worse for wear, a dagger with a sharp point, and 
 nothing more. 
 
 " With this weapon," said he to his wife, " I will carve 
 from the rough earth house and lands, and from nature 
 horned cattle and horses, until our wealth will exceed that of 
 those who spoiled my father's house." Without delay he 
 began the fulfillment of his promise. 
 
 The French troops detailed to make the first expedition 
 into Constantine, were assembled at this time at the camp of 
 Mejez Amar. All the neighboring tribes being still unsub- 
 jected to French rule, the ofiicers had great difficulty in pro- 
 curing horses and mules, and Mohammed undertook this 
 duty. With an effrontery that never left him, he presented 
 himself at the outposts of our camp, was arrested and carried 
 before the officer in authority. To him he declared without 
 any hesitation, that he belonged to a free tribe, but that he 
 had come to ofier his services to the French, and was ready 
 to furnish them anything they might want, either saddle 
 horses or beasts of burden. His frankness pleased, and his 
 ofler was accepted. 
 
 The next morning, by a delivery of some handsome horses, 
 he performed his promise and showed what he could do. 
 Thenceforth they gave him orders to fulfill, just as though he 
 was a regular trader, and had stables without number at his 
 command. They described to him the color and age of the 
 horse that was wanted, and at the appointed moment the 
 animal stood panting at the camp, with the stoical rider at his 
 
 14 
 
314 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 side, waiting to receive his reward, lii order to fill all the 
 orders he received, Mohammed sometimes visited the Arabs 
 and sometimes the Kabyles. 
 
 They first attach their horses to a cord fastened to two 
 stakes driven in the ground, either within or without the 
 tent, but generally without. 
 
 To be successful in horse stealing, the robber is obliged to 
 unfasten the horse and carry him off with perfect secrecy. It 
 may readily be imagined that this is no easy work to accom- 
 plish in a populous camp, protected by a multitude of dogs, 
 and yet Mohammed called it child's play. 
 
 The operation was the more delicate with the Kabyles, as 
 they live in houses without windows, and fasten their doors 
 after entering at night. This was his manner of dealing with 
 these people, and by which he almost always came off suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 With the agility and caution of a cat he would climb on 
 the roof of the shed where the beast that he coveted was 
 stabled. Then he carefully pulled away the thatch, until he 
 had made a hole large enough to introduce his body, and 
 softly let himself down to his arm's length, and then drop 
 down in the house at the risk of bouncing like the nightmare 
 on the stomach of the lord of the manor. Once safely within, 
 and no one awakened, he felt around on the fireplace for a 
 live coal under the ashes, and blowed a half flame to see 
 how things were located. Having made his survey without 
 arousing any of the inmates, he would open the door, lead 
 out the horse that pleased him best, and flee oflf into the night. 
 
 But if by chance some one of the sleepers that strew the 
 floor, awakens, Mohammed lies down by his side, and snores 
 like a trooper, his dusky burnous covering his face, and 
 making him look like the rest of the family. If the host 
 becomes fully awake and attempts to rise, the yataghan sends 
 him again to sleep, and he lies down for ever. 
 
MY FRIEND MOHAMMED-BEN-OUMBARK. 315 
 
 One evening, when Mohammed was blowing a coal on the 
 hearth of one of his mountain acquaintances, who owned a 
 horse by far too good for one of his condition, there suddenly 
 arose the sound of voices in the yard, and a knocking was 
 heard at the door. In an instant, the four or five men who 
 were asleep on the floor, sprung to their feet, but while they 
 were groping about, Mohammed had opened the door, and 
 found two horsemen that stood asking hospitality and holding 
 the bridles of their horses. Mohammed said in a disguised 
 voice, " God be with you, enter, and I will take care of your 
 horses." 
 
 The strangers resigned the bridles of their animals to the 
 hospitable Kabyle, as they supposed him to be, and entered 
 the house. Mohammed swung himself into one of the sad- 
 dles, and leading the second horse by his bridle, swept down 
 to the plain. As he rode away, he called to the proprietor 
 of the house, " Take good care of your guests : Mohammed- 
 ben-Oumbark will take care of their horses 1" 
 
 But this good fortune did not always await such laudable 
 industry, and during the course of his life, my honest friend 
 had received so many bullets and sabre cuts, that they would 
 have killed any more prudent man. One day I asked him 
 how it was that he, who must so often have met lions on his 
 nocturnal excursions, managed always to come off free: he 
 answered with enthusiasm : 
 
 " The lion is everything, and man is nothing. 'Tis only the 
 lion that knows how to impose respect and fear — man ought 
 to be governed by a lion." 
 
 "Then, you never had any cause of complaint against 
 him ?" 
 
 " No ; on the contrary, he has always aided me in my 
 forays, and carried disorder and terror'to the douar, that I 
 might walk by his side, and take what I chose. 
 
 " While he killed for his good pleasure, I stole for 
 
316 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 mine, and neither of us were apt to come home empty- 
 handed. 
 
 " It is true, if he was hungiy when I met him, he alwajs 
 asked me go shares with him in whatever I had with me, and 
 I never turned a deaf ear. 
 
 " Only once did I ever jSnd him unreasonable. It was the 
 evening of El-cid-Kebir, and every good Mussulman on that 
 day, as you know, kills the fatted calf. I, however, never 
 liking to take away the life of one of my own poor dumb beasts, 
 generally selected my repast from the herds of my neighbors. 
 As I was coming home with the sheep I had just taken, thrown 
 over my shoulder, I met a lion. 
 
 *' ' Seignior,' I said to him, ' I am very sorry, but you can't 
 have my sheep this evening, as I want to keep it for the feast 
 to-morrow, like a good Mussulman as I am.' . 
 
 " The lion made believe he did not understand me, and 
 became more and more pressing in his request. 
 
 " I then left the path to take refuge in a grotto that I knew 
 quite near, thinking I would remain there until morning, and 
 return home by daylight. Before going into the grotto, I 
 looked over my shoulder, and the lion had disappeared ; but 
 I understood the gentleman a little too well to think that he 
 had gone, and therefore hid myself in the furthermost end of 
 the cave. 
 
 " In about an hour's time I began to find it lonely in this 
 marmot's hole, and thought I would just step out, to see how 
 matters looked out of doors. On reaching the entrance, and 
 bracing myself with one hand on each side of the opening, I 
 slowly protruded my head to take a peep outside. At this 
 instant, I was suddenly harpooned by the capuchin of my 
 burnous, and I had just strength enough to draw in my head 
 in order to avoid being dragged out in the open air like a por- 
 cupine. 
 
 The lion, who had been all this time crouching down over 
 
MY FRIEND MOHAMMED-BEN-OUMBARK. 31 Y 
 
 the top of the cave, had snatched at rae with his paw, like a 
 cat, and seizing my burnous, instead of my head, he commenced 
 tearing it to pieces, at the same time venting his anger 
 with low growls, that sounded very unpleasantly, so near to 
 me as he was. Fearing lest he might insert his paw into my 
 shallow cave, I pushed out the sheep he was coveting, lie 
 sprang on it without the slightest scruples, and had the 
 indelicacy to eat it before my very eyes. 
 
 "At last, when he had made up his mind to leave, after his 
 pleasant little lunch, he marched off without any thanks for 
 my kindness, leaving the skin of the sheep on one side, with 
 the smoking remains of his supper, and on the other my 
 new burnous, all torn in pieces. 
 
 '' The bloody thief did not leave me time enough to go to 
 the neighbors to get another sheep, for when he left for the 
 woods, the day began to break, and I was obliged to go home 
 and kill one of my own lambs, or else go without mutton on 
 the day of El-cid-Kebir, from which poverty may the prophet 
 defend me. 
 
 " This was the first time that I was ever reduced to this 
 strait, and it is only the lion that can ever bring me there 
 again." 
 
 This is the second personage whose portrait I desire to 
 place in my gallery of native Arabs, and as I have now com- 
 pletely recovered from the fever, if it so pleases the reader, 
 we will return to the narrative of my hunts. 
 
Si8 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF A FOUNDLING. 
 
 One day in the month of February, 1846, Monsieur de 
 Tourville, who was in command in the Guehna district, sent 
 me word that the tribe of Beni-Foughal had prayed that I 
 might be sent to their aid, to deliver them from a lioness and 
 her cubs that had installed themselves, without any per- 
 mission, in their country. 
 
 In one hour I was on horseback by the side of a Sheik of 
 their tribe, and at sunset we reached his douar, that was situ- 
 ated at the foot of Mount Jebel-Meziour. 
 
 The next morning, with early light, I began to beat up the 
 low woods, where it was said the lioness kept her little ones. 
 Here I found the lair of the mother, and a beautiful little cub, 
 about as large as Angora cat, nestled in a bed of dry leaves, 
 carefully arranged beneath the shelter of a thicket of low 
 limbed trees. 
 
 I picked up the little nursling, and carried it down to 
 the douar, and after leaving it in charge of the women, 
 went back to await the lioness when she should return 
 home. 
 
 When I again reached the lion's retreat, the sun had set, 
 and as I entered beneath the close vault of matted vines that 
 covered the dry leaf-bed, I discovered that I could not see a 
 yard to the right hand or to the left. By the aid of my 
 
THE HISTORY OF A FOUNDLING. 319 
 
 hunting knife, I cut away the branches, so that I had a little 
 aisle before me, and then seated myself at the foot of a cork 
 tree, to await the progress of events. My order of battle 
 was very simple where there were so few foes, and I had such 
 small resources, it was simply to wait until the lioness showed 
 her head inside of my clearing, and then to blow out her 
 brains with my gun ; that is, if I could. 
 
 As night gathered her folds, closer and closer, around the 
 bower, I brought all my senses into play to give me informa- 
 tion of the approach of the animal. My hearing became 
 acute with the lack of seeing, and every noise came to my 
 ear with perfect distinctness, and the hundred voices of nature, 
 that whisper all night in the forest, told me the motions of 
 her creatures. 
 
 Now a rat, rustling in'the dried leaves, and now a tapir's 
 tread, as he quitted his couch, seemed like that of my friend, 
 the lioness. 
 
 Then a jackal would come prying around in search of 
 some of the crumbs that had fallen from his mistress's table, 
 and for a moment deceive me, until his mumbling the bones 
 the lion's whelps had picked, would destroy the illusion. 
 Then the wind's motion in the trees, and then some insect 
 burrowing in the earth, or restless bird would give a sound that 
 would draw my attention, and tax my powers to explain. 
 For more than two mortal hours I was doomed to wait and 
 watch, until all my nerves became strung like a bow-string, 
 and my arm was weary with the weight of my gun. Finally, 
 I' leaned back against the tree, with the firm determination 
 of waiting until the eyes of the lioness should come forth 
 to lighten the darkness and show me my target. 
 
 I must needs digress a moment to inform the reader 
 why it was that I had been called to aid the Arabs against 
 their enemy, without their attempting anything for them- 
 selves. 
 
820 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 In the year 1840, a lioness had given birth to a litter of 
 young in the woods whepe I was now watching six years 
 after. 
 
 The same Sheik who had come with me from Guelma, had 
 called together sixty men of his tribe, and they had hunted 
 through this very cover, and found two lion whelps. En- 
 chanted with their discovery, the band carried ofl' the help- 
 less animals, and marched down the mountain, singing songs 
 of victory. The lioness finding out her loss, followed the party, 
 and bounded on one of the bravest of the warriors in the mid- 
 dle of the band ; then receiving a mortal wound she sprang 
 on another, and tore him to pieces, falling dead on her victim, 
 and the two hunters were carried home side by side with 
 the dead body of the lioness. On my arrival at the douar, the 
 Sheik had recounted to me the story of this hunt in its 
 minutest particulars. As he told the tale, the different actors 
 whom he called by name, would speak, saying, " That was 
 T," and display the ghastly wounds made by the bereaved 
 mother. 
 
 The remembrance of this tragedy had protected, on 
 this occasion, the cradle of the lioness, and although the 
 nursery fare was an expensive addition to the usual cost of 
 supporting a lioness, the Arabs bore the demands of the 
 growing family without any attempt at resistance. This was 
 the cause of my being found on a dark cold night, crouched 
 in the forest from which I had a little before taken a lion's 
 whelp, while the warriors of Beni-Foughal were reposing in 
 their tents. 
 
 It might have been about eight o'clock in the evening," 
 when I heard the steps of what seemed to be a large animal. 
 The nearer they came, the heavier they seemed, until at last 
 I was certain of it — it was the lioness. 
 
 When within about six paces, the animal suddenly stopped. 
 Fearing that she had seen or scented me, and would clear 
 
THE HISTORY OF A FOUNDLING. 321 
 
 the intervening distance with a bound, I arose, hoping 
 to catch a glimpse at least of her eyes. Standing with 
 ray back to the tree, with my gun to my shoulder, and 
 my eye fixed on the impenetrable curtain of foliage that hung 
 before me, I could not see the faintest light, nor hear the 
 slightest sound. 
 
 My imagination, more rapid than sense, and aided by past 
 memories, brought the lioness before me with outstretched 
 neck, her ears laid back, and her body trembling with excite- 
 ment as she made ready her leap. One sees often such 
 spectres, when awaiting in the dark, an invisible foe. Yet 
 she did not bound, and the time of her waiting appeared to 
 me immensely long. Huge drops of sweat, in spite of the 
 cold weather, came out on my forehead and rolled down into 
 my eyes, and my nerves commenced to fail me, when sud- 
 denly a thought entered my mind. 
 
 " Why in the world didn't I climb up this cork tree, 
 instead of sitting down at its foot ? 
 
 *' And what is there to hinder me from climbing it now, 
 and putting myself in a place of safety, twenty feet from 
 ground ? Who will see it ? Who will know it ? Wouldn't 
 any one else do the same thing in my place ?" 
 
 I thought of it but once, and then put it away as unmanly, 
 and immediately grew calm again. 
 
 I am happy, to-day, while writing these lines, after six 
 years spent in the tumult of the wildest emotions, and marked 
 by more than one tragic drama, to remember and approve 
 the decision of that hour. 
 
 It was then more than at any other time, that I compre- 
 hended the difference that exists between a man who exposes 
 his life in broad daylight, before witnesses, and he, who has 
 only the light of the stars to guide him, and himself to bear 
 him witness. The satisfaction of knowing that I had not 
 
 13* 
 
322 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 thouglit of the tree in the daytime, and had regarded it as a 
 mean action to take refuge there in the moment of the greatest 
 peril, produced in my mind a perfect calm, that was worthy 
 of a greater test than the one I had experienced, or a more 
 fearful denouement than the one that followed. Judge of my 
 disappointment and relief, when I heard instead of the wild 
 roar of a lioness charging with a howl of rage at the loss of 
 her children, only the plaintive and hungry whine of a cub 
 seeking his nursing mother. 
 
 Even to this day I cannot think of the turbulent emotions 
 of the heart that were caused by that little scamp, without 
 laughing. 
 
 For want of better game, I took the cub in my arms, and 
 wrapping it m the skirt of my burnous, I started to regain 
 the path that led to the douar. 
 
 After three or four hours of hard walking across ravines, 
 and through the tangled woods, after many halts to listen to 
 uncertain sounds that I could not explain, that I first imag- 
 ined to be the distant roar, or the furious course of the 
 lioness on my track, and then, what they really were, the low- 
 articulations of forest language that chants in well-known 
 words to nature's children ; at last, I came out of the edge of 
 the timber land, and the barking of the dogs led me to the 
 douar. 
 
 My first care was to examine my cub, and compare him 
 with the other. 
 
 It was a male, and about a third larger than its mate, 
 which was a female, and his dignified deportment and gentle 
 grace, won all hearts at first sight. I gave him the name of 
 Hubert, after my patron saint. While the little lioness 
 shunned all observation, and received the caresses showered 
 upon her, only with blows and scratches, Hubert stretched 
 himself out on the hearth, and looked around with a quiet 
 
THE HISTORY OF A FOUNDLING. 323 
 
 air of wonder, without the least apparent wildness. The 
 women could never finish caressing him, and with a womanly 
 appreciation of his wants, they brought him a goat with a 
 fresh bag of milk to act the part of a mother. Nanny 
 having been laid down on her side, and held still by two 
 Arabs who prevented her from kicking or running away, as 
 she seemed well disposed to do, one of her teats was brought 
 to Hubert's lips. 
 
 He did not seem at once to understand what was meant, 
 but the moment the first drop of milk touched his lips he 
 fastened on to his new mother with a devotion that could 
 never be excelled. The lioness obstinately refused to eat in 
 spite of the example of her brother, and would only lie down 
 where she could find some place to conceal herself from view. 
 Hubert passed tJie first night of his civilized life with me 
 sleeping calmly at my side, covered with the skirt of my 
 burnous. 
 
 On the next day I hunted over the whole of the mountain 
 with the men of the tribe, and examined every lair without 
 success. As it was drawing near evening, I did not return 
 to the douar, but having shared the supper of a herdsman 
 whom I met on the hills, I again installed myself under the 
 bower where I had watched the previous evening. 
 
 But the day wasted to night, and waned again into day, 
 and no lioness came to disturb my solitary vigil. I learned 
 sometime after, that she had left the neighborhood after I 
 had robbed her cradle of her two children, carrying a third 
 away with her to a safer home. 
 
 This disappearance of the old lady, together with the 
 capture of two of her cubs, having completely calmed tho 
 inhabitants of Beni-Foughal, I left their country to return to 
 Guelma, carrying with me my two adopted children. 
 
 Shortly after my return the female departed this life, and 
 went where the good lions go. Her early demise from tho 
 
324 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 scene of so much anticipated usefulness, and in the bud of 
 her youthful days, was owing to a difiSculty in teething, a 
 process of nature very dangerous to the leonine family, 
 unaided as they generally , are by suitable medical advice. 
 But her brother grew apace, and as day after day brought 
 forth some new evidence of childish grace, or sentiment of a 
 kindly heart, he became beloved by all who knew him, and 
 I lis young appetite drank dry nearly all the she-goats in the 
 camp. 
 
 I write these lines with a chastened sorrow, to recall the 
 many acts and infantile graces of my child Hubert, that will 
 be a pleasant memory not only to myself, but to the many 
 comrades of his early days, whose lonely Jiours were enliven- 
 ed by his quaint gambols, and affectionate caresses. 
 
 Besides his most intimate friends, he had a great number 
 of ordinary ones. Hubert counted but these three, the 
 trumpeter Lehman, the farrier Bibart, and the spahi Rostain, 
 who a year afterwards was torn to pieces under my very eyes 
 by the lion of Mejez-Amar. 
 
 When Hubert first joined the squadron, his name was 
 entered on a little book as a second rate private of dragoons, 
 awaiting promotion. Everything he did of any renown was 
 immediately recorded in this book, together with all his 
 marches and campaigns. 
 
 These are some extracts T have taken from the volume which 
 show his high character, and rapid advancement in the career 
 of arms. 
 
 20th April, 1846, (Hubert was three months old at this 
 time). The trumpets sounded the call, " to horse." The 
 squadron assembled in the court of the barracks, in order 
 to march to the parade ,grouud, The cc^valier Hubert 
 having been locked up in the second story room, an^ 
 hearing the call, springs up to the window and calls out, 
 " present." 
 
THE HISTORY OF A FOUNDLING. 325 
 
 The officer of the day not having heard him, marked him 
 as absent at parade. 
 
 The captain commanded, "m fours, march P^ and the 
 trumpets sounding to deploy, Hubert, regardless of propriety 
 leaped down into the court before all the troops. 
 
 By reason of this active desire to do his duty, the mark 
 against his name was erased, and he was entered as being 
 present. 
 
 \5th May, 184G — Sous cavalier Hubert having strangled 
 his goat, who was acting in the capacity of a wet nurse, is 
 named cavalier of the first class. 
 
 Sth September, 1846 — Hubert made a sortie upon the 
 market-place during market hours, and caused a complete 
 rout, and was left master of the field. He upset the gens 
 d'armes, killed several sheep and a donkey, and surrendered 
 himself only to his friends, Lehmau, Bibart and Rostain, who 
 ran to coax him home again. 
 
 For this feat Hubert was raised to the rank of Corporal, he 
 was decked with a chain of honor around the neck, and was 
 appointed to the post of guardian of the stables. 
 
 lO^A January, 184 7 — A Bedouin having come wandering 
 about the horses belonging to the stables, Hubert suspecting 
 him to be a marauder, broke his chain, seized him, and 
 carried him into his sentry box until the officer of the watch 
 made his round, when he delivered up his prisoner in a 
 rather dilapidated state. This achievement gained for him 
 the grade of quarter-master, with the decoration of an 
 additional chain. 
 
 April, 1847 — Hubert having strangled a horse, and torn 
 in pieces two soldiers of the line, receives the grade of officer, 
 and has apartments assigned to him in a cage. 
 
 Poor Hubert ! The government that had been so good 
 and indulgent over so many peccadilloes, and had even pardon- 
 ed some misdeeds of a higher grade, on account of his gentle 
 
326 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 disposition, could no longer close its eyes to this sad breach 
 of all military discipline. Hubert was condemned to death^ 
 or imprisonment for life ; and it was I, his dearest friend, 
 who had so often shared with him my bed, that was charged 
 with the execution of the sentence. 
 
 My first intention was to give him his liberty, but I feared 
 lest having been always accustomed to the presence of men, 
 he would only come back to the camp to plunder and kill, 
 and so I took the next best course, and Hubert soon found 
 himself the lonely tenant of an iron cage instead of the 
 honored guest of Guelma. 
 
 With the first days of his imprisonment, I would occasion- 
 ally come to his cage in the evening to while away some of 
 his lonely liours. As soon as the door was opened, he would 
 bound joyously out, and then after kissing each other in the 
 tenderest manner, we would commence a game of hide-and- 
 go-seek. One evening, however, he embraced me so lovingly 
 that I would have been smothered had not my comrades run 
 to my aid, and with their scabbards relieved me from his 
 crushing caresses. This was the last time we indulged in 
 this game together, and yet I can do my friend the justice to 
 say, that I never saw the least bad intent on his part, for 
 whenever he was gambolling with me or any other of his 
 acquaintances, he always avoided using his teeth or claws, 
 and his manners were ever most kind and aflectionate. 
 
 After he was confined to his cage, his character became 
 very much changed, and he was irritable and restless ; walk- 
 ing up and down his narrow limits, he made the walls resound 
 to his heavy voice and the clanking of his chain. I then 
 conceived the idea of separating myself from him, and made 
 known my intentions. 
 
 An officer of the king of Sardinia wanted to buy him for 
 three thousand francs, but I could not sell Hubert, as I had 
 sold the skins of lions I had killed — Hubert, my child of tho 
 
THE HISTORY OF A FOUNDLING. 327 
 
 desert. The Duke d'Aumale had honored me with his kind- 
 ness, and I resolved to present him my pet, praying that 
 ample room might be given to him in the gardens at Algiers, 
 and that he might have everything that would tend to his 
 comfort as long as he lived. 
 
328 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MY ADOPTED CHILD LEAVES GUELMA, AND WELCOMES ME AT 
 PARIS. 
 
 It was in the month of October, 184Y, that Hubert left 
 Guelma to the great regret of the hidies, to whom he had 
 been exceedingly gallant, and the soldiers of every grade and 
 service, who all loved him as much as they did me. 
 
 Lehman and Bibart got very drunk, in order the better to 
 support the gn'ief of separation, but they were none the less 
 moved when the last moment came round, and were obliged 
 to be locked up in the guard-house before they would allow 
 their friend to be removed. 
 
 Once at Algiers, Hubert was found to be too grand and 
 beautiful to remain in their provincial gardens, and it was 
 decided that he should make a visit to Paris, and I was 
 detached to accompany him. The poor animal was indeed 
 too large and beautiful for the sad life he was thereafter to 
 lead. The captain of the vessel that carried us across the 
 Mediterranean, allowed me to have the cage open for a few 
 hours at a time when Hubert was eating his meals, having 
 first stretched cables across the deck to prevent the curious 
 passengers from coming too near my pet. As soon as the 
 door was open, Hubert came out, and after thanking me for 
 the privilege after his fashion, and given me as many tokens 
 of his regard as the circumstances would permit, he walked 
 up and down the deck as far as his chain would allow him to 
 
Mr ADOPTED CHILD LEAVES GUELMA. 329 
 
 go. Then he ate his breakfast, which usually consisted of a 
 beefsteak of about ten pounds, and having completed his 
 ablutione and made his toilette, he would lay down in the 
 sun to take a nap. When the hour of recreation was passed, 
 he entered his cell, deafening us a little with his complaints 
 against the narrowness of his berth, and then awaited very 
 patiently his dinner time. 
 
 In this manner passed the last happy days of his life. 
 
 Upon reaching Toulon we separated, he to go to Marseilles 
 and I to Cuers to see my family. I was soon in the arms of 
 those I loved best on earth, and yet all the while, in spite of 
 my occupations and pleasures, I felt a void that nothing 
 could till. Hubert was ever at my side, if not in person, at 
 least in spirit, and I constantly mistook the sound of the 
 mountain torrents for the first low tones of his voice. I could 
 not stay away from him any longer, and returned to Mar- 
 seilles. Althought it had been only a few weeks since I had 
 left my child, I could not help feeling shocked at the change 
 that was apparent in his whole bearing ; he was no longer 
 the same being. After the first joy of meeting, that ani- 
 mated every lineament of his beautiful head, had passed, he 
 relapsed into the same mournful indiflerence. His look 
 seemed to s-ay to me, " Why did you leave me ? Where am 
 I ? Where are they taking me to ? You have come back, 
 but will you stay ?" 
 
 I was so much moved by his mute eloquence, that I could 
 not stay in the room with him, but left brusquely. As I 
 went out I heard him bounding in his cage, roaring with 
 anger. I hastened back to his side, when he became calm 
 and laid himself down against the bars, where I could pat 
 him with my hand. In a little while he went to sleep with 
 my arm resting on his head, and I stole away on tiptoe, so as 
 not to trouble his repose. Sleep is the great oblivion, as well 
 for the lion as for man. 
 
330 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 Three months after this last interview I reached Paris, 
 and my first visit was paid to Mons. Leon Bertrand, the 
 editor of the JouiTial des Chasseurs. 
 
 Honor where honor is due. 
 
 It seemed to me that this naturalist writer, whose name 
 is known to every one who ever fired a gun or wore a hunt- 
 ing knife, the founder of a sporting review without a rival in 
 the world, should receive my first visit. I had no personal 
 acquaintance with him, although a correspondence that had 
 arisen between us had already revealed to me the spirit of 
 the man, and Attached me to him by one of those sympa- 
 thetic bonds that, once formed, are never broken. We had 
 not talked together more than an hour, before we were like 
 two brothers. Are there not natures made to love each 
 other with a regard that is born with the first clasping of the 
 hands ? 
 
 On the next day, which was the first day of the year 1848, 
 we went together to the Jardin des Plantes, accompanied by 
 a lady and her daughter, who desired to be present at my 
 first interview with Hubert. 
 
 On entering the department of the garden apportioned to 
 ferocious beasts, ^ as they are pleased to call them, I was 
 astonished at the narrow limits in which the animals were 
 obliged to live, in a mortal repose, as well as the pestilential 
 odor that exhaled from the dens, which the hyenas and other 
 unclean beasts might endure, but which most surely would 
 kill the lions and panthers, those animals with clean sleek 
 skins that are neatness personified. 
 
 While I was slowly approaching the cage of my friend, 
 thinking of the unpleasant subjects that had been suggested 
 to my mind, he was lying down half asleep, regarding at 
 intervals with half shut eyes, the persons who were passing 
 and re-passsing before him. 
 
 All of a sudden he raised his head, his tail moved, his eyes 
 
HE WELCOMES ME IN PARIS. 831 
 
 dilated, a nervous motion contracted the muscles of his face ; he 
 had seen the uniform of the spahis, but had not yet recognized 
 his friend. He had scented the air of the desert, and heard 
 again the trumpets of Guelma, but had not yet recognized 
 the plains of his native land. Nevertheless his searching eye 
 scanned me from head to foot, over and over again, as though 
 seeking some point of recognition. I drew nearer and 
 nearer, and no longer able to restrain my emotion I stretched 
 out my hand to him through the bars. 
 
 Oh ! it was touching, that moment of growing recognition ! 
 
 Without ceasing his earnest gaze, he applied his nose to 
 my hand, and drew in knowledge witli a long breath. At 
 each inhalation his attitude became more noble, his look more 
 satisfied and affectionate. Under the uniform that had been 
 so dear to him, he began to recognize the friend of his 
 heart. 
 
 I felt that that it only needed a single word to dissipate all 
 doubt. 
 
 " Hubert^ I said, as I laid my hand on him, " my old 
 soldier /" 
 
 Not another word. With a furious bound and a note of 
 welcome, he sprang against the iron bars, that bent and 
 shivered with the blow. My friends fled in terror, calling to 
 me to do the same. 
 
 Noble animal ! you made the world tremble even in your 
 ecstasies of pleasure. 
 
 Hubert was standing with his cheek against the grating, 
 attempting to break down the obstacle that separated us, 
 mai^nificent to behold as he shook the walls of the buildino-s 
 with his roars of joy and anger. 
 
 His enormous tongue licked the hand that I abandoned to 
 his caresses, while with his paws he gently tried to draw me 
 to him. If any one attempted to come near, he fell into 
 frenzies of rage, and when the visitors fell back to a distance, 
 
3e32 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 he became calm and caressing as before, handling me with 
 his huge paws, rubbing against the bars, and licking my 
 hand, while every gesture, and moan, and look, told of his 
 joy and his love. 
 
 I cannot express how hard a thing was our parting of 
 that day. 
 
 Twenty times I came back to speak to him, and to try and 
 make him understand that I was coming back again, and 
 each time that I started to go, lie shook the gallery with his 
 bounds and heart-rending roars. 
 
 For some time I came every day to see my friend in his 
 solitary prison-house, and sometimes we passed several, hours 
 together in most familiar intercourse. But after a little 
 while I noticed that he became sad and changed, and 
 seemed utterly dispirited. 
 
 I consulted the keepers of the garden, and they thought 
 that it was owing to my visits and the regret at my leaving. 
 I then tried to keep away, and gradually to accustom him to 
 my absence, hoping to win him over to a calmer state of 
 mind. 
 
 One flowering day in the month of May, I entered the 
 garden as usual. One of the keepers came forward, and 
 respectfully saluting me, said, with sorrow : 
 
 " Don't come any more, sir, Hubert is dead /" 
 
 I turned on my heel and hastened out of the garden, 
 bowed down by the heavy grief at the loss of my dearest 
 friend, and the crowding memories of the past. The lonely 
 mountain post, his dead leaf cradle, the burnous that had 
 covered us both, the camp life at Guelma, all flicker and go 
 before me even at this time, when I return to the garden, as 
 I sometimes do, to wander and think of my poor friend. 
 
 Thus died this child of the wilderness, that I had taken 
 from his mother's breast, from the pure air of the mountain, 
 from liberty and the supremest dominion, to wither in a 
 
A NOBLE RESOLUTION. 333 
 
 prison. In the forest he would have been living yet — civili- 
 zation killed him. 
 
 Hereafter live and rule in absolute liberty, fierce Sultans of 
 Atlas ! never again vrill I raise my hand to bring you into 
 slavery. Hereafter we only meet face to face, and death for 
 death. What is the destruction that comes like the thunder- 
 bolt in the forest, underneath the midnight sky, to the slow 
 agony of the prison-house? Better a thousand times, the 
 iron ball of the hunter, than the iron shackle of a gaoler ! 
 
334 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 SHOWING THE SKILL OF THE LION IN THE COMMISSARIAT 
 DEPARTMENT. 
 
 In the spring of the year 1846, a body of troops, among 
 which was myself, was marching towards the frontiers of 
 Tunis. 
 
 One morning after the tents were struck, and the men had 
 been on the road about an hour, while they were following a 
 path on the right bank of the Ouled Meleh, in the Enbeil 
 countiy, they came across a lion, or rather, a lion came 
 across them. The path was quite narrow, and the troops 
 were marching in file, when the lion calmly walked across 
 their path, between the musicians and the head of the 
 column, and then, when he had gone about a gun-shot off, he 
 quietly sat down on a little hillock, to see the parade of so 
 many men, that must have been to him a spectacle as curious 
 as unusual. 
 
 Colonel de Tourville, who was in command of the forces, 
 had caused the cavalry to remain behind, until all the other 
 troops had passed the defile, and therefore I did not learn of 
 the circumstance until some time had elapsed, and then 
 through the medium of one of the guards who had cantered 
 back to tell me. 
 
 I immediately set out on the trail of the animal, on horse- 
 back, and a spahi accompanied me to hold my horse, in case 
 I wanted to dismount. 
 
THE LION IN THE COMMISSARIAT DEPARTMENT. 335 
 
 I followed the track as best I could, and in about balf an 
 hour I saw the lion ahead of me, leaving the open country 
 for the woods, and an ox walking directly in front of him. 
 The spahi then told me that he bad traversed the line of 
 march of the soldiers in the same manner, with the ox walk- 
 ing ahead of him all the while. 
 
 This circumstance, as insignificant as it may appear to 
 many persons, is of much importance to those who are 
 seeking for information. For myself, it teaches me two 
 things : 
 
 First, that the lion is a faithful father to his young chil- 
 dren, since he goes very far for the purpose of getting them 
 live food. 
 
 Second, that he certainly has the power to magnetize his 
 victims, and lead them where lie chooses, the more con- 
 veniently to put them to death. 
 
 When I first saw the animal, he had crossed a bare ravine 
 with precipitous banks, and was walking over a narrow inter- 
 val of ground, that separated him from the woods. When he 
 saw us riding towards him, he stopped, and the ox that was 
 about ten paces ahead of him stopped also ; the lion then laid 
 himself down on the grass, and gazed across the plain at us 
 as we approached. We rode at full gallop, and did not halt 
 until we reached the edge of the gully, and within sixty 
 paces of the lion. Here I dismounted, and gave my horse in 
 ^charge of the spahi, and taking my gun on my arm, proceeded 
 to reconoitre the enemy's position. 
 
 I found him camped very securely. Before him descended 
 the steep bank of tlie ravine, that would have been very diffi- 
 cult to mount, even without a foe at the top. To have 
 climbed this ascent to within fifteen paces of the waiting 
 animal would have been more than folly, for even did the 
 lion choose to await my coming until I had fired my shot^ 
 he would not have needed more than a second or two 
 
336 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 of life to have sprung down upon me, hurling me to the 
 bottom of the ravine in his death struggles. 
 
 There was uo other way of getting within shot than crossing 
 this ravine, and the lion was in too exposed a position to wait 
 long for my military tactics. I thought that if I should walk 
 forward, the lion would advance on his side, and always keep- 
 ing the highest land, according to his custom, we might find 
 some middle ground whereon to do battle. 
 
 What I had anticipated occurred. . When I dismounted 
 and took my gun, the lion arose from the place where he had 
 been lying, and when I came forward down the slope of the 
 ravine on my side, he, with an assured step, commenced 
 descending his own side to meet me. 
 
 Where was the generosity that most writers accord to the 
 lion, to be found in the act of this specimen ? Was it hun- 
 ger that impelled him, who had held an ox for so long a time 
 in his power, to come forward with lofty menace, the moment 
 a stranger showed himself on the plain ? 
 
 Now commenced the manoeuvres of the two leaders of the 
 approaching combat, and the tactics of noble war. 
 
 With my double barrel rifle lying in the hollow of my arm, 
 on the full cock, I carefully and slowly walked down the 
 hill, taking care to pick the smoothest ground, and keep my 
 adversary's movements in sight. The lion did the same on 
 his side, with equal care, but like a high bred cock, he seemed 
 to be thinking. of anything but me, and scarcely ever looked 
 at me. 
 
 As the two sides of the ravine converged like a funnel, in 
 a little while I was within about thirty paces, and then 
 halted. The lion did the same until I stopped, and then 
 without descending the valley any further, whereby he might 
 lose the preeminence of his position, he commenced walking 
 to the right and left, like a sentinel on duty. Each time that 
 he passed in front of me in his promenade he halted, and 
 
* THE LION IN THE COMMISSARIAT DEPARTMENT. 33*7 
 
 scowled at me, and wrinkled bis lips to show Lis teeth ; he 
 then would raise his long mane until it shadowed his face, 
 and utter a hollow roar, like the mutterings of a coming 
 storm. So the Arab horde that scours the plain, and halts 
 before you, flaunts its burnous, clatters its arms, and chants 
 its Bedouin cry before the last great charge that sweeps. like 
 a whirlwind over you. 
 
 When he reached the end of his walk, he paused, and threw 
 up large masses of dirt and sod with his fore paws like a bull, 
 grumbling all the while, and shaking with anger. 
 
 As he was becoming more and more excitable at every 
 minute, and as my first shot would call forth all the force of 
 the pent-up storm, I prepared to make the attack without 
 losing any time. I carefully selected a sod on the precipitous 
 bank, where I might sit Nvithout danger of slipping to the bot- 
 tom of the ravine. Taking my seat, I brought my gun to my 
 shoulder, when the lion was directly opposite to me. At this 
 motion, which the enemy fully comprehended, he attempted -to 
 crouch down, but was not able to do so on the declivity, and 
 could only gather himself up like a goat, with his haunches 
 backed against the hill. 
 
 I aimed back of the shoulder, as near as might be at the 
 heart, and fired. 
 
 The lion bit the earth, writhed for an instant, and then, 
 with his great eye on me, he bounded in the air to cross the 
 ravine, and fell within ten steps of where I stood. He com- 
 menced to gather himself together again for another leap, 
 holding on to some roots that grew out of the bank, and I 
 could see the blood spirt out of both sides where my ball had 
 gone entirely through his body. Before he had recovered 
 himself, I sent my other ball in his breast. He little by little 
 loosened his hold, his limbs relaxed, and rolling down the hill, 
 he fell with a dull sound on the rocky bed beneath. 
 
 I commenced re-loading my gun, but found I had left my 
 15 
 
338 THE LI9N KILLER. 
 
 cartridge-box hanging to the pommel of my saddle, and hast- 
 ened up the bank to get it. Evils never come alone, says the 
 proverb, and when I searched the plain, I found ray horse had 
 disappeared with my spalii, and could nowhere be seen. 
 
 I hunted and hallooed for more than an hour, but 
 there was no mortal thing to be seen on that desolate 
 plain. 
 
 At last, from the elevation of a hill, I saw a mounted Arab 
 giving chase to my horse, that seemed little disposed to sur- 
 render his newly-gained liberty. I followed the course they 
 were taking, and at about sunset I had re-loaded my gun and 
 was again in my saddle, flying back to the ravine where I 
 had left my lion. I reached the scene of the conflict a little 
 before night, and found plenty of blood, but the lion was off. 
 As long as I could make anything out in the twilight, I fol- 
 lowed the trail, and then betook myself to a neighboring douar 
 to pass the night. 
 
 The next morning found me again on the trail, that was 
 colored at every step with blood. But presently it crossed a 
 brook, and then the marks ceased. The soil was dry and 
 rocky, and the country wooded, and so I was obliged to give 
 it up and rejoin my squadron that was to accompany the 
 expedition to Souh Ras. 
 
 A few days after, an Arab runner came into camp, to tell 
 'me that his tribe had found the lion not far from where I had 
 left him, dead on the plain, a feast for the vultures. 
 
A DIGRESSION, FOR VARIETY'S SAKE. 339 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A DIGRESSION FOR VARIETY'S SAKE. 
 
 TnK 1st of June, 1846, our squadrons were encamped under 
 the w^Us of Tabessa. 
 
 The 2d, a convoy of sick from Guelma, together with their 
 escort, was attacked and killed to a man by the Arabs. 
 
 The 3d, our troops under General Randon, with the cavalry, 
 attacked the enemy, and took exemplary vengeance. 
 
 The 19th, at noon, while we were in bivouac in the Han- 
 encha country, a soothsayer with a multitude of fanatics 
 under his command, marched against our camp, thinking to 
 surprise us like sheep that slumber in the noonday shade. 
 
 Before the Arabs were within gunshot of our outposts 
 the alarm was given. Full of confidence in their soothsayer, 
 who had promised them that our powder should be turned 
 into water, they waited for us to come within pistol-shot with- 
 out firing a gun. We made a charge, and drove through 
 ttem like wild boars through the reeds in the marshes, cutting 
 them down on every side, and making them pay dearly for 
 their misplaced confidence. 
 
 At the moment the general gave the signal for the charge, 
 a number of the fanatics showed themselves at the foot of a 
 wooded hill, a hundred paces on our right. Our company 
 charged the rascals, who after having fired into us as we rode 
 up, dodged like foxes, as they were, into the woods. The 
 horsemen threw themselves from their saddles, and pursued 
 
340 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 tlie scamps on foot, and then commenced a very amusing fight. 
 Dodo-inof around bushes and between rocks, sometimes on 
 foot and sometimes on horseback, we followed our foes, and 
 they, when they got too hard pressed, would scramble up a tree. 
 
 The fight lasted until night, the French were everywhere 
 victorious, and the soothsayer had to leave the country, to 
 avoid the merited anger of his dupes. 
 
 At the end of forty days the troops returned to garrison, 
 and the third regiment of spahis to Guelma. 
 
THE MISFORTUNES OF LAKDAR. 341 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE MISFORTUNES OF LAKDAR A LION THAT DEVOURED THE 
 
 FACULTY OF A COLLEGE. 
 
 I HAD hardly arrived at Guelma, before I had complaints 
 preferred by my friends in the Mahouna country against a 
 great red lion that had pitched his tent in their neighbor- 
 hood, and mocked at all the incantations of their sao^es, and 
 the reputation of their warriors. 
 
 The fever was still lingering about my system, but I longed 
 for the fresh winds of the mountain, and believing the best 
 medicine would be some lion's blood, started for a hunt about 
 the first of August. 
 
 Among those who had paid tribute to his mightiness, 
 none had been taxed heavier than one Lakdar, who had been 
 assessed twenty-nine beeves, forty-five sheep, besides mules 
 and jackasses. This was partly owing to the poor devil's 
 farm being situated in so pleasing a contiguity to the moun- 
 tains. Indeed his rugged field seemed more adapted for the 
 abode of lions than men. Fancy to yourself a little clearing 
 of land on the slope of the hills, cut up by deep ravines and 
 surrounded by woods, where the sun only shone at intervals 
 on the savage picture of tents and rocks, and you will have 
 an idea of the spot where Lakdar had reared his penates. 
 
 To counterbalance these hardships of nature, there were a 
 few fields that the settler had reduced to cultivation, an 
 
342 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 orchard laden with fruit, a garden odorous with flowers, 
 and a clear spring that leaped from the earth and murmured 
 down the hills. These were delights that in this sultry clime 
 were worth the wealth of sultans, and gave Lakdar a fortitude 
 perfectly stoical under the attacks of his enemy. 
 
 I found the little camp surrounded by a hedge six feet 
 high and three feet thick, which the lion was accustomed to 
 jump over, and selecting his dinner, carry it off to the woods 
 with the same ease that a fox would seize and carry off a 
 duck from the quacking brood. The first night or two was 
 spent in the park awaiting the coming of the lion, and the 
 day in hunting up all his haunts, but without any success ; he 
 was nowhere to be found. 
 
 " You see," said Lakdar, " you have nothing to do but to 
 come hero and the lion runs away, and as soon as you go he 
 will return, and then the rest of my cattle, and my wife and 
 children will all follow the road that the first of my poor 
 oxen have taken." 
 
 " You must take a wife and stay among us," said Lakdar's 
 spouse, " we will show you the prettiest girls in the mountains; 
 you can choose two or three for wives, our tribe will build 
 you a house, and give you a herd of cattle, and then we will 
 have peace in the land." 
 
 Without receiving Madame Lakdar's opinion as perfectly 
 true, yet I will give the history of an occurrence that shows 
 with what fatal determination a lion adheres to his predilec- 
 tion for some favorite camp or herd. There was once a 
 mosque on the old road from Constantine to Batna that went 
 by the name of Jema-el-Bechiva, and its ruined minarets 
 exist to this day. 
 
 The holy men who inhabited this retreat had raised a 
 young lion that was brought in by the Arabs, but after it had 
 nearly attained its growth, the ungrateful scholar finding the 
 path of religion a thorny road suddenly disappeared. 
 
A COLLEGE FACULTY EATEN BY A LION. 343 
 
 In a little while after, the douars that were located in the 
 neighborhood of the mosque became the prey of his 
 heretical appetite. 
 
 One evening the head of the holy fathers of Jema-el-Bechira 
 was missing from prayers. 
 
 Tiie next evening one of his assistants was found absent 
 from his supper, a thing very unusual with a good mussul- 
 man. 
 
 So on for forty days, one by one tlie number of these wise 
 men diminished gradually, the responses became fainter at 
 prayers and the platters fewer at table. The lion lay in 
 ambush by the brook, and when they came down to make 
 their daily ablutions, they found their way into his infidel 
 maw. 
 
 It was not until the fortieth professor had disappeared 
 (a whole faculty devoured by a lion), that the ten of the 
 faithful who remained took the better part of valor, and 
 emigrated to a safer country, and the mosque was 
 deserted. 
 
 Then the lion not having his stomach toned for the coarser 
 fare of horse or beef, descended to the laity, and taking his 
 post on the road, seized on every traveller that passed, until 
 he had placed a perfect embargo on the route, and there was 
 not an Arab, brave as he might be, that dare go over that 
 road even in the daytime. 
 
 At last the lion growing melancholy in the perfect isolation 
 that his predatory habits had imposed on himself, left the 
 country probably in search of another mosque, and thence- 
 forth the El-Bechiva road was travelled by every one in 
 perfect security. 
 
 Since my arrival in the Mahouna country, I had seen great 
 herds of wild hogs feeding in the forest, a sure sign that the 
 lion was not in the neighborhood. Yet still I had not 
 become a convert to Lakdar's opinion, that he had fled my 
 
344 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 presence, but on tlie contrary I quietly waited for bis returii 
 from wbat I supposed would be a sbort visit of pleasure or 
 business. 
 
 One evening wLile seated in tbe garden, watching an old 
 boar that was gradually rooting along the intervening dis- 
 tance, between the edge of the forest and fair rifle shot, 
 Lakdar came came running to tell me that the old black 
 bull, the monarch of all the herd, had not come in at sunset 
 with the rest of the cattle, which was strong evidence of the 
 lion's having returned to his old haunt. Lakdar said that he 
 would go out at early light the next day to see what had 
 become of him. The next morning, after a long night's rest, 
 such as comes to the light heart after a day's chase among 
 the mountain, I opened my eyes and saw my host seated 
 cross-legged before my bed, with his face radiant with 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Come," he said, " I have found him." 
 
 In a quarter of an hour more we were standing contemplat- 
 ing the dead bull that lay in the middle of a tangled wood. 
 The thigh and the breast had been eaten, the rest was 
 still untouched, except by the destroyer's teeth, that had left 
 a semicircle of marks on the black neck. 
 
 I sent Lakdar for some cakes and a flagon of water, and 
 after he had brought them, I gave him leave of absence until 
 the next morning, and took my post at the foot of a wild 
 olive tree within three steps of the carcass. The woods were 
 so thick that I could not see six steps ahead of me, but I 
 carefully picked out the tracks the lion had made when 
 leaving the place, so that I should know which way he would 
 return. I then took off" my turban and rolled it up out of the 
 way that I might hear more distinctly, and sat myself down 
 to the banquet of bull's meat that I all uninvited had come 
 to share with the lion. 
 
 With the setting sun came forth to the world all the 
 
THE MISFORTUNES OF LAKDAR. 345 
 
 animal life that peoples the night, hare, and lynx, and 
 jackal, and the hundreds of little harlequins of the forest 
 court, all unknown even by name to self proud men, sported 
 each after his manner, in the faint light of the crescent moon. 
 There was creaking in the trees, stirring amid the leaves and 
 whispering of voices in that great ftimily of nature, until the 
 mind was wrought up to the most intense anxiety to- decide 
 what might be the laugh of a servant in the hall, or what 
 the tread of the lordly host coming to his feast. It needed 
 quick senses, or signs for life and death would be neglected ; 
 it needed a cool brain, or the strong and rapidly changing 
 emotions that racked the mind and stilled the heart, would 
 make one mad. At about eight in the evening, while a few 
 slant rays of the moon came athwart the leaves, I heard the 
 sharp crack of a stick in the distance . 
 
 There was no doubt in regard to this, nothing but the 
 weight of a lion could have made that noise. 
 
 In a little while after a hollow, guttural roar grated on my 
 ear, and then terminated in a full blast that made the dark- 
 ness vibrate under the close thicket. Presently I could hear 
 his slow heavy steps, as the animal walked leisurely along 
 according to his custom when quitting his lair. 
 
 I waited with my elbow on my knee, and my rifle to my 
 shoulder, until he should appear. 
 
 I did not see him until he was at the side of the carcass of 
 the bull, slowly licking it with his huge tongue, and keeping 
 his eyes fixed on me. I aimed for his forehead, as well as I 
 could in the obscurity, and fired. The lion fell to the earth, 
 and then with a roar he reared up on his hind legs like a 
 horse. 
 
 I was on my feet at the same instant, and taking a step in 
 advance, put my rifle to his head, and fired the second 
 barrel. 
 
 This time he fell heavily without attempting to rise. I 
 
 In* 
 
346 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 stepped back a few paces to reload my rifle, then seeing the 
 animal was still living, I walked up to him with my poniard, 
 intendino; to finish him with a blow. 
 
 At this instant he raised his enormous head, and made a 
 sweep with his paw. I sprang back in time to avoid the 
 blow, and fired the death shot that laid him out motionless 
 on the sod. 
 
 My first ball had entered an inch below the left eye, and 
 gone out at the back of the head, and yet had not killed him. 
 
 While I was examining the grand beast, and meditating 
 on his fate, a moment before the greatest lord in all Algeria, 
 and now a moveless clod, I heard a great noise and shouting 
 behind me. It was Lakdar running through the woods like 
 a wild boar. 
 
 " It is I, Lakdar," he cried, all breathless with the exertion 
 of pushing through the tangled bushes. " I was here — close 
 |)y — listening — I heard all; he is dead — the infidel! the 
 ogre ! he is dead — the scourge ! the devil !" 
 
 Then he laughed, and then talked to himself as he tugged 
 through the underbrush, now scolding a thorn tree that 
 caught his burnous, now denouncing the lion that had 
 thinned his herds. Then he called his brother and his wife. 
 " Come quick — bring the dogs and the children — he is dead 
 — the slave ! — he is dead !" 
 
 At last he came stumbling out to where I stood, saying, 
 " Thank you, brother, for what you have done for me to-day ; 
 hereafter I am yours, soul and body ; you can do with me 
 and all I have, whatever you please." 
 
 " Look at that," I said, pointing to the lion, " is that your 
 old friend?" . 
 
 He seated himself in silence by the body, and examined it 
 for some time, with the greatest attention. 
 
 Then he cried out, " Oh ! villian, all the evil you have done 
 me in your lifetime is as nothing, now that I can take you 
 
THE TRIUMril OF LAKDAR. 347 
 
 by the mane, and slap your face," and suiting the action to 
 the word, he went in with hearty good will, to what would 
 have been a short fight, could the animal have recovered only 
 a second of life. 
 
 We returned to the douar to pass the night, and on the 
 morrow every man, woman, child and dog, that lived on the 
 mountains, swarmed around Lakdar's douar, and filed into 
 the woods where the lion was lying in state, on his leafy bier. 
 In spite of this reinforcement of arms, the body was so heavy, 
 and the woods so thick, that it was found impossible to move 
 it from the plac^ where it was lying, and we were obliged to 
 skin it in the woods, which was done by willing hands, amid 
 shouting and gestures and songs of victory. 
 
 Lakdar asked me, as a favor, to let him accompany me to 
 Guelma, to enter the city with me as the bearer of the 
 trophies. I consented, and he, to enjoy the delight of his 
 triumph to its fullest exent, stretclied tbe lion's skin on a 
 mule, with the head in front, and then mounted himself in 
 this novel saddle. The poor mule was the picture of the ass 
 with the lion's skin, mentioned in the fables, and not only his 
 brethren, far and near, shunned him as they would have 
 done the plague, while they brayed sweet accompaniments to 
 our march, but the poor beast himself, when by chance he 
 looked askew, ran and capered, till Lakdar proved the expe- 
 rience of ages, that royalty's throne is no easy seat to main- 
 tain. 
 
 To give an idea of this size of the animal, I will mention 
 that the strongest man in the squadron attempted to carry 
 the head and skin on his shoulders into the presence of 
 General Bedeau, who desired to see it, but the moment that 
 the load was placed on his back, he sunk under the .burden, 
 and we were obliged to have it transported in a hand cart. 
 
348 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 SHOWING HOW MY COMRADE ROSTAIN BEARDED THE LION 
 OF MEJEZ-AMAR. 
 
 Towards the latter part of tlie month of December, a 
 company of the foreign legion was sent to the camp of 
 Mejez-Araar, a place about three leagues from Guelma, and 
 in a few days, I heard from this out-post, that there was a 
 lion that came every evening to the foot of the walls, to sere- 
 nade the troops, and made night hideous with his music. 
 
 I set out immediately for the camp, taking with me a 
 French spahi, named Rostain, who had been for a long time 
 desirous of a lion hunt, and wanting, as he said, to take hold 
 of a lion's beard. Several days passed by in idleness at the 
 camp, while we waited to see or hear something of the lion 
 that had so suddenly disappeared. 
 
 One evening we were sitting around the fire, quietly smok- 
 ing our pipes, the Sheik Mustapha, Captain La Bedoyere, 
 myself and some others. It was about ten o'clock, on a 
 moonlight evening, when the walls of the building suddenly 
 rattled under the roar of the lion, that sounded just outside 
 the gates. 
 
 I snatched up my gun, that was standing by my bed, and 
 hurried out, calling to the captain to keep Rostain from fol- 
 lowing me. I had scarcely got clear of the camp, when I 
 heard the lion roaring again on the other side of the brook 
 that ran by the side of the fort. I hastened in the direction 
 
now ROSTAIxV BEARDED THE LION. 349 
 
 of the sound, forded the river, and climbed on the opposite 
 bank, to try and catch sight of the animal. I had scarcely 
 reached the further shore, when Rostain came after me, 
 wading through the water in the same manner that I had 
 done. 
 
 I have very little confidence in those men who declare they 
 are never afraid, and pretend they can do more than any one 
 else, yet when I saw the spahi so resolutely dash through the 
 M-ater, that might well have stopped a horseman, and quietly 
 take his place at my side, I formed a better opinion of the 
 man, in spite of my prejudices. So I greeted him with a 
 hearty good will, telling him that in a few minutes he would 
 have the chance he so much desired, and might beard the lion 
 if he chose. 
 
 My promise was kept, for a moment after I caught sight 
 of his majesty, standing in dignified silence on the open road, 
 watching our motions. The moon was at its full, and showed 
 the animal in all his proportions, as I pointed him out to the 
 spahi. 
 
 " That a lion !" he said, " why that's a bull broken loose 
 from the herds." 
 
 At this moment, the lion, as if to dispel any doubt in our 
 minds, in regard to his identity, raised his voice, and roared 
 in a manner that made my companion at once renounce all 
 his projects of pulling his beard, and he prayed me to return 
 at once to the camp, since the lion had the goodness not 
 to attack us. 
 
 I know many a man in Rostain's place that would have con- 
 cealed his terror, and relying upon my assistance, have 
 endeavored to have led the attack, impelled by personal vanity 
 and the fear of what their comrades would say, which is the 
 great main-spring of cowardly minds. My comrade was a 
 bold man, and had only made the common mistake of judging 
 the lion in his native wilds, by his brother in confinement, 
 
350 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 but he had the courage at once to acknowledge his error. I 
 was pleased with this frankness, and mentally resolved to pro- 
 tect my friend from every danger in the coming conflict, at 
 the expense, if needs be, of my own life. 
 
 "Come," I said, "let us go a little nearer and take a look 
 at the gentleman." 
 
 As we approached, the lion crouched down across the road, 
 as though to bar our passage. I left Rostain at about thirty 
 paces from him, and continued walking up. 
 
 I would ask those who believe in the universal clemency 
 and kind-heartedness of the lion, what were the inclinations 
 of this one, who, when two men, with arms glittering in the 
 moonshine, were walking towards him, quietly crouched down 
 in the road to stop their way ? 
 
 When within twenty paces, I halted, where I could get a 
 shot at his side, but like a cat at play, he wheeled face about, 
 lying close to the earth, and only showing me the oblique 
 surface of his head. 
 
 The attitude of the animal being so hostile and wary, I 
 thought it unsafe to hazard a shot which might merely glance 
 along the skull, without penetrating it, and therefore moved 
 around to his side, keeping always* at the same distance. 
 When I attained a position that I thought sufficiently good, 
 I took aim again, but the lion, as before, wheeled around, cal- 
 culating in his own mind whether he should spring upon me 
 or not. 
 
 Fully comprehending the extent of the danger in continuing 
 these tactics, I slowly moved a little to one side, sighting 
 the animal all the while over my rifle, and before he had time 
 to wheel, I fired at his shoulder. 
 
 At the shot, he attempted to spring forward ; a broken 
 shoulder prevented him, and he fell on his side, and while 
 struggling to regain his feet, I gave hiai the other barrel. 
 
 Rostain, seeing the animal had fallen, ran forward towards 
 
HOW ROSTAIN BEARDED THE LIOX. 351 
 
 where I was standing, but at the moment that he came up, 
 the lion raised himself on his legs, and gave a roar that star- 
 tled me by its fierceness. My gun was empty, and I seized 
 the spahi's from his hand, and walking forward two or three 
 steps, fired just behind his shoulder, hoping to reach the heart. 
 The lion fell, as before, but immediately was on his feet 
 again. 
 
 We were now without any means of defence, save my 
 poniard, a feeble weapon against an animal that had not been 
 killed by three balls. 
 
 I had stood hand to hand with death so often, that I did 
 not fear for myself, but I thought it was all over with Rostain 
 and me that night. When alone in these kind of battles, I 
 could have met my death as an incident of the chase, without 
 uttering a complaint ; but here I was troubled with the pres- 
 ence of another, that seemed to give me care, without any 
 additional strength. I looked around for some place of retreat, 
 and saw a large wild jujube-tree or thicket, growing a little 
 distance behind us, so I bade my comrade run, and we were 
 fortunate enough to gain its protection, for the lion was not 
 able either to run or to bound, but could only drag himself 
 after us with difiiculty. 
 
 The jujube in question was about ten feet in diameter, and 
 very close set, and the branches were so studded with thorns, 
 that the lion did not attempt to force a passage through, but 
 contented himself with following us around the bush, while 
 we loaded as we ran. 
 
 The wounded animal, after making one circuit, staggering 
 all the while like a drunken man, finally laid himself down, 
 expressing by his growls his feelings towards us, in no very 
 re-assuring manner. 
 
 We took advantage of this truce, and while Rostain kept 
 watch, I finished reloading ray gun, making as little noise as 
 possible, and at the same time charging the gun carefully, 
 
352 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 that there might be no danger of a miss-fire in so desperate 
 an emergency. When the last cap was placed on the cones, 
 I felt relieved of an impending fate. We then moved back a 
 short distance from the jujube, to avoid any surprise, and 
 walked slowly towards the place where the lion had laid down, 
 but he had left it, and there was nothing to be seen of him. 
 
 Had the animal, not seeing or hearing us any more, gone 
 to seek us ? I thought it prudent not to wait to resolve the 
 question. If he could get uj) and move out of sight in spite 
 of our three balls, it was certain that in case we suddenly 
 came upon him in the obscurity, he would make us pay dear 
 for our fun. 
 
 I resolved, therefore, to go into camp and wait until day- 
 light should show us our game. After examining the place 
 where he had fallen, and noticing the pool of blood that marked 
 the spot, we regained our camp, taking care to keep always 
 on the open ground, and at a wary distance from every 
 thicket. 
 
 The next morning with the early dawn we were in the 
 field, hastening towards the scene of the evening's encounter, 
 accompanied by the Sheik Mustapha and a number of Arabs. 
 
 For more than a half hour we followed the track by the 
 blood the animal had left in his flight, without ever losing 
 the continuous trail. It seemed almost incredible that an 
 animal could bleed so much and still be able to move. 
 Wherever the bushes were thick, he had marked them on 
 both sides of his path, a sure sign that he had been pierced 
 through and through, and judging, from the height of these 
 marks from the ground, the shots had taken effect directly 
 behind the shoulder. 
 
 Presently the trail led into a thicket of wild olire trees, 
 that appeared a suitable cover for him to have taken refuge 
 in, and the Arabs stayed behind until I satisfied myself by 
 walking around the jungle, that the trail led no further, and 
 
now ROSTAIN BEARDED THE LION. 353 
 
 that dead or alive, the lion must be there. I then posted the 
 Arabs in different groups around the thicket, and took my 
 position where I judged h* would most likely come out, 
 relying upon his habit of charging a single individual rather 
 than a number together. 
 
 At a given signal, the Arabs gave a loud hurrah, and 
 waving their burnous, threw stones into the thicket, and hied 
 on their dogs, that immediately disappeared in the under- 
 brush. 
 
 We stood in breathless silence for some minutes, awaiting 
 the result. No movement was seen, or noise heard, in answer 
 to our salute ; and supposing the animal dead, I was about to 
 return to the trail to follow it up to the body, when suddenly, 
 with a howl, out came the pack of dogs, with their tails 
 between their legs, and their hair on end, in grand rout. 
 The Arabs, not waiting any longer to see the cause of this 
 discomfiture, but well knowing what was coming, took flight 
 like the dogs. 
 
 In a moment after, I saw the lion cautiously comino* out of 
 the thicket, and taking the very path where Rostain was 
 posted. I called to him, but before I could make him hear, 
 the animal was within ten steps of him, and the spahi losing 
 his reason at the fierce bearing of his foe, dropped his gun 
 and fled, only instead of running up the hill as the Arabs 
 had done, he conceived the fatal idea of turning down the 
 declivity to hide in the scattered woods at its base. 
 
 The moment the lion caught sight of the fugitive, he gave 
 chase, with his mane ruffled and his tail in the air, and with 
 every jump he roared with the full blast of his lungs. Each 
 leap he made he staggered, but regaining his feet in an 
 instant, he pursued his course with a fearful earnestness. 
 
 At the first glance at this chase, I knew that it was all 
 over with Rostain, though I ran with all my speed to his aid. 
 As the animal crossed a little opening in the w^oods at forty 
 
354 TUE LION KILLER. 
 
 paces from me, I fired a sliot that struck him in the side and 
 brought him to a halt. Had Rostain availed himself of this 
 pause, he would have been save<i| but he must needs stop to 
 see the effect of my shot. Seeing the lion recover himself 
 and charging anew, he again endeavored to flee. His foot 
 caught a root and he fell ; before he could regain his feet, 
 the lion was upon him, and seizing him in his jaws, the man 
 and beast rolled down the hill together. 
 
 In spite of the close woods that grew at the foot of the hill, 
 I was by Rostain's side in a moment after he had been seized. 
 He was lying motionless in a pool of blood. The lion had 
 disappeared, leaving him for dead. Nevertheless, he still 
 breathed, and I hurriedly examined the upper part of the 
 body which I found to be unhurt. The four incisors of the 
 angry lion had pierced his thigh like so many bullets, and 
 sixteen deep long gashes from his claws, furrowed his back. 
 
 I called for the Arabs to come to my aid, but they were 
 all afraid to descend the hill, so I picked up the wounded 
 man, and carried him on my shoulder to the level plain. 
 The rest of the day and the following night I spent at his 
 side, trying to assuage his pains, and awaiting the arrival of 
 Dr. Gresloy, who had been summoned to come from Guelma 
 to our relief. 
 
 The next mornins: I returned to the chase, takinaf with me 
 a large number of Arabs to help me beat up the bushes for 
 the wounded animal, or to find his body in case he was dead, 
 this was the third day I had been hunting this one lion. ' 
 
 After taking up the trail where it had left the unfortunate 
 spahi, we followed it for about four hundred yards, until it 
 entered a thicket on the bank of the Bou-Hemdem. On the 
 other side of this river extended a close swamp, called by the 
 Arabs the woods of El-Bhar. 
 
 When I had satisfied myself that the lion was ambushed 
 in this copse, I divided my forces and prepared for a hard 
 
HOW ROSTAIN BEARDED THE LION. 355 
 
 battle, well knowing that the nearer he was to death, the 
 more dangerous he would be when disturbed. There were 
 two paths by which the river might be crossed, and I knew 
 that the lion would take one or the other to get into the 
 heavier woods beyond. Therefore, I placed five Arabs on the 
 lower ford, stationing them on the further bank where they 
 would have a fair shot at the enemy while wading the river, 
 and I guarded the upper ford. I then directed the larger 
 body of the Arabs that had remained behind to make a great 
 noise to rouse the lion, and to advance towards the river, 
 beating up the bushes as they came. 
 
 I had hardly reached my post when the natives gave a yell 
 that would have awakened the dead. 
 
 The lion did not stir. Then they set up a great shout, 
 " He is dead ! The rascal, the Jew, the Kaffir, he is dead !'' 
 and they all marched gaily forward with a triumphal step. 
 Presently one of the Arabs came right upon the lion, 
 crouched under a mastic bush. Frightened by the grim 
 apparition, he fired his shot, and took to his heels with the 
 lion after him, but the animal not being able to make a quick 
 movement in his disabled state, the man got oflf with his 
 fright, and some rather inglorious scratches behind. 
 
 A moment after, another Arab encountered the lion, face 
 to face. The man at first preserved his courage, and with 
 one knee to the earth took aim at his opponent. The lion 
 in turn crouched down like a cat and waited. Up to that 
 instant the game had been well played, but unfortunately the 
 Arab's heart failed him, he turned his head to see if there 
 was any one behind to support him, and the lion, seeing the 
 motion, fell on him like an avalanche. 
 
 With a single stroke of his paw he tore away his cheek 
 and broke the stock of the gun, and the hand that held it. 
 The man was felled to the earth by the blow, and the lion 
 
356 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 taking him in his mouth, gave him two or three shakes and 
 then tossed him head first in the bushes ten steps off. 
 
 Next came along an Arab with a musket and bayonet who 
 sent his ball at the animal, but the lion made a fish-hook of 
 the bayonet, by the same blow that he sent the man senseless 
 into the bushes, that bordered the wayside. It was done 
 with the same ease that a man would push a stone out of his 
 path. Then seeing the way clear, and the water running 
 bright before him, he started off for the woods of El-Bhar by 
 the ford where I had posted the Arabs. 
 
 As long as he remained on the opposite bank, my brave 
 men stood firmly at their post, shoulder to shoulder, with 
 their long barrels gleaming at the foe they were resolved to 
 conquer or to die. But the moment that the Hon dashed 
 into the water with his mane on end, murmuring low 
 thunder, they vacated the ground with a most admirable 
 unanimity. The lion then crossed over on the very path on 
 'which they had been standing, and disappeared in the woods. 
 
 The ford that I was watching was so far up the stream that 
 I could not reach the place until too late to do any good, 
 although I learned from the Arabs, that the lion walked on 
 three legs, and staggered very badly as he went into the 
 woods. 
 
 I signalled to the Arabs to advance, and was about follow- 
 ing up the trail when a messenger came to me, to say that 
 the litter to carry Rostain to Guelma had arrived, and that, 
 suftering very much, he wanted me to go with him. I 
 liastened to his side, and accompanied the slow moving 
 cortege that bore him and the two wounded Arabs, until it 
 arrived safely at Guelma. 
 
 The next day I came back to Mejez-Amar and the 
 wounded lion, and for ten consecutive days we beat up and 
 down the woods where the royal beast had laid down to die, 
 
HOW ROSTAIN BEARDED THE LION. 357 
 
 without finding him, or any signs of his body. At last I saw 
 the vultures sailing aloft in the dim air, slowly circling over 
 the woods. Gradually they narrowed the orbit of their 
 flight, and sank down lower, and lower, to a particular part 
 of the jungle. They told the tidings clearer than words, the 
 the wounded lion was dead. 
 
 The hunter's mission was now accomplished, I left to the 
 Arabs the task of finding the body, and returned home. 
 
 The two Arabs who were hurt, recovered from their 
 wounds, thanks to their thick burnous and the weakly con- 
 dition of the lion, but Rostain only came out after eight 
 months' siege in the hospital, and a season passed at the 
 springs of Amam-Scontin, and when he appeared again among 
 his fellows, he wore a wooden leg that he sometimes pointed 
 at to prove how he had bearded the lion of Mejez-Amar. 
 
358 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVn. 
 
 AND MY LiON-HUNTING BRIGADE. 
 
 My health already undermined by the emotions and priva- 
 tions of my venturesome life, was still more broken by the 
 sad disasters at this last hunt, so I asked for, and obtained, a 
 leave of absence for France. 
 
 After a month had been passed in the arms of my family, 
 that was leading its round of happy retirement in a country 
 village, I came on to Paris. 
 
 I have recounted my reception by my friends at Paris in a 
 former part of this work, when tracing the history of Hubert. 
 And I cannot again recur to that period without recalling to 
 my mind the many warm congratulations that came to me 
 from friends I had never before met, and that were accom- 
 panied by so many marks of a profound regard. In making 
 the acquaintance of so much that was artificial at Paris, I 
 thought the more highly of those spirits that could live on in 
 the hollow and fictitious life of the capital, and still have 
 hearts unspoiled and uncorroded by the soft pleasures and 
 corruptions of the city. 
 
 I availed myself of my present sojourn in Paris, to urge on 
 a measure, the character of which I will briefly delineate. 
 
 I have before spoken in these pages of the losses that are 
 sustained by the Arabs of Algeria from the ravages of the 
 lion, and I had felt so sincerely for the hardships of their 
 
THE LION HUNTING BRIGADE. 859 
 
 situation, that I had devised a means for their relief — a means 
 more lasting than my own individual life, and that would 
 draw down on our people the eternal gratitude of the Arab. 
 This plan was simply an organization similar to the one that 
 has been instituted in many parts of France, to free the 
 country from wolves, and such an institution devoted to lion 
 hunting was my project and ambition. 
 
 The plan was perfectly simple. I would have enrolled 
 volunteers taken from the infantry regiments in Africa, also 
 a number of native Arabs, and with them formed a complete 
 corps of chasseurs under the army regulations, with myself 
 at their head as their leader. This body of men should 
 be at the service of the commanders of provinces or dis- 
 tricts wherever there was need of them, to hunt and kill a 
 lion. 
 
 I estimated that this organization would cost about twenty- 
 five thousand francs a year to the province of Constantine, 
 which province loses at the present time about two hundred 
 thousand francs a year by the ravages of the lion. 
 
 The tribes that principally sufier from the attacks of these 
 devastators would most readily defray, not only the original 
 expense of the organization, but also the annual costs of the 
 company, and I do not hesitate to say, that there never 
 has been a foreign squadron hailed with such enthusiasm 
 and gratitude, as would be a company like the one I pro- 
 pose. 
 
 I had made so many friends in Paris among those in 
 authority, that my plan was immediately taken into con- 
 sideration, and accepted, and would have been carried out 
 had it not been for the revolution of> 1848, that interrupted 
 all the machinery of the government. So I had to remain 
 Poor Jack, as before, with only the remembrance of the good 
 I intended to have done to console me, and the arras I had 
 received from the young Count de Paris, to carry out the 
 
360 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 work I had begun. There are some gifts where the manner 
 of tendering them, doubles their value. I would be ungrate- 
 ful did I not here mention with what touching grace these 
 arms were offered to me. 
 
 On the day of my presentation at the Tuileries, the 
 Duchess of Orleans, whose triple title of princess, woman, 
 and widow, excited my more than ordinary regard, gave me 
 a private audience in her apartments. Her greeting, so full 
 of a woman's tenderness and royal grace, moved me to 
 tears. 
 
 After having for a little time turned the conversation upon 
 African topics, and hunting adventures, at the recital of 
 which she more than once trembled for the conqueror, as she 
 graciously remarked ; she led me to her two boys, the Duke 
 de Chartres and the Count de Paris, and prayed *me to give 
 them the history, in its minutest particulars, of the death of 
 the lion whose skin I had presented to her, which was the 
 great red lion of the Mahounah. I obeyed the duchess, and 
 told my tale to listening ears. 
 
 When I had finished the story, which seemed to make a 
 great impression upon my young auditors, judging from the 
 many emotions which by turn lit up their countenances, 
 particularly when I told how the lion in his death struggles, 
 after my shots were all spent, broke my poniard in his side, 
 the Count de Paris abruptly left the room. 
 
 In a moment after, he came back to me with a case in his 
 hand, saying : 
 
 "Monsieur Gerard, you run great dangers, and those 
 wicked beasts will some day play you a bad trick. So 
 good a hunter must be a good soldier, and we will want to 
 keep you in the army. You have a sword and gun, you still 
 need pistols, therefore take these of mine, and may they be 
 of use to you in your hour of need." 
 
 I forgot the prince, and only recognized the kind heart 
 that dictated the action as I pressed the hand he extended 
 
THE DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 361 
 
 to me. The duchess, who had kept silent through the whole 
 scene, drew the boy to her knee, and covered him with kisses 
 and tears. 
 
 Before I left Paris I received from M. Adolphe d' Houde- 
 tot, a superb rifle, that he had ordered made by Devisme, 
 expressly for the chase of the lion. 
 
 This remarkable gun had two chambered barrels twenty-five 
 and one-half inches in lenofth. The bore was of number 
 fifty-two gauge, cut with a progressive twist like the carbines 
 of the Chasseurs of Vincennes. The manner of loading it 
 is the same. The ball is conical in shape, and pointed with 
 steel for about half its length. This gives it great power of 
 penetration, and it will pierce the hardest substances. The 
 rifle weighed seven pounds and twelve ounces. 
 
 At the same time Devisme gave me a beautiful double 
 edge poniard of pure steel, with a blade a foot long, and a 
 hand's breadth in width. In his turn Mooutier Lepage gave 
 me a double barrel rifle, as carefully finished as the other, and 
 made expressly for my use. It was twenty-two inches in 
 length, of number sixty-two gauge, and of the same pattern 
 as has since been chosen for the Hundred Guards of his 
 majesty the emperor. The nine spiral grooves make one 
 turn in twenty-seven and one-half inches, and the ball is 
 cylindrical conical, and weighs two hundred and twenty- 
 five grains. 
 
 When I tried these guns for the first time with Monseiur 
 Devisme and Monsieur Lepage, either in their galleries or at 
 Vincennes, I was astonished at their power of penetration. 
 The ball with a steel point pierced a cast iron plate a 
 third of an inch in thickness, while the leaden bullet pierced 
 an oak plank nine inches thick. With these weapons, the 
 best that could be made for lion hunting, I returned to Africa 
 in the year 1848 to resume my old course of life, that seemed 
 to me the pleasanter from its contrast to Parisian gaieties. 
 
 16 
 
362 THE LION KILLER 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 A LION HUNT AMONG THE NATIVES OF CONSTANTINE. 
 
 After my return to Africa I was attached to the Govern- 
 ment Office, and was therefore obliged to give up my old 
 quarters at Guelma and reside at Constantine. 
 
 In this part of the country some tribes still hunt the lion, 
 as it might be called, by assault, a royal chase that is far 
 superior to every other method, and those that engage in it 
 play for heavy stakes. 
 
 They go in a body of thirty or forty men, to find the lion 
 in his lair, and irritate him until he comes out, not to flee, 
 but to attack the disturbers of his rest. The Arabs remain 
 in a body, and when the lion is within ten steps of tliem they 
 fire all at once, but in spite of this hail storm of lead, eight 
 times out of ten the animal is not killed at tlie shot, but 
 dashes on his foes, and thrashing about in the living mass 
 dies under many blows, and not unavenged. 
 
 In the south of Constantine when a lion has ravaged a 
 particular section of the country for a long time, and has 
 apparently fixed himself for life in some neighboring moun- 
 tain, the people come forth to give him battle. The day is 
 fixed by the men in authority, and a given place is designated 
 for the meet. The horsemen take their position on the 
 plain at the base of the mountain, and the footmen, in com- 
 panies of twenties, climb the hill towards the lairs with loud 
 
HUNT AMONG THE NATIVES OF CONSTANTINE. 363 
 
 hurralis. At the first ciy, the lion, if he is not an adult, or 
 the lioness, if she is without young, comes boldly out of the 
 cover and commences the action. 
 
 If by chance it is an old lion that they have roused, he 
 awakens from his lethargic slumbers at the first sound, and 
 yawning, stretches himself like a lazy dog that has been 
 awakened too soon. Then catching the full cry that comes 
 with the morning wind, and knowing from his own experience 
 or by family tradition, the meaning of the tumult, he rubs 
 himself backward and forward against a tree, stopping from 
 time to time to wrinkle his broad forehead, or raise his 
 tawny mane, ever and anon throwing up his head and 
 catching the tainted breeze that stirs among the underwood. 
 Then he slowly quits the cover, and selecting some high flat 
 rock that overlooks the country, and from whence he can 
 watch the tactics of his enemies, he stretches himself down, 
 and examines the approaching hordes that the mists of early 
 morning half conceal, half disclose. 
 
 The Arab who first sees him, calls out, "There he goes." 
 
 The call given by one man in the midst of so many cries 
 and hurrahs, is heard and understood by all. The cries are 
 hushed as if by magic, and thereafter it is only the voice of 
 the lord of the mountain that is heard, overawing all the 
 rest. 
 
 The groups of Arabs who are within sight co me to a halt 
 and gaze in silence upon the king on his throne of rock, and 
 those that are further ofi", hasten to where they can see him. 
 Then follows a long silence. The Arabs examine their 
 guns, and renew their primings, and the lion with his huge 
 paws combs out his mane, and makes his morning 
 toilette. 
 
 Finally, an Arab comes out from one of the groups, and 
 says : 
 
 "You don't know us, or you would not remain seated there. 
 
364 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 Rise and fly, for we are of such a tribe, and I am so and so, 
 son of such a warrior !" 
 
 The lion who has probably stripped the skin off of many 
 a native while talking just such nonsense, scarcely regards 
 the speaker, but continues to smooth down his face with his 
 paws, and make himself handsome. 
 
 Then another orator steps out from the ranks, keeping 
 always at a prudent distance, and gives another oration 
 which falls alike unheard. After this come the usual epithets 
 of Jew, Christian and Infidel, and every one cries and shouts 
 until there is such a tumult that the lion, disgusted with the 
 profanation of his retirement, rises from the ground, lashes 
 his flanks with his flail-Hke tail, and marches right at his foes, 
 and the battle is begun, that will redden more than one 
 mountain slope, before the hunters see again their douars. 
 
 As the lion walks calmly down the hill, the more timid fly 
 as best they may ; the bolder slowly retreat in order, towards 
 the plain, where the horsemen are waiting to cover their 
 flanks. Some, who have only come that they might say, we 
 were there, are perched in trees, or on in accessible rocks. 
 On every side are heard yells and groans and menaces, as 
 with the same royal carriage, the lion slowly marches down 
 the hill. 
 
 The cavalry, seeing the chase, approach and put themselves 
 in movement. They wheel and fly, waving their burnous, 
 and brandishing their arms, while the tramp of feet, the 
 neighing of horses, and the battle cry of the tribe, make 
 fierce music for the combat. Suddenly the horses, that a 
 moment before were flying like sand-clouds, come to a halt, 
 with dilated nostrils, and quivering ears, while the great voice 
 of the lion rolls down the hill, they catch his wind, and 
 stand shivering with fear. The lion, seeing the crowds that 
 are awaiting him, lies down to keep the advantage of his 
 position, and refuses to advance. 
 
HUNT AMONG THE NATIVES OF CONSTANTINE. 365 
 
 The cries and provocations are disregarded, something 
 stronger must be tried to make- him move. The hunters con- 
 sult, and hesitate, until at last an old man steps out, who, if 
 he has not been wounded on some former battle, at least has 
 some relative to revenge, and he speaks : 
 
 " Young men — all of you who care for your fortunes, your 
 families, or your heads, you can go to your tents." 
 
 Although there are a great many who value these neces- 
 saries of life, and would much prefer to be safely under their 
 tents, yet no one moves. The Arab who would leave at such 
 a moment, would be dishonored forever. The old man then 
 takes a few steps in advance, he proudly throws back his bur- 
 nous, and after taking aim for about five minutes, fires. The 
 ball goes skipping along wide of the mark, but the lion now 
 thoroughly indignant, springs to his feet ; he no longer 
 walks, but charges headlong. 
 
 The rout of the Arabs is immediate and universal. Some of 
 those posted in the trees, send their balls at hira in his pursuit, 
 the cavaliers advance, and the lion again crouche^down hold- 
 ing some unlucky wight, whose legs were not as quick as his 
 fears, under his gigantic paw. Another shot, and another 
 charge, until the lion finding himself fatigued by this desul- 
 tory mode of warfare, take a position that he will not quit 
 but with his life. 
 
 He pays no attention to the balls and insults that they 
 hurl at him from a distance, but when the crowd gradually 
 approach, when shoulder to shoulder the long lines of Arabs 
 march up to closer quarters, while the snorting horses are 
 following close behind, when the iron tubes are all leveled at 
 the one target, and the single foe finds his enemy within reach, 
 he makes a prodigious bound at the living wall. The guns 
 belch forth their flame and ball, and under the canopy of 
 smoke that hangs in the still air, the royal beast rages and 
 tears, until he lies down on a pile of human flesh, and strug- 
 gling horses, and dies like a king, as he lived. 
 
366 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 A DOUBLE SHOT AMONG THE LIONS OF ZERAZER. 
 
 Having been sent on duty to the south of the province of 
 Constantine, in the latter part of the month of January, 1848, 
 I nightly heard the stories of the chase, Hke the one I have 
 just given, with many^a remark upon my own exploits, the 
 fame of which had come from Guelma and Bone, and which 
 the good natured natives had the frankness to say they utterly 
 disbelieved. 
 
 How is if possible, they said, that one man, alone, in the 
 night time can slay the same animal that receives twenty-five 
 balls in his body without being killed, and even when we 
 hunt with horsemen at our backs, in the open day, never lets 
 us off without severe losses. 
 
 I told them it was very easy, that when the lions came to 
 me I waited for them, and when they did not, I went to them. 
 They replied that in that case, the lions at Guelma were very 
 goodnatured. 
 
 I sought the opportunity to join in a hunt, and give the 
 incredulous natives a proof that the Frenchmen were better 
 hunters than Arabs could ever hope to be. The task would 
 be an easy one here, as I would have a comparatively open 
 country, and daylight in which to accomplish that which I 
 had often done in the dark forest, and so I sent for my arms 
 that I had left at Constantine, and went down to pay a visit 
 
DOUBLE SHOT AMONG THE LIONS OF ZERAZER. 367 
 
 to the Zmouls that inhabit the country around Mount 
 Zerazer, a place constantly frequented by lions. 
 
 For some days after my arrival, a drizzling rain obscured 
 the mountains, and I remained in my tent occupied with the 
 duties of the government that had brought me from Constan- 
 tine. On the first of February, two fractions of the tribe of 
 Seguia came in to join in the chase that was to take place on 
 the morrow. 
 
 I directed them to detail men enough to hunt the woods 
 through with the early light, and whenever they should find 
 that the lion was marked down, they should give a signal by 
 lighting a fire to serve as a rallying point. The remainder 
 of the day I spent in going over the mountain so as to have 
 a perfect knowledge of the country. I found the hills to be 
 long and precipitous, wdth the eastern side falling abruptly 
 off, and the western cut up wdth gullies and copse wood. 
 
 The next day was clear, and the tropical sun as it rose 
 glinted on a broad sheet of snow that had robed the hills on 
 yesterday. At three o'clock in the morning the village was 
 awake for the foray, the simple breakfast had been eaten, 
 and the men of the tribe were scouring their arms, or girding 
 up their loins for the combat. Dogs barked, cattle lowed, 
 the women called, and shout answered to shout, and neigh to 
 neigh as the swarthy riders, one by one swung themselves 
 into the saddle, and the whole party swooped out of the 
 enclosure on the open plain, and sped forward to the 
 mountain. By my side rode Amar-ben-Taieb the Sheik of 
 the Ouled Sassi, and Mohammed-ben-Ghenera the Sheik of 
 the Ouled-Achour, who were each to command their respec- 
 tive tribes for the day, while the whole force was under my 
 general direction. 
 
 We rode for an hour along the base of the hills towards 
 the south, until we saw a column of smoke rising slowly from 
 a rock like a sentinel. As we approached we saw the Arabs 
 
368 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 shaking their burnous ; this was the signal that they had found 
 a lion. 
 
 Seeing a native keeping Avatch at a little distance from the 
 fire on the ridge of the hill, I directed my steps to him, and 
 as I followed the direction of his hand, that he silently pointed 
 to the earth, I saw the fresh tracks of three lions. 
 
 It is said, that siii once acJcnowledged is half pardoned. 
 
 If so, 'tis fortunate for me, for at that moment I was proud 
 when I saw in the snow, on the one side, the trail of three 
 lions, and on the other forty men of the country armed to the 
 teeth. And I was pleased when I overlooked the assemblage 
 not to find one among the multitude dressed in any manner 
 like myself There was nothing so neat as the spalii uniform 
 I wore, or the poniard that glittered at my belt, my only defence 
 in the hand to hand battle that was always likely to occur. 
 
 The Arab who had at first pointed out to me the tracks, 
 had followed me in silence as I traced their course. In turn- 
 ing my head I noticed on his countenance a mocking air 
 that seemed to say, " There are three, how do you like that 
 my fine fellow ?" 
 
 "They are young," I said, "I wish they had been old 
 ones." 
 
 He made a wry face, and went back to tell the party what 
 I had said. Having reached a plateau, I discovered a resting 
 place that the lions had quitted only a short time, ayd then 
 they appeared to have entered a copse near by, that seemed 
 a very suitable place in which they might lay concealed. 
 
 I ordered the two tribes to follow the crest of the rocks 
 that formed a sort of rampart to the Zerazer country, as far 
 as the last rock that overlooked the plain. Having reached 
 the northern point, they were to sweep the two slopes of the 
 hills, the tribe of Ouled Sassi, the better hunters, the western 
 slope, where I supposed the lions were concealed, and the 
 Ouled- Achour, the eastern slope. Each tribe was to detail 
 
DOUBLE SHOT AMONG THE LIONS OF ZERAZER. 369 
 
 two men to follow the ridges, to regulate the progress of the 
 hunt, and some sentinels to communicate with me, and the 
 whole of the force was to march towards the south, making 
 a great noise, but without firing a gun. -In case the lions 
 should show themselves, the cries were to cease, and the 
 burnous of the videttes to be waved. 
 
 Having regulated the operations of the hunters, I took my 
 seat on a rock on the plateau, the numerous tracks of lions 
 beneath the thin snow making me believe that this was their 
 customary path. Having placed my two followers on a rock 
 where they could see everything without being exposed to 
 danger, I placed my two rifles by my side and patiently 
 awaited the result. 
 
 Soon the northerly wind bore to my ears a long hurrah from 
 the ridge of the hills, and fixed my attention on the sentinels 
 posted on the difierent eminences within sight. Then came 
 the cry, " There he goes, there he goes," repeated from lip to 
 lip, now faint, and now clear, so that there was no mistake, 
 the lion was coming. 
 
 I waited for about an hour, listening for some other call or 
 sio-n to know what was passing, when a gazel appeared on 
 the ridge of the little plateau I was guarding. She looked 
 over her shoulder, and then dashed down, and passing within 
 ten feet of the place where I stood without noticing me, was 
 immediately lost to sight. I looked the way she came to see 
 the meaning of her flight, and heard the rolling of stones and 
 heavy steps on the other side of the ridge, and at once 
 recognized the step of a lion that had been separated from 
 his companions, and was coming directly towards me. I was 
 concealed behind a little bush by the same mountain path 
 the gazel had followed, and I expected he would come out 
 close by me. While waiting with my gun to my shoulder 
 for his appearance, a loud scream came to me from behind, 
 and turning round, I saw the lion had passed me out of sight 
 
 10* 
 
370 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 and was standing at the foot of the rock, gazing up at my 
 two armor-bearers, who were in the anticipation of imme- 
 diate death. 
 
 The distance was about forty paces, and I fired without 
 hesitation, aiming for the shoulder. The lion fell at the 
 report of my gun, but immediately regained his feet, when 
 another ball struck him in the side. He o'ave one roar that 
 
 o 
 
 threw the two Arabs into convulsions of fear, and then sprang 
 over a sheer precipice of fifty feet in height with a single 
 bound, and the dark ravine belowreceived his last struggles. 
 
 The Ouled Sassi had reached the ridge overlooking the 
 plateau, at the moment I fired my first shot, and had seen 
 the lion make his grand leap into the Hades below. They 
 came running along the rocks, leaping like chamois from 
 ledge to ledge, and I had great difiiculty in preventing them 
 from going into the ravine in search of the wounded beast, 
 who would have made bloody work in that narrow gorge, if 
 by chance he had a moment's breath to spare. 
 
 I had hardly reloaded my rifle when the sentinels called 
 out as loud as they could yell, " Two lions are up in front of 
 the Ouled-Achour." 
 
 There was no time to lose, the lion I had shot could not 
 well get out of the ravine even if alive, and so we all rushed 
 off*, pell-mell, on the new scent. When we reached the other 
 slope of the mountain, we found the Ouled-Achour had fled 
 from their foes, and the lions could nowhere be found, though 
 we spent the whole day in the search. 
 
 On the next morning it rained, and we watched with 
 anxious eyes all day, the flying scud through the curtains of 
 our tents. The following morning, however, shone out with 
 the accustomed brightness of African skies, and its earliest 
 light found me on the mountain, guarding the same plateau 
 as before, and mounted on a rock where I could command a 
 better view. From here I saw a lioness coming down the 
 
DOUBLE SHOT AMONU THE LIONS OF ZERAZER. 37i 
 
 hills by the same path the lion had followed on the previous 
 day. I kept still until she was within thirty paces, when I 
 arose with my gun to my shoulder, and she halted. She 
 gave an anxious glance over her shoulder, and then showed 
 ine her teeth, hissing like a cat, and tossing her head. 
 
 I took aim at her shoulder, and fired. AVith the explosion 
 of the gun, she doubled up like a snake, and then with all 
 her strength bounded at me, but before she could make a 
 second leap, my remaining ball struck her in the nape of the 
 neck, and she fell dead. 
 
 The Arabs came running from every side at my double 
 shot, and when they saw the dead lioness at my feet, they 
 knelt one by one, to kiss the hand that had given them a 
 lesson never to be forgotten. 
 
 I sent the body of this lioness to Constantine, and the one 
 that T had shot two days previous, we drew out of the ravine 
 for home consumption. Nevertheless, we could not be con- 
 tented without the third lion that we had flushed, and the 
 next day I was on his trail, with all the Arabs at my side, 
 who would have willingly hunted with me as long as there 
 was a lion left in Africa. 
 
 We followed the same tactics we had before employed, 
 and succeeded in starting a lioness of the same age as the 
 one I had killed on the yesterday, but she kept to the covers 
 so closely, that it was impossible to bring her to battle. 
 That evening she was seen travelling towards Bou-Aziz, and 
 thinking she would not wish, after such a chase, to visit the 
 Zerazer again, I returned to Constantine. 
 
 In January, 1850, I was summoned by the same people to 
 come to their help against the mighty, as two lions had emi- 
 grated fi'om Aures, and since their arrival ^here had been 
 nothing but rapine and vexation of spirit. 
 
 The morning after I reached the Zerazer I was standing 
 on the high plateau of the mountain, while ten Arabs beat 
 
3*72 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 up the ridge on one side, and ten on the other, having agreed 
 to come together on the highest point of the range. 
 
 The trackers on the northerly side found nothing but old 
 spoors snowed under, but their comrades, more foitunate, 
 came upon the very lair of the lions. Astonished at being 
 awakened at so unseasonable an hour, they got up from their 
 beds, and finding the prudent Arabs had placed themselves 
 beyond all reach, they took to another cover, grumbling very 
 much in their own* language at this annoyance. 
 
 The Sheik of the Seguians who was with me in the hunt, 
 and came up to tell me what had been discovered, said that 
 the lions were brothers, and that one seemed to protect the 
 other, and was constantly showing fight. We started right 
 off for, but did not reach their lair until the afternoon. The 
 Arabs who were standing sentinel around, told me that they 
 were still there, and that one had showed himself several 
 times outside of the bushes as though anxious for revenge. 
 After having placed the officer of the Arab bureau, who had 
 accompanied me, in a place of safety, I ordered all the natives 
 to leave and keep out of sight, retaining one near me to carry 
 my anus. 
 
 The ruse succeeded admirably. 
 
 The moment that the Arabs disappeared behind the rocks 
 on the brow of the hill, a lion showed himself on the edge of 
 the copse, and after- looking all around himj and seeing me 
 alone with only a single man behind me, he came directly 
 towards me. After him his brother came out of the copse, 
 and followed on about fifty steps behind, both marching 
 boldly to the place where I was posted, carrying their heads 
 high in air. 
 
 I had taken my seat on a knoll which overlooked the 
 place, and that was easily attainable by ledges of rock in 
 front, that sloped up to where I s^t, Th§ A^^b was behind 
 lue holding my Lepa^^e gun that I h^d cocked J^nd p\it i^tp 
 
DOUBLE SHOT AMONG THE LIONS OF ZERAZER. 3*73 
 
 his hands, with strict injunctions to hand it to me the moment 
 I had fired my two other shots. I held my Devisme rifle 
 to my shoulder, awaiting the action of my foes. 
 
 The first lion came on without halting, until he reached the 
 lowest step of rock and had leaped upon it, he then turned 
 an instant to look for hia comrade. 
 
 This movement presented his shoulder to me, and without 
 waiting an instant, I fired. He fell at the shot, struggled to 
 rise, and fell again. He had both shoulders broken. 
 
 The second lion, hearing the report of my gun, and seeing 
 the fall of his comrade, bounded forward, roaring in his 
 loudest tones, his mane and tail waving from side to side, in 
 his rapid course. As he passed his brother he paused for a 
 second, ,i« if to inquire what was the matter, but that halt was 
 fatal to him, for at the instant my second bullet passed 
 through his body just behind his shoulder. 
 
 He fell by the side of the first victim, but recovering 
 himself in a trice, made a wonderful bound that carried him 
 to the very rock on which I was sitting. 
 
 I snatched the other gun from the trembling Arab, and 
 before the lion could make another leap, which infallibly 
 would have hurled him upon me, a bullet had passed 
 through his brain. The muscles of his face quivered, his 
 great hands gradually relaxed their hold of the rock, and he 
 fell back dead. 
 
 The remaining ball gave the coup de grace to the wounded 
 animal that had been first shot, and the greatest hunt that 
 had ever gathered on the Zerazer was ended. 
 
 The day after, the officers of the garrison at Constantino 
 feasted on lions' meat, while the mess-room was hung with 
 the beautiful robes of the fallen kings. 
 
374 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 A NEW KIND OF LIOn's BAIT VERY ATTRACTIVE, BUT 
 
 DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN. 
 
 It was in the montlj of August, a warm montli in Algeria, 
 that I heard there was a large old lion in the country of the 
 Smouls. 
 
 I went inmiediately there, and learned on my arrival that 
 he had changed his quarters, and taken up his residence in 
 the mountain of Bou-Aziz near Batna. I had hardly pitched 
 my tent at the base of this mountain, before I discovered that 
 he had already quitted it, and the natives brought me word 
 he was ravaging their herds at Fedj-Louj, where on arriving, 
 I learned he had left the day previous for Aures. 
 
 After having followed this interminable traveller a hundred 
 lengues, without ever seeing anything more of him than his 
 tracks, I at last heard him roaring in the valley of Ourten 
 about a league from Krenchola. 
 
 Only one path led through this valley, and I immediately 
 found the tracks of my friend, and followed them to his lair. 
 Not finding the master at home, I returned in the evening 
 accompanied by a spahi and a native ; the one with my spare 
 rifle, and the other with my old carbine, and we posted our- 
 selves along the path that led to his retreat. 
 
 As I had anticipated, with the setting of the sun the lion 
 commenced roaring, giving notice to all concerned that he 
 was going out for the night, but instead of coming towards 
 
A NEW KIND OF LIOn's BAIT. 375 
 
 US he took an opposite direction, and walked so fast that I 
 could not overtake hira. 
 
 I came back to my post where I had left my two men 
 about midnight, and feeling very much fatigued selected a 
 thick-set tree by the side of the path, and laid down for a 
 nap, bidding my spahi keep a* good watch until I awokC' 
 The Arab stretched himself out at a little distance, and in a 
 few minutes was snoring like a windmill. 
 
 It was a night of perfect beauty. The full moon poured 
 down a flood of silver that rolled oflf the trees, and lay knee 
 deep on all the fields of grain, and grassy knolls. Here and 
 there a cultivated patch of ground showed its fruitful breast 
 amid the woods, margined with the stately trees of ages ago. 
 The air was warm and fresh, the wind was whist, and no 
 sound met the ear, save the murmur of insects in the air, or 
 the bumping of beetles as their shardy wing came against the 
 white barked trees. The shadows lay heavily under the 
 foliage where we were stationed, though the Arab slept in 
 the full moonshine that gleamed on his burnous white as 
 snow. I saw for a while around me the pleasant view dis- 
 solving away in the mists of sleep,- when I felt my arm gently 
 pulled by my spahi. I slowly raised my head, and following 
 his eye saw on the pathway at about a hundred paces from 
 us, two lions sitting down side by side. 
 
 I thought at first that we had been discovered, and was 
 preparing to fire away as best I could, but then • again I 
 reflected that we were in the shadows, partly concealed by 
 the bushes, while the happy native was lying in the full light 
 of the moon. It was evident it was he they were watching. 
 I forbade my comrade to awaken him, persuaded that he 
 would be proud of his share in the adventure after it was 
 over, and carefully raising to my feet, stood behind the trunk 
 of the tree to watch the operations of the enemy. 
 
 The distance between me and them was only a hundred 
 
3 76 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 yards, and yet they must have taken a full half hour to cross 
 the intervening distance. The moon was shining bright on 
 the path, but I could only see them from time to time, as 
 they raised their heads to see if the Arab remained always in 
 the same place. They took advantage of every tuft of grass, 
 and every stone to conceal their approach, gliding rather than 
 crawling, and winding like snakes among stones or over sticks 
 without the slightest noise. 
 
 At last the leader had come within ten paces of where I 
 was standing, and to within fifteen steps of where the Arab 
 was snoring, and his ejes were fixed upon the sleeping man 
 with such a concentration of desire that I feared I had waited 
 too long, and that he would make his spring before I could 
 fire. The other lion a few steps further on, placed himself 
 abreast of his comrade, and it was not until then that I saw 
 that both of the animals were females, but of so large a size 
 that then* sex was scarcely recognizable. Their stealthy 
 motions were feminine, though the texture of their skin, their 
 form, and their royal proportions had completely deceived me 
 as to their sex. How beautiful they were as they drew down 
 like pointer dogs on their prey, with every passion of their 
 souls delineated on their faces ! 
 
 I took aim at the shoulder of the first and fired. The 
 report of the gun and the loud roar of the wounded lioness 
 brousfht the dreaminij Arab with a bound to his feet. A 
 second ball pierced her heart and she fell dead at the very 
 feet of the frightened man, who stood rooted to the spot by 
 his terrible nightmare. 
 
 Without losing any time, I changed guns with my spahi, 
 and looked around for the other lioness. She was on her 
 feet at a little distance off", watching with amazement the 
 scene before her. As I took aim at her shoulder, she 
 crouched down to the ground. I fired, and she rolled over, 
 badly wounded as it appeared, and sought safety in a corn- 
 
A NEW KIND OF LION^S BAIT. 377 
 
 field that bordered the road. On coming to the place where 
 she had been standing, I could hear her mutterings in the 
 plantation, but did not think it was best to follow her into 
 the land of shadows at such an hour. So we waited for day- 
 light, and then followed the trail until it left the field, and 
 entered the woods where it was soon lost to sight. 
 
 After having sent the body of the lioness I had shot to the 
 camp, where the soldiers tendered it the funeral honors due 
 to a hero, I resumed my post of the previous evening. A 
 little while after sunset, I heard the lion roar for the first 
 time, and then instead of leaving his lair, he remained there 
 crying like one possessed, all night. Convinced that the 
 wounded lioness was there, and that it was the sympathy of 
 her husband that shook the hills with its complainings, I sent 
 a couple of Arabs the next morning to find the spot, but 
 they returned in a little while afraid to venture. 
 
 The following two nights were passed like the first, and 
 from evening until morning, the forest was full of the roar- 
 ings and murfuurings of the distressed lion. 
 
 The next afternoon I took a young kid, and having 
 muzzled it, we turned our steps up the mountain to the lion's 
 den. It was situated in the wildest and most inaccessible 
 part of the mountains, and so diflScult of approach that we 
 had to crawl on hands and knees, one after the other, to get 
 there. 
 
 Presidently I judged that we had reached the neighbor- 
 hood of the proprietors of the domain, and I had the kid 
 tied to a tree, and his muzzle removed. 
 
 Tlien there ensued a most amusing panic among the Arabs 
 that had accompanied me, and almost a stampede. To find 
 themselves in the den of lions, scenting their breath, and 
 then to hear that cursed kid calling them to come with all 
 his might, was a position of terror not to be endured. After 
 having consulted hastily among themselves, whether it would 
 
378 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 be safest to take to their heels, to mount a rock, or climb one 
 of the stunted trees that grew on the declivity, they concluded 
 that the best place for them would be nearest to me, and 
 asked permission to remain. 
 
 This confidence in my success was a compliment too great 
 to be resisted, and I granted the request ; they squatted in 
 the moss, and we waited the action of the powers that be. 
 
 In about a quarter of an hour the lioness appeared, and 
 before she saw us, she was by the side of the kid. At sight 
 of the strangers she halted, looking around her with aston- 
 ishment, and before she could recover from her surprise,* I 
 lirel at her head, and she fell motionless. The Arabs sprang 
 to their feet in joy, one came to kiss my hand, another ran 
 to Gxamine the prize, when suddenly the lioness, that whilom . 
 lay so stark, sprang to her feet with a hasping growl like a 
 panther, displaying a row of teeth like bayonets. 
 
 One poor devil almost had his hand on her as she arose. 
 He gave a leap and a scream together, seized a branch of the 
 tree over his head, and disappeared in the foliage like a squir- 
 rel. The rest fled in dismay, and the lioness fell dead under 
 a second ball that passed through her heart. 
 
 Her body went to supply the rations of our soldiers, and 
 I continued in the mountain to listen to the roarings of the 
 lion, who all the while went about seeking his mates, mut- 
 tering loud displeasure at their absence. For some time 
 longer I waited on the hills, until I judged from the silence 
 about me, and the confidence of the wild game roaming 
 about, that the lion had left. His solitary life was unpleas- 
 sant to him, filled as it must have been with the memories 
 of his past conjugal happiness, and perchance, troubled with 
 some premonitions of a similar fate impending over his own 
 liead; at all events he packed up his worldly goods, and 
 departed to seek another home. 
 
MY. OLD FRIEND THE LION OF KRENCHELA. 379 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 MY OLD FRIEND THE LION OF KRENCHELA. 
 
 After the return of the expedition to Kabylie in 1851, I 
 asked General St. Arnaud, the commander of the province, 
 for a leave of absence to go back to Krenchela, in pursuit of 
 the lion I had left behind me, the death of whose wives has 
 just been described. 
 
 Instead of a leave of absence I was ordered to go there on 
 duty, and was consequently obliged to stay in the neighbor- 
 hood of the widowed animal, and yet close my ear to the 
 appeals of the natives against his daily transgressions. But, 
 finally, my duties were finished. I hurried off my report in 
 high glee, pitched my tent in the neighborhood of the 
 douars that had most suff'ered from his depredations, and 
 opened the campaign. 
 
 For a number of days and nights my searches were fruit- 
 less, when one morning after a heavy rain, a native came to 
 my tent to tell me that the trackers had turned the lion, and 
 had marked him down at a half a league from my tent. I 
 immediately started, taking with me three men, the one to 
 hold my horse, one to lake care of my arms, and the other 
 to carry a kid that nibbled the hand that held it, all uncon- 
 scious of the important role it was destined to play in the 
 coming scene. 
 
 Having dismounted on the edge of the woods, I followed 
 
380 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 up the lion's tracks until I reached a little glade, about in 
 the centre of the woods, as near as I could judge, and having 
 fastened the kid to a sapling, took my seat on a tuft of 
 herbs a few yards off. With the first bleat of the kid the 
 Arabs scampered, and disappeared in the high grass like 
 quails. 
 
 I had been at my post about a quarter of an hour, the kid 
 crying all the while, when a covey of red partridges took 
 wing directly behind me, uttering their customary cry when 
 surprised. I looked around me on every side, but could see 
 nothing to excite their alarm, nevertheless there was some- 
 thing present not revealable to sense, for the kid suddenly 
 had ceased its cries, and its eyes were fixed in terror on mine, 
 and now and then it struggled violently to break its tether. 
 
 I turned again to look if there was any thing in sight, 
 when my eyes caught the eyes of the lion himself, lying at 
 the foot of a juniper tree, about fifteen paces ofi", examining 
 us through the branches, and making wry ftices all the while 
 at the spectacle. 
 
 In the position I sat it was impossible to take aim without 
 turning. I tried to fire from my left shoulder, but finding it 
 too awkward I slowly turned around without rising, and took 
 aim again. 
 
 At the motion the lion raised on his feet and shaking him- 
 self, opened his yawning mouth at me, with the air of asking 
 the question, " What the devil are you doing there ?" 
 
 I immediately fired down his throat, and he fell motionless 
 to the earth. 
 
 At the report of my gun the Arabs came running up, and 
 fearing lest there might occur some accident if the animal 
 was not entirely dead, I sent another ball through his brain. 
 On examining the prize, we found it was a beautiful beast, 
 black as a bull, and robed in a mane that fell in wavy folds 
 to his feet. I sent him to the camp at Krenchela, and he 
 
MY OLD FRIEND THE LION OF KREUCHELA. 381 
 
 made the pot boil that night for four companies of infantry 
 and two squadrons of cavalry. Upon dissecting him, I found 
 that my first ball, fired into his throat, had entered the 
 vertebrge, and followed the marrow in the spinal column, 
 until it had passed out near the tail. 
 
382 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXXII. 
 
 A LION HUNT IN THE VALLEY OF OURTEN, AND THE TRAGICAL 
 FATE OF AMAR-BEN-SIGHA. 
 
 On the 11 th day of July, 1853, 1 entered the beautiful 
 valley of Ourten. 
 
 The pole of my tent had scarcely been set, before the 
 people of the country crowded around to welcome me, and 
 tell sad tales of the old lion that ruled over all that district. 
 I learned that since my last visit to this country, the moun- 
 taineers having lost all loyalty under the load of his oppres- 
 sions, had assembled to the number of three hundred to 
 bring him to reason, and either to force him to abdicate, or 
 to inflict upon him the extreme penalty of the law. The 
 parliament opened at sunrise, at noon five hundred cartridges 
 had been burned, at sunset the meeting was prorogued, the 
 rebels carrying with them from the field, six wounded men 
 and one dead body, and his majesty continued to reign as 
 before. 
 
 Among my visitors was one Sidi-Amar, a Saga of great 
 repute in the Ourten country, and he favored me with his 
 blessing and prophecy in these terms. 
 
 " The Great God will smile on thy arms. Within three 
 suns our wives and our children shall assemble under this 
 tree to count the teeth of the lion — the curse of the prophet 
 be with him — and to kiss the hand of our benefactor." 
 
 If I had fully confided in the predictions of this holy 
 
A LION HUNT IN THE VALLEY OF OURTEN. 383 
 
 • 
 
 marabout, I need not have left the place -where I was stand- 
 ing, but the lion would have come and allowed himself to be 
 shot with perfect complacency. But with whatever confi- 
 dence this blessed saint inspired me, a confidence which was 
 shared by every Arab in the district, I had still greater faith 
 in the proverb, " Help yourself and heaven will help you," 
 and so I spent the day in gaining all the information I could 
 about the habits of the animal, and in giving instructions to 
 the huntsmen and trackers for the labors of the morrow. 
 
 The duty of these men was to take each some particular 
 section of the woods, and search for the track of the game, 
 having found it to .follow it to where it entered the forest 
 and then search to see if another trail showed that it had 
 again broken cover. In a word, to follow it like huntsmen 
 when tracking a stag or a wild boar, and having once marked 
 down the game, to bring me word at a given rendezvous on 
 the edge of the forest. 
 
 The second day after my arrival, the meet came together 
 at the designated place, when the trackers made the follow- 
 ing report : 
 
 " The lion and his wife have been out all night. The lion 
 took a long walk all round the plain, and there are no signs 
 of his coming in again before the herds trod down the paths 
 in the morning. The lioness came in about nine in the 
 morning, and all the trackers united on her trail, and have 
 followed it up to a wood of about fifteen acres in extent, 
 where she still lies hid." 
 
 I came to the wood and watched the track where it 
 entered the thicket, and when the lioness came out at night, 
 she fell at the third shot. 
 
 The next day we followed the same plan, only 'knowing 
 that the lion, seeking his mate, would give a long run to his 
 pursuers, I appointed the hour of rendezvous at two o'clock 
 instead of daybreak. 
 
384 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 • 
 
 On the return of the hunters, I learuQd that the lion had 
 made a long course, following nearly all the mountain paths, 
 and visiting nearly all his customary lairs, that he had killed 
 a mule and two beeves on his route as a sort of pastime, 
 and then had taken to the ridge of the hills, going towards 
 the south. His last resting-place was at three leagues from 
 the rendezvous. 
 
 1 took my horse and rode to the place where the Arabs 
 had abandoned the trail, and dismounting, I waited for night 
 to follow up the path he had taken, hoping that he might 
 return by the same road. At about eleven o'clock in the 
 evening, not having met my game, and hearing a great 
 uproar among the douars on the plain, I supposed the lion 
 had entered the wood by some other path, and I therefore 
 returned to my tent. 
 
 Four more days were occupied with the same searches, the 
 same long walks, and were rewarded with the same want of 
 success ; the lion seemed to amuse himself by leading us a 
 merry chase over the greatest extent of country through 
 which ever hunter stumbled. 
 
 While I was occupied in this manner, I was joined by Mr. 
 Rodenburgh, an officer in the army of Holland, who had 
 accompanied the expedition to Kabylie, and now sought the 
 wild life of a hunter under the Arab's tent, enjoying with 
 the zest of a true sportsman, the beautiful scenes and thrilling 
 excitement of the chase. 
 
 I was engaged in conversation with him, when a native 
 came riding up from the south to tell me that the lion had 
 fixed himself in the woods of Tafrent, and had killed eight 
 horned cattle in his short sojourn in the neighborhood. We 
 immediately returned with the Arab, not taking the time to 
 strike our tents, and carrying with us only my arms, my 
 spahi, and some of the best of the native hunters. 
 
 The next day my men found the lion's trail coming out of 
 
A LION HUNT IN THE VALLEY OF OURTEN. 385 
 
 the woods, but could not tell wliere he had entered it again. 
 In order to relieve, in some degree, the labor of the trackers, 
 I took my position on the edge of the forest for the remainder 
 of the hunt, and at night we heard the lion roaring at half 
 a league distant, and before morning he had taken off a sheep 
 a short distance from our station. On the next morning, the 
 order was given at daybreak, forbidding any men or herds to 
 leave the douars until the return of my trackers, so that the 
 trail of the lion might not be effaced by the tracks of the 
 cattle coming after him. We then quietly waited at our 
 bivouac, the coming in of the huntsmen. 
 
 Presently they appeared one after the other, covered with 
 the marks of their hard walk in the mud and among the 
 thorny bushes, and took their seats among the crowd of Arabs 
 that were squatted around my mat, and gave their stories as 
 follows : 
 
 Report of Bilkassem Bil-Eouchetz : 
 
 " I took the track at the douar hedge, and followed it to 
 the skin of a recently killed sheep, thence to the brook where 
 the lion stopped to drink, and there I left it on finding the 
 sign of Amar-ben-Sigha, who had taken up the trail at this 
 place." 
 
 Amar came up at the moment that his brother tracker had 
 taken his seat. His face was beaming with pleasure ; he had 
 no need to speak, every one read in the gleaming of his eye, 
 that he had turned the lion, and was sure of what he was 
 about to say. As he passed through the circles of Arabs, 
 one would pull him by the burnous, and another would 
 interrogate him by word or gesture, but Amar held on his 
 way, zealous to confide to me alone the secret his telling 
 features could not retain. 
 
 Poor fellow, how little he thought that the battle he 
 snuffed so eagerly would leave him torn and motionless on 
 the field 1 
 
 17 
 
386 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 The following is the report of Amar-ben-Sigha. 
 
 " I found the lion drinking at the brook of Tafrent, where 
 he halted for a moment* I followed him through the burnt 
 woods, that you may see from here, and he laid down on the 
 edge of it to sleep till daybreak, judging from his couch, and 
 the signs he left on the ground. 
 
 " After leaving the burnt woods, he swam the brook that 
 bounds the woods of Tafrent on the east, and entered their 
 cover. I rounded the woods, following the brook on the 
 westerly side, and the road that bounds it on the easterly 
 side. 
 
 " Finding that he had not quitted the woods, I returned to 
 his trail where I had left it, and followed it to within a gun- 
 shot of the lair. Here the men who were with me refusing 
 to go any further, I returned to give my report. I judge 
 that the animal is now lying at the foot of the white rock 
 known as the Lion's Rock." 
 
 Now that we were certain of the lion's locality, it only 
 remained to choose a mode of attack, and on this the opinion 
 of the council was taken. 
 
 There are three ways of attacking a lion where he is known 
 to be in his lair. The one by surrounding the place, and 
 making a great hurrah, until he indignantly charges the dis- 
 turbers of his peace, the other by stealthily approaching him 
 as he lies asleep. To make this plan successful, you must 
 know that he has had a good dinner so recently that he 
 could not have digested it, otherwise the hunter may, per- 
 chance, be caught napping himself. The third manner of 
 attack is by means of a live bait. 
 
 Amar-ben-Sigha having given his opinion that it would be 
 impossible to attack the animal we wefe after in his lair, by 
 reason of the closeness of the woods, we decided upon baiting 
 him. 
 
 That afternoon, as the sun was setting, a wild-looking 
 
A LION HUNT IN THE VALLEY OF OURTEN. 387 
 
 party might have heen seen winding its way among the 
 copse of cork, olives and jujube trees, that were scattered 
 along the slopes of the hill. 
 
 Mr. Rodenburgh and myself were on horseback, following 
 at a half trot the long strides of Amar-ben-Sigha. Behind 
 us came an Arab carrying in his arms a kid, that from time 
 bleated for the mother it had left, and finally a half-dozen 
 Arabs, each with his long gun and yataghan, ran behind as a 
 sort of rear guard, scampering off here and there on the rocks 
 with the agility of cats, to look down on the fields, or point- 
 ing out passing trails with a quick motion of finger or eye. 
 At half past seven, we reached the brook where Amar had 
 taken the trail, and a moment's halt permitted us to see the 
 huge foot-prints that were stamped in the mud on either side 
 of the ford, and showed the animal to be a large old lion, 
 and the natives at once pronounced it my friend of Kren- 
 chela. 
 
 The lion, as near as we could judge, was sleeping on the 
 southern slope of the mountain, and about a hundred paces 
 from a deep ravine. On the other slope of the hill, and on 
 the border of the same ravine, I found a little clearing or 
 glade of about ten square yards, completely surrounded by 
 high trees, and not more than a hundred and fifty yards from 
 the very bushes where the lion lay concealed. We imme- 
 diately took possession of the spot, and while one of the men 
 was busy tying the kid to a tree, and the others were hand- 
 ing me my guns, the lion quietly stepped out of the woods 
 on the other side of the ravine, and looked at what we were 
 doing with evident marks of curiosity and interest. 
 
 At the sight of this apparition there was a general rush 
 among my men, so immediate and so universal, that in a 
 second I was alone facing the lion, with only the kid in sight, 
 who screamed with fear and tried hard to break the cord and 
 come to me. In another instant the lion had disappeared 
 
388 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 again ; without doubt, he was coming up to closer quarters 
 under the dense vault of foliage that darkened the woods. I 
 took my seat where I could best see all around me, and with 
 my knife cut away the branches that might impede my aim, 
 and all the while the kid continued to cry most piteously. 
 
 Presently it suddenly hushed and commenced trembling 
 violently, looking first at me, and then towards the ravine, 
 and seemed to say, " The lion is there, I smell him ; he is 
 coming, I hear him ; he comes, I see him^ 
 
 It had at first only caught his wind when it so suddenly 
 hushed ; its ears showed when it heard his steps by their 
 quick nervous motions ; and finally when it trembled so 
 violently, I saw the lion at the same moment as the sensi- 
 tive animal. 
 
 The monstrous beast leisurely mounted the side of the 
 gulch, and halted at the edge of the clearing at about ten 
 steps from me. He stood directly facing me, and his broad 
 forehead presented a beautiful target. 
 
 Twice my rifle was raised to the level of his eyes, twice I 
 drew a bead on the heavy wrinkle that divided his forehead 
 and my finger gently pressed the trigger, and yet the hammer 
 did not fall and I felt a secret pleasure at the delay. Two 
 years or more had passed since I had seen so large a lion, so 
 beautifully majestic in the calmness of his might; he was 
 where I could see every expression of his countenance, how 
 could I destroy him without looking at him ? 
 
 What is a dead lion ? What .is a beautiful woman when 
 in her shroud ? 
 
 Beauty without life is unchanging ugliness. 
 
 If it is true that living is to feel the emotions of the soul, 
 where and how could I live so long or find emotions equal to 
 those that were throbbing in my soul in such an interview ? 
 
 The noble animal, as if he understood my thoughts, stretched 
 himself out on the grass, and having crossed his enormous 
 
A LION HUNT IN THE VALLEY OF OURTEN. 389 
 
 paws laid his head down on them like on a pillow. 
 Without paying any attention to the kid, paralyzed by fear, 
 he examined me from hfead to foot with the greatest interest, 
 at times winking his eyes with a benignant expression, and 
 then suddenly opening them to their fullest extent, giving his 
 physiognomy an air of sternness that made me involuntarily 
 raise my rifle. 
 
 He looked as if he was talking to himself, and this is what 
 he seemed to say : 
 
 "I saw a group of men in this place a few moments ago 
 leading a kid by a string, and I came over the gully to see 
 what they were at. Now I find they have all gone except 
 one droll fellow all red and blue, the like of which I never 
 saw before, and instead of running away like the men do 
 generally, he sits still as if he wanted to say something." 
 
 Then at intervals, as the twilight descended more and more 
 in the woods, he seemed to add, still speaking to himself: 
 
 " It is about my dinner time ; which shall I take, this red 
 man or the kid? The sheep I had yesterday was much 
 better than any kid can be, but then it's so far to go to get 
 any mutton. Men are good in general when they are fat, 
 but this red one is rather lean." 
 
 This last reflection seemed to decide the question ; for he 
 immediately- arose to his feet, and fixing his eyes on the kid, 
 took two or three steps in advance. 
 
 With my rifle barrel following all his movements, I watched 
 the turning of events, ready to fire at the best moment. 
 
 Twice he prepared to bound on the kid crouching down 
 like a cat, and yet he restlessly raised himself and gazed 
 again in a thoughtful manner. 
 
 I saw that the cord that confined the goat troubled him, 
 and that he suspected a trap. He then walked back and 
 forward on the edge of the ravine, showing signs of annoy- 
 ance, and when he came opposite to me, he bared his teeth in 
 
390 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 a meDacing manner. I saw the game was becoming serious, 
 and made ready to fire. 
 
 Taking advantage of an instant when he turned his side to 
 me as he was promenading to and fro, I drove a ball through 
 his shoulder, and while he was writhing under the sudden 
 shock, I sent another through his side directly behind his 
 shoulder, and with a roar and a crash, the lion pierced 
 through and through by the two balls, rolled like an avalanche 
 down into the ravine. 
 
 As I was reloading my rifle, the Arabs rushed up, and I 
 pointed out to them the place where the animal had stood 
 when I fired. On looking down the declivity, we saw where 
 the bank was stained by blood, and furrowed by the claws of 
 the beast, as he had attempted to regain the plateau. Con- 
 vinced that he was dead, the Arabs started off for the neigh- 
 boring heights, to call their friends to carry off the body, while 
 T descended to the dry bed of the torrent below, and followed 
 the bloody marks along the bottom, until they disappeared in 
 a thicket, so close that I could not see under it. In order to 
 know if the animal was there, I threw a stone in the bushes, 
 and was answered by a hollow growl, half plaintive, half 
 menacing, that came from a spot twenty paces in advance, and 
 gave a stern warning of murder in its tones. 
 
 This sound chilled my heart, and recalled to me the voice 
 of the lion of Mejez-Amar, that six years before had mangled 
 Rostain and two Arabs under my very eyes. 
 
 I bent down on my knees and tried to peer under the bushes, 
 but could see no further than the first branches, still dripping 
 with the blood of the lion as he passed. After having broken 
 a twig to mark the place where the trail had entered, I was 
 going to leave, when my spahi came up with two of my hunts- 
 men and four armed Arabs, all of them eager for a pursuit. 
 I tried every inducement to prevent them from entering into 
 the jungle, where they wanted to hunt for the body of the 
 
A LION HUNT IN THE VALLEY OF OURTEN. 391 
 
 lion. I assured them that I was certain that he was still liv- 
 ing, that it would be impossible for us to see him unt il he 
 bounded on one of us, and that as surely as we entered, there 
 would be one man the less to come out. 
 
 The only answer the daring fellows gave, was the casting 
 aside their burnous, and asking me to sit on them until they 
 came back. 
 
 In two minutes I had thrown off every article of clothing 
 that could embarrass me in the bushes. I gave Amar-ben- 
 Sigha.my carbine, Bilkassem I armed with the two pistols given 
 to me by the Count de Paris, and my spahi with my gun, 
 with directions to keep it loaded, and follow me step by 
 step. 
 
 After having directed the men to keep in as close a body 
 as the nature of the woods would permit, and having urged 
 Mr. Rodenburgh to retire from a danger, the extent of which 
 he could not estimate, which advice he deigned totally to 
 disregard, we carefully entered the thicket. 
 
 Crouching down like so many blood-hounds, we followed 
 step by step, the red stains, until we reached a little clearing, 
 where all signs of the trail totally disappeared. Each one 
 turned about, searching for some mark to guide us. The 
 night was cofning on apace. Minute by minute the task was 
 increasing in danger, and the grim thoughts in our breasts 
 made us work about in the close cover with a breathless care 
 and speed. 
 
 Presently, by the intenseness of his excited grasp, an Arab 
 discharged his musket. The ball sped away without doing 
 any harm, but the sound roused the lion, who roared fiercely 
 in the bushes. 
 
 With the first sound of his voice, the men ran to group 
 themselves around me, all but Amar-ben-Sigha, who either 
 from inexperience or over-confidence in himself, placed his 
 back against a tree six paces distant on our left. 
 
392 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 The same second, the lion bounded into the opening, with 
 open moutli and raised mane. Hardly had he appeared before 
 eio;ht shots were fired at him without one ball touchinor him. 
 
 Before the smoke of the useless powder had lifted, and 
 before a word could be spoken, Amar-ben-Sigha, who had also 
 fired his piece with the rest, was crushed to the earth, his 
 gun was broken, his right thigh stripped of its flesh, and at 
 the moment I came to his succor, his head had disappeared 
 in the jaws of the lion, that had laid down on his body 
 watching my gun taking aim upon him without ever loosing 
 his victim. 
 
 Fearino: for the head of the man in aiminor at that of the 
 lion, I fired for the heart. As I fired, Amar-ben-Sigha fell 
 from the lion's mouth, and rolling to my feet, grasped me so 
 convulsively that he nearly threw me down, groaning fearfully 
 all the time, and yet the lion, with his side leaning against 
 the branches that cracked with his weight, still kept his 
 feet. 
 
 I aimed again; this time for the temple, and pulled the 
 trigger. Only the cap snapped. For the first time in ten years 
 my gun had missed fire, and yet the lion was still there, tear- 
 ing with his teeth the clump of bushes he was leaning against, 
 and writhing in convulsions, only a step from m^, and almost 
 over the body of the fallen man. 
 
 All the hunters rushed to the rescue, some with their yata- 
 ghans and some with clubbed muskets, paltry weapons against 
 a foe insensible to balls. 
 
 My first motion was towards my spahi Hamida for my gun 
 that I had left in his hands. Trembling, with haggard eye 
 and palsied lips, he could only articulate one word, " Empty !" 
 
 The fool had fired with the others, and we were at the 
 mercy of the lion. 
 
 But Providence was with us, and the beast fell dead on the 
 body of Amar, and between Mr. Rodenburgh and myself. 
 
#. 
 
A LION HUNT IN THE VALLEY OF OURTEN. 393 
 
 The animal once beyond mischief, 1 turned to the wounded 
 man, who was now lying senseless, and found the marks of 
 the lion's teeth on his head, his back furrowed by claws, and 
 his right thigh and leg all peeled of flesh. The blood* was 
 flowing in streams, and we were deep in the forest with dark- 
 ness all around us. 
 
 While the Arabs were preparing a litter of branches and 
 burnous, I endeavored to find and stop the haemorrhage, but 
 the dying man recovering his senses and uttering fearful 
 cries, obliged me to desist. I cannot describe our many dif- 
 ficulties in getting out of the jungle, but the sight of that 
 cortege as it wound up the deep ravine, bearing aloft the 
 litter trickling with blood, and preceded by torches, was an 
 imposing spectacle. Had any one seen the column from a 
 distance, he would have said, that it was the body of the lion 
 we were carrying in triumph home. Though from time to 
 time a shriek from the litter, as the bearers jostled over the 
 rough ground, rose above the clamor and mingled with the 
 hooting of the owls above us, or the whining of the jackals 
 that lapped up the blood in our trail. Our progress was so 
 slow that it was not until midnight that we reached the tent 
 prepared for the wounded man, and set down our ghastly 
 burden. 
 
 I had always seen the Arabs deeply affected when one of 
 their people fell under a ball, and I could not reconcile their 
 feelings then, with their indifference now. They only spoke to 
 their comrade to say, " Such things only happen to men ;" 
 then they would turn aside to talk among themselves about 
 the different scenes of the drama, gesticulating like madmen, 
 and commencing over again their history whenever they found 
 a new auditor. As for me, I was sick with their heartless- 
 ness, and sad at the victory that had cost us so dear. 
 
 Early the next morning I called to see Amar, and found 
 his old mother, and a crowd of relatives at his bedside, who 
 
394 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 all thanked me with great feeling for having as they said 
 saved him from the claws of the lion, and asked me to pres- 
 cribe something for his relief. 
 
 Poor souls ! they thought that all Frenchmen were surgeons, 
 because there are some good physicians among them ; and 
 that any one that can kill a lion, can cure the wounds he 
 makes. I never had the least notion of surgery, and as to the 
 wounds made by the lion, experience has told me that 
 recovery is doubtful, and that one almost always leaves 
 behind him an arm or a leg before he recovers, if indeed, he 
 recovers at all. This knowledge is just enough for me to 
 know on what to rely in case I ever get caught, but still is 
 very poor consolation to administer to a wounded man. 
 
 I had often seen men injured much less than Amar, sink 
 under their wounds, and I therefore advised his parents to 
 send him to Batna, where he would find a good physician 
 and all attention. But the poor man would not consent to 
 be moved on account of the suiFerings he endured at the least 
 motion, and I was constrained to try my hand with Mr. 
 Rodenburgh, in administering a poultice and binding up the 
 wounds. We then sent for an Arab doctor that enjoyed a 
 great reputation in the country, and went to visit the dead 
 game we had left in the woods. 
 
 There was a great crowd of people swarming like bees up 
 and down the plateau where the lion had been fii*st shot, 
 and into the ravine. By their assistance in a little while a 
 road was cut from the thicket, and by means of a litter com- 
 posed of the trunks of small trees the body was transported 
 to the place where the evening before his majesty had honor- 
 ed me vnth so long an interview. 
 
 After having taken ofi" the skin and observed with atten- 
 tion the course and effect of my balls, I abandoned the body 
 to the natives, Avho, with knife in hand, fell upon it with the 
 fury of hounds on a quarry. 
 
A HUNT WITH THE ARAB LADIES. 396 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII, 
 
 A HUNT WITH THE ARAB LADIES. 
 
 Two days after, while smoking my pipe in my tent, and 
 dreaming of a land where lions roamed in herds like gazels, 
 my fancies were put to flight by the sudden irruption of a 
 half-dozen Arab women, tearing their hair and weeping small 
 rivulets of tears. 
 
 My first thought was that Amar-ben-Sigha was dead, and 
 the women were deploring his loss. I felt my heart melting 
 under the softening influences of their grief, and a sympa- 
 thetic sorrow arose in my throat ; but when they told me the 
 reason of their coming, I had to roar out with laughter to 
 learn that it was simply on account of another lion that had 
 just arrived in the country, and killed three of their cattle. 
 As their tears and sobs were all the while increasing, I 
 hastened to rid myself of such lugubrious company, by assur- 
 ing them that I would do my best to relieve them from their 
 guest ; when their tears ceased as if by magic, and they 
 departed, fully satisfied that their enemy was already 
 numbered with the dead. 
 
 The douar to which the cattle that had been killed 
 belonged, was situated at a short distance from my tent, and 
 I sent for the guards in order to get from them any informa- 
 tion they could give concerning the new comer. They told 
 mo that at about six o'clock in the evening while driving the 
 herds down the mountain road, the animals scampered off on 
 
396 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 every side in the greatest fright, and that when they collected 
 them together again, three of them were missing. They had 
 not seen the cause of the disturbance, or even any strange 
 tracks, but that there was no mistake with the herd, nothing 
 ever excited such terror but the lion. I directed them to 
 seek the bodies of the beeves early the next morning, and 
 after having found them to drag the two that were most 
 exposed to where the vultures would spy them, and carefully 
 cover the other with branches without moving it from where 
 the lion had left it. 
 
 The next afternoon at sunset, I took my way to the moun- 
 tain under the guidance of one of the Arabs who had found 
 the bodies, and accompanied by two men to carry my guns. 
 In about an hour we arrived at the broken ground that 
 bordered the wood, and passing by two skeletons that the 
 birds had carefully picked since daybreak, we presently 
 found the one that had been protected, lying in a thicket. 
 After uncovering the dead ox, I found only one mark of teeth 
 at his throat, and one stroke of claws on his shoulder, which 
 proved that the act had been done by either a lion or a full- 
 grown lioness. 
 
 The ordinary den of the lions, when they came into this 
 country, was about five hundred yards beyond the place 
 where the ox was lying, and being assured that the animal 
 would come from that direction, I placed myself accordingly^ 
 and sent off my inen. I was about taking my seat, when 
 casting a last look over the plain, I caught sight of a lioness 
 walking on the road to Krenchela. After she had followed 
 some time this road, she turned aside on a path I well knew, 
 that led to a spring, and in about a quarter of an hour more 
 I saw her coming back by the same road and enter the 
 wood. As soon as she disappeared in the margin of the 
 forest, I took my position by the body to be ready fpr her 
 coming. 
 
A HUNT WITH THE ARAB LADIES. 397 
 
 I was unfortunately placed in the midst of a thicket so 
 dark that I could see but a portion of the dead body that 
 lay within ten feet of me, and felt that I would not be 
 able to have two shots, but must either kill or cripple my 
 animal wuth one ball, or be in turn killed by her. 
 
 A moment's waiting, with nerves on the stretch, but no 
 sound or sign. Another moment's perfect stillness, and then 
 the heavy belching roar of a hungry lioness sounded a few 
 yards below me on the path, where were lying the two 
 carcases so closely picked by the vultures. 
 
 Another pause, and then my strained car gave me the 
 sound of heavy steps along the gravelly path, and I could 
 hear the regular guttural respiration that the animal makes 
 when walking. Then another pause, and the sound both of 
 her steps and her breathing ceased, and that, too, at. the 
 moment I knew she was within twenty paces of me. 
 
 Did she scent the danger? Could she see me? These 
 questions flashed through my mind like a thought. I could 
 scarcely see the barrel of my gun, much less an animal of 
 the dun color of the lioness, under the deep shadows of the 
 thicket. Delay was dangerous, and the darkness increased 
 visibly. 
 
 I hesitated no longer, but with my gun to my shoulder, and 
 stepping lightly and quickly, I walked forward, peering into the 
 woods ahead of me to try and spy my foe. My heart ceased 
 to beat. The tame sluggish feelings of years were evolved in 
 those few seconds of life. The blood shot through my veins, 
 and sensations through my mind with an immortal speed 
 that words cannot tell, and when I presently caught sight of 
 the outline of the lioness standing between two trees, listen- 
 ing to the almost inaudible noise of my coming, I aimed for 
 her side, fired, and then kneeled to see under the smoke. 
 All this was done with the instinct of the hunter, but without 
 finj reasoning of the mind, so quickly did each event crowd 
 
398 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 the other, while countless thoughts all the while winged 
 through my brain. 
 
 As soon as I could see anything under the cloud of smoke 
 that hung in the still air, I knew that the lioness was no lon- 
 ger in sight, and I heard her growling and thrashing the 
 branches in the same place where she stood, and was satisfied 
 that she was badly hurt. 
 
 Not fancying, to make a nearer investigation at such an 
 hour, I called to my men, and we returned to the douar, to 
 renew the search when the light of day should put us on a 
 more even footing. 
 
 Great was the joy of the inhabitants of the douar when they 
 ■heard- of our success. The same lugubrious party that had 
 serenaded me on the yester-eve, now surrounded me with 
 dances and homages, calling upon the moon and the fair 
 stars of Heaven to shine upon me, springs to burst forth on 
 my path, and shady trees to grow over me when I laid down 
 to sleep. They all j^rayed permission to go up to the moun- 
 tain with us the next day, to see the lioness before being skin- 
 ned, and to choose the best pieces of flesh. 
 
 The next morning, before sunrise, I started for the scene of 
 the evening's adventures, followed by every soul in the douar. 
 After reaching the place where the lioness had fallen, I 
 ordered the rest of the party to wait, and I followed the trail, 
 attended by my spahi. 
 
 At the place where I had taken my shot on the previous 
 evening, I found a pool of gore, and the regular line of blood 
 then turned down the hill, spotting the grass in clots and 
 marking the bushes on either side where the animal had 
 pushed through. It was soon apparent that the lioness had 
 frequently fallen in her flight, and every time she had struck 
 the ground, a deep furrow showed that her shoulder was 
 broken, and a portion of the bone protruding. From this, I 
 saw tliat she must have been standing obliquely to me, and 
 
A HUNT WITH THE ARAB LADIES. 399 
 
 the ball that had entered on one side, had passed through and 
 broken the other shoulder, which accounted for her declining 
 any further combat after my first shot. 
 
 The lioness, dead or alive, could not be a great way ofi*, 
 and it was time to be wary, and not to track her in such a 
 manner as to get below her on the declivity of the hill, or to 
 come upon her too suddenly. For this reason, whenever we 
 came to a bush large enough to conceal the body of the ani- 
 mal, I made my spahi throw stones into it, to excite her to 
 come out, or cause her to make some noise, by which we 
 could judge of her locality. 
 
 This plan succeeded perfectly. We had just crossed a lit- 
 tle glade where the lioness had lain for a long time, to 
 judge by the quantity of blood she had left, and from whence 
 the trail entered a very close thicket. My man threw a stone 
 into the bushes, and I heard that same fierce roar, half of pain, 
 half of menace, that I had heard twice before in my life. 
 Only in this instance, I knew that I w^as safe, for I had the 
 advantage -of the position, and broad daylight. 
 
 Nevertheless, as the animal was still a lioness, and her 
 three paws were armed with immense claws, and as the teeth 
 that had so effectually strangled the cattle on the previous 
 day, were, doubtless, of respectable size, I took such measures 
 as I thought would insure myself from being treated like the 
 oxen. 
 
 The jungle where she had taken refuge was so close, that 
 it would have been impossible for the hunter to have pene- 
 trated it, without coming directly upon the animal before see- 
 ing her, in which case she would certainly have seized the 
 intruder and torn him to pieces. 
 
 But, fortunately, there was a clear open piece of ground bor- 
 dering the woods, and I resolved to draw her out from her 
 retreat, and meet her on even terms on the sylvan arena. 
 Accordingly, I sent one of the Arabs to the tents for some 
 
400 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 more guns that I needed, and while the messenger was gone, 
 we made the necessary preparations for the attack. 
 
 The great body of the Arabs with their women, were scat- 
 tered about the clearing, speculating upon the coming scene, 
 or describing with extravagant gestures the events of the pre- 
 vious evening. I directed one of the mounted Arabs to take 
 his position in the midst of the field, where the lioness would 
 see him when first coming out of the jungle ; and then, the 
 moment she appeared, to ride directly past me, taking an 
 oblique course, that I might have a fair shot at the animal. 
 When the guns came, I loaded them, and giving them to 
 three Arabs, directed them to climb some tall trees that over- 
 looked the bushes, telling them to fire and hurrah when I 
 gave the word of command. My spahi I kept beside me to 
 hand me my second rifle after I should have discharged my 
 first one. When I had taken my seat on a rock in the mid- 
 dle of the opening, and the people saw that I was expecting 
 the lioness, there was a rush and a scramble for securer 
 places. The women clambered like goats on a high rock 
 that stood near, while the men, with rpore prudence than 
 gallantry, took refuge in the trees. At the word of command, 
 the armed Arabs fired their guns into the bushes. A fierce roar 
 responded. Then a hurrah from the group of men so safely 
 perched in the trees, and the lioness, with another roar, sprang 
 out of the jungle. 
 
 She did not halt for a second, but seeing the cavalier flying 
 from her, charged him without hesitation. As she bounded 
 forward, we noticed she could only use three legs, yet her 
 speed was so great that I had great apprehensions for the 
 Arab she was pursuing, who looked wildly over his shoulder, 
 all the while spurring his horse with might and main. 
 
 When the lioness was about forty paces from me I fired a 
 shot at her head that caused her to stumble badly, and then 
 leaving the horseman, she made a straight line for me. 
 
A HUNT WITH THE ARAB LADIES. 401 
 
 When within twenty paces, I fired both barrels in quick 
 succession, aiming for her breast. She fell like a log. I 
 thought she was dead, and was going up to where she fell, 
 when she once more raised herself on her feet, gave a short 
 roar, fell over on her side and expired. 
 
 A great cry went up from all the spectators, and the 
 women rushed down from their stronghold, and as they were 
 the nearest to the scene of action they were first to contem- 
 plate the body, and heap reproaches upon the teeth, the eyes 
 and claws of the poor beast, lying so dumbly on the green- 
 sward. As the curiosity of these ladies threatened to keep me 
 on the ground until evening, I promised them if they would 
 go down the mountain I would have the body carried to my; 
 tent where they could come at their leisure, and share in the 
 division of flesh. Then we made a sort of triumphal car of 
 boughs of trees and gun barrels, to carry the body of the 
 lioness into Ourten, where I took possession of the skin, divid- 
 ing the flesh among the Arabs. 
 
 The next morning I left this country, bearing with me the 
 trophies of my triple victory, and a sadness that hung over 
 me like a cloud, on account of the state of Amer-ben-Sigha, 
 who had risked his life for his faith in my fortunate star, and 
 would have done so to the end of time without the slightest 
 doubt. 
 
 Eight days after, while in the barracks at Constantine, I 
 received a letter from the cadi of Krenchela. 
 
 Amar-ben-Sigha was dead. 
 
402 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 ANOTHER PUSH FOR A LION HUNTING BRIGADE. 
 
 One month after the scene I have described, I was on the 
 road to France on the sick list. 
 
 My first thought after reaching Paris was my old plan of 
 organizing a company of hunters under military laws, for the 
 use of Algeria. I addressed myself to Monsieur Count 
 Edgar Ney, the chief huntsman, who received the proposition 
 with favor. A memorial having been requested from me, I 
 had the honor of presenting it myself to the Emperor, but 
 alas, a difficulty arose that I had not foreseen. 
 
 In the plan I had proposed for the formation of a company, 
 I had inserted a clause, providing a pension or a place at the 
 Invalides for those who had been grievously wounded in the 
 service. This not coming under the laws of the Empire, 
 caused the rejection of my demand, and I had nothing more 
 to employ myself with for the balance of my leave of absence 
 except the writing of this story of my hunts. When that was 
 finished, and I saw that I could obtain no promise from the 
 government in regard to the company of hunters, and no 
 successor came to join me in spite of my reiterated appeals, 
 I looked around for a few days over the idle life of childish 
 struggles, of wearing excitements, and false honors, that 
 wearied the minds and enfeebled the bodies of the effeminate 
 men of Paris, and turned away with joy to the fresh winds of 
 Atlas, and the bold chase of the desert. 
 
WHEN THE CAT *S AWAY THE MICE WILL PLAY. 403 
 
 CHAPTER XXXY. 
 
 WHEN THE cat's AWAY THE MICE WILL PLAY. 
 
 On my arrival at Constantine, I was saluted on every side 
 by complaints concerning the Leonine family, tiiat had most 
 assuredly lost none of its bad reputation during the year that 
 had passed. 
 
 The following is a summary of their evil deeds that were 
 narrated to me, as having been done in my absence. 
 
 I pass over the pecuniary losses that the tribes of the dis- 
 trict had endured, and give only those graver suflferings of 
 the human family, that were well known in the province. 
 
 In the beginning of the winter, a merchant of Tunis came 
 down to trade with the people of the lower provinces accord- 
 ing to his custom, bringing with him his wife to assist him in 
 his negotiations. He had reached a place called Tifech, in 
 the territory of Saderata, and while passing through a defile 
 near the ancient Roman town of Memissa, his wife lingered 
 behind while he drove on his mules ladened with goods. On 
 reaching the other end of the pass, he missed his wife, and 
 turned back to search for her, when he suddenly came upon 
 a lion lying by the roadside, quietly making his supper on 
 the body of the poor woman. The animal paid no attention 
 to the man, for he could get men any day he wanted them, 
 and the merchant ran oflf to relate his horrible story at a 
 neighboring douar. 
 
 He tried hard to get the men to come with him to rescue 
 
404 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 the remains of his wife, but the evening was coming on, and 
 they would not venture in such a desperate duel. They, how- 
 ever, promised that the next morning they would summon 
 the men from the next douar, and they Avould go in force to 
 wreak summary vengeance on the murderer. 
 
 With the early daybreak the merchant, armed from head 
 to foot, marched towards the place where his wife had fallen, 
 bringing with him the whole force of the Saderatas. They 
 found the spot, but all that remained of the woman was her 
 white robe dabbled red, and her long black hair. 
 
 The desolate man prayed the Arabs to lead him to the 
 lion's den, no matter where it might be, and help him take 
 revenge on the ruthless monster. In about an hour the party 
 reached the cover where the lion lay sleeping away the 
 warm hours, and digesting his delicate supper. The Arabs 
 gave a loud hurrah, and he came out of the bushes, and laid 
 himself down in the sun, combing his locks and yawning in 
 the face of all his foes. 
 
 " Now, yours shall be the revenge," said the Saderatas to 
 the merchant, " as you have most suffered, go a little nearer, 
 and taking good aim, drive a ball through the head of the 
 infidel ; we will stand here to aid you." 
 
 The innocent man took a few steps in advance, then slowly 
 levelled his gun and fired. 
 
 In the winking of an eye he was dashed to the earth, and 
 torn to pieces in the midst of the jokes of the Saderatas, who 
 then returned to their douars to divide among themselves the 
 goods of the deceased couj^le. 
 
 About a month after this, the Chegatmas were hunting 
 this same lion. One of the hunters perched in a tree near 
 which the lion was passing, sent a ball at him. The animal 
 looked up in the tree, and measuring its height with his eye, 
 gave a bound that carried hira so near to the hunter that he 
 dragged him to the earth with his claws, and then made 
 
WHEN THE CAT 's AWAY THE MICE WILL PLAY. 405 
 
 mince meat of liim before he could put in a word of expostu- 
 lation. 
 
 In the evenings of the early spring time, there were three 
 men of the same tribe, who watched for game at a spring 
 called Ain-Seid, or the lion's spring. At the dawning of the 
 day, they saw a lion coming down to drink, and he carried 
 in his mouth the body of a beautiful girl. Having reached 
 the water, he deposited his burden on the grass, and com- 
 menced licking oft" the blood that trickled from under her 
 garments down her breast and feet. 
 
 Presently he went away again, leaving the body where he 
 had deposited it, and the men mounted a high rock that 
 overlooked the place, and waited to see if he would return. 
 
 In a half hour the animal came back with the body of a 
 man, that by its convulsive motions still gave signs of life, 
 and he laid him down by the side of the woman. The 
 hunters then fired all together, and the lion fell dead. In a 
 few moments after, the man breathed his last. 
 
 In the month of July, some men of Seguia, of the tribe of 
 Ouled-Mehloul, while on a hunt in the hills, met a lion face 
 to face. They knelt down and waited until the lion charged 
 them, when they all fired at him when he was almost within 
 arm's reach. In spite of six balls the lion sprung on them, 
 wounded two of them severely with his claws, and carried off 
 another in his mouth, shaking him from time to time until 
 he dropped him on the grass dead. 
 
 In July, a lion encountered a man and woman that the 
 beauties of the summer night had enticed out to a place 
 called Foumel-Hamia. The kindly emotions of the hour 
 pleaded in vain with the ruthless bandit, and the next morn- 
 ing the tribe found only the garments of the lovers. 
 
 During the same month, the hunters of the tribe of Ouled 
 Mehloul, found a lioness with two cubs in the mountains of 
 the Zerazer. The principal body of the hunters excited the 
 
406 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 lioness with cries and missiles, until she charged them, while 
 one or two men in concealment, stole her little ones, and 
 covering therri with their burnous, fled away to the plains. 
 
 When she discovered her loss, she started in pursuit, with 
 such a fearful intensity of maternal rage, that no barrier could 
 stop her. She descended the mountain, crossed the open 
 plain, and followed the robbers under their very tents. She 
 seized one man and killed him, another got oflf badly wounded, 
 and every living thing fled from the camp at the terrible inva- 
 sion, while the lioness made herself quietly at home, and took 
 up her abode in the tent where she had found her 
 cubs. 
 
 The dispossessed Arabs fled to the tents of the Ouled-Sassi, 
 and prayed them for help, and the Sheik, Amar-ben Taieb, 
 came to their assistance with fifteen of his best hunters. 
 
 After dismounting in front of the douar, they adranced 
 slowly side by side to the gate of the douar, and summoned 
 the lioness to show herself. The queenly mother not only 
 complied with the request, but did so with such alacrity, 
 that she fell like a bomb-shell in the middle of the band, tear- 
 ing to the right and left, and died on the bodies of three men, 
 that she had grasped in her great arms, with a long and last 
 embrace. 
 
 One more story of the misadventures that occurred during 
 my short absence, and I return to the chase. 
 
 A few days before the lotus opened its buds to the spring, 
 a lover had wooed and won the heart of a young girl of a 
 neighboring tribe, but as the fates were not propitious, they 
 resolved upon flight and a secret marriage. 
 
 Rendezvous was given at the foot of ih.e great rock of 
 Jehel-Hanout, at the hour when the moon should rest her 
 lower rim on the western hills. 
 
 The girl arrived as faithful as the moon, and said to her 
 lover, " See what is following me." . 
 
WHEN THE CAT 's AWAY THE MICE WILL PLAY. 40*7 
 
 The man, or he might better be called the woman, gave 
 one look behind, then fled without saying a word, and aban- 
 doned his love to a lioness that had been tracking her all the 
 way from the douar. The morning dawned again, but the 
 girl never came back to her father*s tent. 
 
408 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 A NIGHT WITH THE ARABS I WITH SEVERAL TRUE AND INSTRUC- 
 TIVE LEGENDS, ADAPTED FOR FLIRTING GIRLS AND PRE- 
 SUMPTUOUS BOYS. 
 
 I COMMENCED this, my last campaign, in the latter part of 
 the lusty month of October, and for the first three days of my 
 excursion I hunted the mountains of Ounk-Jemel, and then 
 pitched my camp in the country of the Ouled Sassi, between 
 El-Hanout and the Zerazer. 
 
 My tent was the signal of festival among all the tribes, and 
 I was received, as usual, with open arms. From far and near 
 the first men of the tribes, the bravest warriors, and the best 
 hunters, came to salute the new comer, who had so often 
 threaded with them the mountain-paths, and bid him welcome 
 to their tents, and to the half of all they owned. 
 
 We passed the first night, Hamida and I, under the tent 
 of the Sheik, lighted by the great fire that burned without, 
 and filled with the bronzed figures of the Arabs, and talked 
 lion. The men sat in a circle, squatted on the ground ; their 
 pipes sent up their columns of smoke, their black eyes gleamed 
 under the capuchins of their burnous, and one after the other 
 took up the tale, and with brief speech and expressive gesture, 
 chased the lion from Dan to Beersheba, or when younger 
 tongues spoke, wove in turn oriental legends of flowers and 
 beasts, and girls with eyes like springs in the desert. 
 
 Severed, as I had been, for a year or more from sight of 
 
A NIGHT WITH THE ARABS. 409 
 
 the limitless plains, or sound of the wild accents of, Arab dia- 
 lect, and climbing for hopes among civilized men, that wooed 
 only to deceive, the .tales of that evening fell on my ears like 
 music, and I listened with delight to the varied legends of the 
 mingled cruelty and chivalry, the capricious deeds and the 
 audacity of the seignior of the big head, the lordly sultan of 
 the desert 
 
 Among the different stories that succeeded each other, one 
 after the other, without interruption, I will rehearse one that 
 Alexander Dumas has since written from the dictation of 
 Hamida, my spahi, who enjoys a wondrous memory for such 
 traditionary lore. 
 
 It is a sort of philosophical legend, that I recommend to 
 coquettish young ladies. As Alexander Dumas has carried 
 out the tale in his own beautiful style, I will not mar it by 
 change, but give it as he wrote it. 
 
 " Once upon a time," began the speaker, smoothing down 
 his black beard, and loosing his girdle, " and a hundred years 
 or more before I saw the light of the sun, there lived a maiden 
 in our tribe, that rendered famous the charming name of 
 Aicha. This maiden was very proud, not that she was richer 
 than the other girls of the tribe, for her father had nothing 
 but his tent, his gun, and his horse, but she was beautiful as 
 a shady tree, and from her beauty was born her pride. 
 
 " One day she went out to cut wood in the neighboring 
 forest, and met a lion. Her only weapon was a little hatchet 
 but this was of small moment, for had she been -armed like a 
 harnessed knight, she would never have dared to raise a hand 
 before so fierce and majestic an enemy. Her limbs failed 
 her. She tried to call, but her voice sunk to a whisper, and 
 the lion seemed to beckon her to follow him, that he might 
 devour her in some quiet and secret retreat, for the lions are 
 not only gourmands, but great gastronomes. They not only 
 18 
 
410 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 love to dine largely, but also to have all the appurtenances 
 of luxury that will satisfy their sensual appetites. 
 
 " The young girl stood trembling, waiting'for the animal to 
 lead her wherever he might list, but what was her astonish- 
 ment, when she saw him come up to her with the best smile 
 he could bring to his wrinkled face, and make a bow that 
 only lions can make ! She crossed her hands on her breast, 
 and said : 
 
 " ' Seignior, what dost thou command thy humble servant 
 to do V 
 
 " ' When one is as beautiful as you, Aicha, one is no longer 
 a servant, but a queen.' 
 
 " * Aicha was as much astonished at the unaccustomed 
 sweetness of the voice of the speaker, as pleased that so great 
 and beautiful a lion, and one whom she never met before, 
 should be acquainted with her name. 
 
 " ' Who told thee that my name was Aicha V inquired the 
 young girl. 
 
 " ' The wind that is in love with you, and that is fragrant 
 of roses after it has toyed with your hair, whispers Aicha ; 
 the water that bathes your feet, and then runs past my grotto, 
 doth murmur Aicha ; the birds that hearing you sing, become 
 jealous, and die of shame, sing all the while, Aicha, Aicha. 
 
 " The young girl, blushing with pleasure, made believe to 
 pull down her haik over her face, but only pushed it further 
 back, that the lion might see the better. 
 
 " He had before hesitated to draw any nearer to her, but 
 now taking a few steps in advance, he saw her face growing 
 white with terror at the approach of his huge lips. 
 
 " ' What is the matter, Aicha V he said, in a voice that 
 was both anxious and fondly caressing in its tone. 
 
 " The maiden wanted to say, I am afraid of thee, sir, but 
 she did not dare to do so, and concealed her feelings by say- 
 ing, ' the Souaregs are near us, and I am afraid of them.' 
 
A NIGHT WITH THE ARABS. 411 
 
 " The lion's mouth relaxed into a smile, and then he replied 
 with proud earnestness : 
 
 " ' I am with you, Aicha, and when I am near, you need 
 fear nothing.' 
 
 " * But I will not always have thee with me,' said Aicha • 
 * it is a great way from here to my father's tent, and it is 
 growing late.' 
 
 " ' I will see you home,' gallantly replied the lion. 
 
 '* Taken so by surprise, what could a poor girl do but 
 accept ? The lion walked up to her side, and extended to 
 her his mane. She wound her fair hand in his tawny locks, 
 and with her arm resting on his neck as it would have rested 
 on the shoulder of her lover, the twain, each so beautiful, 
 and yet so opposite in their different perfections, walked 
 together towards the douar of the tribe. 
 
 " In the road, they met dark eyed-gazek, that fled from 
 them, and hyenas that crouched down to the earth, and men 
 and women that prostrated themselves as to a god. But the 
 lion said to the gazels, do not run away, and to the hyenas, 
 he said, be not afraid, and to the men and women, rise up, 
 for by the grace of this young girl, who is my own true love, 
 I will do you no harm. At the royal word, the gazels 
 wheeled in their swift flight, the hyenas raised their ugly 
 faces, and the men and women rose to their feet, and they all 
 asked : the gazels in the soft language of their race, the 
 hyenas in the grunting tone of their species, and the men and 
 women in the Arab language th6y spoke : " What is the 
 meaning of this beautiful scene ? Do the lion and the girl 
 go together to worship at the tomb of the prophet in Mecca V 
 
 "Thus they walked down through the gum dropping forest, 
 and over the blossom scented field, until they came to the 
 douar, and the white tent of Aicha's father arose in sight. 
 Here the lion paused to say adieu, and with all the grace of 
 the noblest courtier in the land, he asked the young girPs 
 
412 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 permission to kiss her. The maiden proftered her warm 
 cheek, and the lion with his great tongue licked the red lips 
 of Aicha. He then bowed to her farewell, and sat himself 
 down as though to watch and make sure that Aicha reached 
 her tent in safety. The girl turned her head three or four 
 times in the short walk before her, to see if the lion was still 
 there, and she saw him always watching her from the same 
 place, until she entered the tent. 
 
 " ' Ah ! you have come,' exclaimed the father ; ' I began 
 to be alarmed at your stay.' 
 
 " The girl smiled. 
 
 " * I feared that you had had some unpleasant encounter in 
 the woods.' 
 
 " The girl smiled again. 
 
 *' But since you are here, it is a proof that you have not 
 been troubled.' 
 
 " ' Indeed, my father, I have had a very pleasant encounter, 
 that is, if you call a lion a pleasant person to meet.' 
 
 " In spite of the ordinary impassibility of the Arabs, the 
 old man grew pale. 
 
 " ' A lion,' he cried, ' and he did not devour you V 
 
 " ' On the contrary, he praised my comely looks, then 
 oflfered to see me home, and came with me to the village 
 gate.' 
 
 " The Arab thought his child was mad. 
 
 " * Impossible !' he cried. 
 
 " ' How impossible V 
 
 " ' How am I to believe that a lion is capable of such a 
 piece of gallantry. 
 
 " ' Shall I prove it to you ?' 
 
 " ' By what means V 
 
 " ' If you go to tent door, you will see him either sitting 
 where I left him, or returning home.' 
 
 " ' Wait till I take down my gun.' 
 
A NIGHT WITH THE ARABS. 413 
 
 « < Why, am / not with you V replied the proud and con- 
 ceited girl, and drawing her father by -his burnous, she led 
 him to the door, but the lion was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 " Very well, I see how it is, you have been dreaming,* said 
 the father. 
 
 ** ' My father, I swear to vou I see him still.' 
 
 " ' How did he look V 
 
 ' ' He was about four feet high, and seven feet long.' 
 
 «*Well.' 
 
 " * A beautiful mane.' 
 
 "*Well.' 
 
 " ' Great eyes, as bright as the topaz.' 
 
 "'Well.' 
 
 " ' And teeth like ivory, only ' the girl hesitated. 
 
 "'Only what?' 
 
 Aicha lowered her voice : 
 
 " * Only he had a shocking bad breath.' 
 
 She had hardly uttered these words, before a fearful roar 
 thundered from behind the tent, then another sounded about 
 half a mile off, and then another from the neighborhood of 
 the mountains, then they heard nothing more. There had 
 been hardly an instant's interval between the roars. It was 
 evident that the lion desiring to know what the young girl 
 said of him, had made a circuit and come behind the tent to 
 listen, and had gone off in great mortification, in finding out 
 this imperfection, so much the more dangerous because those 
 who are infected by it, never perceive it themselves. 
 
 " A month passed by, and they saw no more of the lion, 
 and the maiden had forgotten him save when she told the 
 story to her comrades to wile away the warm hours of noon. 
 She went again as before, to the woods to cut her fagot-s, and 
 with hatchet in hand, and one day she wandered about until 
 she found herself in the same place where she had met 
 her first adventure. The fagots having been cut and piled 
 
414 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 in bundles, she kneeled down to tie tliem, when she 
 thought she heard a heavy sigh, and on looking around* 
 there was the lion seated a few steps off, watching her 
 movements. 
 
 " * Good morning, Aicha,' he said, in a dry tone. 
 
 " ' Good morning, monseignior,' returned Aicha, in a 
 trembling voice, for she had not forgotten her remark in 
 regard to his fetid breath, or the triple roar of indignation 
 that followed the impolite disclosure ; ' Good morning ; what 
 can I do that will be agreeable V 
 
 " ' You can do me a favor.' 
 
 «* What is it?' 
 
 " ' Come close to me.' 
 
 " The girl obeyed, inwardly wishing herself home again. 
 
 " * Now I am by you.' 
 
 " * Very well. Now raise your hatchet, and give me a 
 blow on the head.' 
 
 " ' But, seignior, thou dost not think ' 
 
 " ' On the contrary, I have thought much about it.' 
 
 " * But, seignior ' 
 
 " ' Strike.' 
 
 " * But, my dear sir.' 
 
 " ' Strike, Aicha, I pray you.' 
 
 " * Hard, or softly 2' 
 
 " ' As hard as you can.' 
 
 "* But I will hurt you.' 
 
 " ' What is that to you ?— strike.' 
 
 " * Do you want me to V 
 
 «'Ido.' 
 
 " The girl hesitated no longer, but gave a blow with lier 
 hatchet between the eyes of the lion, that left a bloody mark 
 where it fell. 
 
 " * Thank you,' said the lion, and in three bounds he dis- 
 appeared in the woods. Since that time only have the lions 
 
A NIGHT WITH THE ARABS. 415 
 
 carried the deep vertical wrinkle between the eyes that 
 appears so remarkable when they raise their eyebrows. 
 
 " ' Dear me,' said Aicha, disappointed in her turn, * he is 
 not going to see me home to-day ;' and she turned towards 
 the douar, where she arrived without accident. 
 
 " The news of this second encounter soon spread through 
 the village, and the wisest talebs of the tribe laid their heads 
 together to resolve its meaning. After much thought and 
 long reference to the Koran, they discovered the hidden 
 meaning, and translated it as follows : ' God is great, and the 
 lion doeth what he wills.' 
 
 " A month passed by, and Aicha was again in the woods 
 gathering fagots for the evening fire. At the moment she 
 cut the first limb from a cedar tree, its dense branches parted 
 and the lion stepped out with the same melancholy counte- 
 nance as before, but a gleam burned in his great eyes that 
 seemed to menace what they turned upon. 
 
 " The maiden wanted to fly, but those eyes nailed her to 
 the earth, and she could not move. The lion stepped up to 
 her with his royal mien, and her heart ceased to beat for 
 very terror. 
 
 " * Look at my forehead.' said the terrifier. 
 
 " ' But the seignior will recollect that it was he that 
 ordered me to do it, and I only obeyed,' said the young girl, 
 with a voice whose tones were quivering with heartfelt 
 anxiety. 
 
 " ' Yes, and I thank you for it ; but it was not that I was 
 going to speak with you about.' 
 
 " ' What then is it the seignior desires V 
 
 " ' Look at this wound on my forehead.' 
 
 "*Iseeit.' 
 
 " ' Has it healed V 
 
 " * Perfectly, it is quite well.' 
 
 ** * That proves, Aicha, that the wounds that woman gives 
 
416 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 to the body are very different from the ones that she gives 
 to the spirit, the one heals in a month, the other never.' 
 
 " This axiom was spoken in a voice that made the tassels 
 on the pine tree quiver in the air. A woman's shriek rang 
 in the forest. The lion's love had gone to sleep for ever, and 
 his sensual appetite had awakened. Tongue may not speak 
 of w4iat followed — prophet of God defend us ! 
 
 "The next day the father of Aicha with all the stout men 
 of the douar hunted the woods for the fairest girl of the 
 Zerazer. 
 
 " "When they reached the place where lay the fagots they 
 found a white haik, a hatchet, and a scalp of long braided 
 hair, but never has man since that time seen or heard of 
 Aicha." 
 
 After this legend was told, that may seem to ears polite 
 somewhat lugubrious, a moral and amusing fable was recited, 
 entitled, " The young lion and the wood cutter T 
 
 The speaker in this instance, was one of the youngest of 
 our hosts, and never did blacker eyes flash from cowled head, 
 or more melodious voice ripple through snowy teeth. He 
 laid aside his long chibouque, and with graceful gesture and 
 bearing commenced the tale that near as may be ran as 
 follows : 
 
 " Among the Lords of Mount Aures there once lived and 
 loved a lioness who, though long wedded, and faithful withal, 
 had never yet become a mother. The event so devoutly 
 prayed for as well among lionesses as among wives of more 
 delicate frames, was at length realized, and one morning's sun, 
 as it poured upon the broad roof of the ceder and lotus, and 
 glinted down among grape vines and olives, at last played 
 upon and brightened one tawny cub that nestled in its warm 
 bed of leaves beneath. 
 
 " A proud lady was the mother lioness as she purred over 
 
A NIGHT WITH THE ARABS. 417 
 
 her new born child. A happy cub was that little infant, heir 
 to broader lands than any king, guarded by stronger arras 
 than any prince. The mother bestowed on him a thousand 
 caresses, and watched him grow day by day, bronzed by 
 African suns, and fanned by mountain winds, jealous of every 
 hour that divided him from her side. When he walked out 
 by night she frightened the mountains with her complaining ; 
 when he returned the rocks shook at her rejoicings. AVith 
 long walks and simple diet she strengthened his rugged frame, 
 with good counsel she fortified his understanding, and among 
 her many prudent advices none was given with greater 
 unction than the one, ' My child, beware of the seed of the 
 woman.' 
 
 " As the weeks fled by, the strength of the young lion 
 increased. His limbs developed their muscles, his mane came 
 out little by little, and his voice at first so weak and whining 
 like a girl's, became so valorous that the flocks when they 
 heard it, kicked up their heels and scampered to the douars. 
 
 " One day he came to his mother, saying, ' Now I am 
 strong and courageous, the seed of the woman I can hold 
 down with one paw, I think I will go out and teach him 
 obedience.' 
 
 " The mother, frightened at this foolhardy bravery, endea- 
 vored to dissuade him from the attempt, but all her efforts 
 were unheeded or answered only by a pettish growl. Not 
 being able to turn his determination, she renewed her prudent 
 counsels and with a fond lick or two of her caressing tongue 
 gave him to the charge of God and the Prophet. 
 
 " The young lion then bounded bravely out of the jungle 
 that had cradled his cubbish hours, and resolutely gained the 
 ridge of the mountains. For a long time he walked boldly 
 on, without seeing anything worthy of his steel. Fox and 
 stag, and light gazel vanished as he came, his very voice 
 
 18* 
 
418 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 stilled the forest around him, and his young heart swelled 
 high with triumph. 
 
 " Presently he saw a bull in one of the plains below him. 
 His horns were like pine trees, his eyes darted red fire, his tail 
 swung backward and forth like a thrasher's flail, and his hoofs 
 tore the sod from the earth and scattered it like hail. 
 
 " * Ha ! ha !' said the young lion, ' there is a warlike 
 creature, that might well be called the seed of the woman 
 that rules the earth. That is ray enemy, I will march at him.' 
 
 " He walked up with a fierce air to the bull, and in a tone 
 of great emphasis he demanded, 
 
 " ' Are you the seed of the woman V 
 
 " The bull dropped his tail, and replied, 
 
 " * My dear friend, you are foolish. The courage that God 
 has given to the seed of the woman He has granted to no 
 living creature. Do you know how he treats me and my 
 race? He takes us and puts yokes over our necks, and 
 makes us do his work. If we are idle, he beats us with goads, 
 and when too old to act longer as his servants, he slays us 
 and divides our flesh to feed his wives and childrep." 
 
 " The lion listened to this story, a sage look of wonder man- 
 tled his countenance, and he then continued his course. He 
 could not quite understand what he had heard, but he made 
 up his mind to find his enemy, if he had to turn heaven and 
 earth to do it. . After walking a little while, he presently 
 encountered face to face a camel, that was pasturing on a deli- 
 cate patch of thistles. 
 
 " ' This time I have hit it ; what fortunate star led me to this 
 mountainous creature ?" said the lion to himself; then to the 
 camel he said : 
 
 " * Sirrah, are you the seed of the woman V 
 
 " The camel laughed outright, as he tilted up his long neck 
 from the thistle-bed. 
 
A KIGHT WITH THE ARABS. 419 
 
 " * You haven't hit it at all, Master Lion, though you are so 
 wise. What do you want of the seed of the woman ? If you 
 will heed the advice of a stranger, who has known him a long 
 while, you will keep the greatest distance from him you can. 
 Look at me — are you able to bend my knees to the earth, to 
 bind pack after pack on my back, and then mounting your- 
 self on the top of all, to guide me and drive me over the des- 
 ert ? That is what the person you seek does to me every 
 day, and if he chooses to cut my stomach open to find water 
 for his children, I cannot resist. Now, then, do you fancy 
 the acquaintance ? If so, you have only to go ahead, and you 
 will find him.' 
 
 " ' You are a poltroon, yoa cowardly camel !' retorted the 
 lion in a disdainful tone. ' Your old woman's tales and the 
 stories of the bull on the plain above, only enter one ear to go 
 out of the other. I will continue my road.' 
 
 " In a few minutes he saw a horse coursing the fields like 
 the wind ; his neigh was music on the air, and his breath was 
 white like smoke. 
 
 "'Holloa!' called the lion from afar, *I am looking for 
 the seed of the woman — are you not he V 
 
 " ' Are you speaking to me V said the horse. 
 
 " ' Who else is there to speak to V 
 
 " 'Then please to go somewhere else with your jokes, for I 
 have never found any joking in connection with that name. 
 The seed of the woman, prithee ! He has saddled and bri- 
 dled me, though I am swift on the foot, and curbs me to his 
 will.' 
 
 " ' Indeed !' said the lion, as his eyes began to open 
 visibly. 
 
 " * Indeed, it is true ; and then he sits on my back, and carry 
 him as fast as I may, he drives his spurs into my side till the 
 sands are dotted with my blood !' 
 
420 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " ' Oh !' said the lion, in a voice that made the horse take 
 to his heels. The perspiration started under his mane, and 
 he began to think he had not looked before he had leaped. 
 However, it was too late to doubt, and he pushed on. 
 
 " The plain was passed, and a forest rose before him on the 
 side of a purling brook, and from time to time, like the 
 call of a bell-bird, he heard the clear sound of a woodman's axe. 
 
 " Entering the woods, guided by the noise, he saw before 
 him the wood-chopper. 
 
 " ' This fluttering jay bird may tell me something about 
 what I am seeking,' muttered the lion, ' though he is so tat- 
 tered and poor, he may not even have heard of the great ones 
 of earth.' 
 
 " ' God help you, my poor creature. I have been all day 
 hunting after the seed of the woman ; can you tell me where 
 I must go to find him ?' 
 
 " ' Good gracious ! most noble sir, he's not hard gettin' at ; 
 I'll go and fetch him. But, please sir, while I am gone, 
 this log I am splittin' won't stay open unless you will 
 hold it for me. Just put your paws in this crack ; I won't be 
 gone a minit." 
 
 The lion, with a gracious condescension, inserted his paws 
 in the crevice, when the wily woodman knocked away the 
 wedge that held it open, and the log springing together, held 
 the lion's paws with a gripe like a vice. He struggled and 
 growled in vain. 
 
 " The woodman then cut a dozen stout cudgels, and taking 
 the lion by the tail with one hand, administered with the 
 other such an awful bastinado, that the poor creature's back 
 was beaten softer than his belly. At length, when strength 
 and sticks were all worn out, he released his prisoner by dri- 
 ving in another wedge, telling him to go home and relate to 
 liis fjimily that if they would come there, the seed of the 
 woman would give them all the same lesspn. 
 
A NIGHT WITH THE ARABS. , 421 
 
 "The poor cub took his way home half dead with 
 shame and pain, and limping like a rabbit. The mother 
 was out watching for the return of her hopeful, and when she 
 saw him coming in this wretched plight, she roared with 
 horror and indignation, and bitterly reproached her child for 
 his folly. She then led him in, and having lain him down, ^ 
 on her best bed, she licked his wounds and administered to 
 him all the care that art and love could suggest. 
 
 " ' Ah !' said she, in mournful accents, ' I told you so, you 
 have found the seed of the woman.' 
 
 " The young lion then told over all his adventures. The 
 mother said , ' Do you remain here quietly, I will summon all 
 the lions of the mountain, and leading them myself, I will 
 revenge your insults, my poor child.' And great tears of 
 sympathy and anger rolled down her hairy cheeks while 
 speaking. She then went out and roused all the forces of 
 the mountain, and presently with the rising sun, they came 
 trooping past like kings. Pointing out the formidable 
 squadron to her own, she said ; ' Do you think they can 
 revenge you V 
 
 " ' Yes, certainly ; but I would rather do it myself.' 
 
 " ' Rise, and march with us then,' said the proud mother, 
 and the young lion rose and led the van. 
 
 "This terrible band then started for the forest by the 
 purling brook. As it came, terrified nature fled away. The 
 wood chopper seeing its approach, cried out : 
 
 " ' I am a poor sinner — this day will I see the prophet.' 
 Then recovering himself a little, he hugged a big tree, and 
 scrambled up to the top. 
 
 " The leonine army came to the foot of the tree, but, alas ! 
 their enemy was at the top and they at the bottom, and there 
 was no manoeuvre in their system of warfare adapted for such 
 a position. They held a council of war. The young lion was 
 among the speakers, and proposed the following plan : 
 
422 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 " ' I will stand against the tree, let another of you moun* 
 my shoulders, taking the same position,, and then another, 
 and another, until we form a ladder that will reach the 
 wretch and drag him down.' 
 
 " The counsel was considered good, and forthwith a 
 ipyramid of lions might have been seen climbing up the side 
 of the tree, one above another, and gradually approaching the 
 refugee. The topmost round of the ladder was made, and the 
 wood-cutter almost reached, when he called out in a loud 
 voice : 
 
 " * Hold on till I cut a cudgel and give that fellow at the 
 bottom another drubbing.' 
 
 " The sound of this voice, so dreadful, but above all the 
 remembrance of the cudgelling he had so recently received, 
 so frightened the young lion that was at the bottom of the 
 pyramid, that he jumped out from under his comrades, and 
 took to his heels with surprising agility. The ladder of lions 
 suddenly deprived of its support, came tumbling to the 
 ground with a great crash. They fell from such a prodigious 
 height, that those that were not killed, were stunned and 
 wounded, and all lay moaning in a heap. 
 
 ^' Then the wood-cutter slid down the tree and seized his 
 axe. He killed those that were wounded, and stripping the 
 skins oflF of them all, he gaily marched to his douar, the richest 
 man from Cairo to Timbuctoo." 
 
DEATH OF A LIONESS. 423 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE DEATH OF A LIONESS ILLUSTRATING THE FABLE OF 
 
 THE FLY ON THE COACH WHEEL, 
 
 As the young Arab finished his tale, the first dawnings of 
 light appeared through the folds of the tent. 
 
 I took my rifle, and giving a warm shake of the hand to 
 the hospitable Sheik under whose tent I had passed the 
 night, rode off with Hamida for the summit of Zerazer, where 
 it had been agreed I should wait for the signal of the chase, 
 which was to be a fire showing the place where the game 
 had been tracked to its lair. 
 
 When the sun had reached mid heavens, I saw a white 
 column of smoke stealing up from the distant peak of El- 
 Hanout. A mad gallop of an hour and I dismounted at the 
 foot of the mountain, among the hunters of Ouled-Sassi, who 
 were patiently awaiting my coming. We mounted the . hill 
 together, and after climbing the last hundred yards of perpen- 
 dicular rocks that were piled along the top of the mountain, 
 the tracker who had seen the lioness, and had been keeping 
 watch, pointed me out her den about two hundred yards 
 below me. 
 
 A ravine of about five yards in width ran from where I 
 stood, and was lost in the bushes beneath where it was sup- 
 posed she was still lying hid. Each side of this ravine was 
 bounded by perpendicular rocks, and I knew the animal, in 
 case she was aroused, would either charge the hunters, or else 
 
424 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 follow this path, and attempt to escape over the ridge of the 
 mountain. 
 
 With any other hunters than the Ouled-Sassi, or even with 
 them in case there had been a lion in question, I would have 
 preferred to have marched right to the lair. But I knew so 
 well the bravery of the one and the habits of the other, that 
 I was sure that in case they walked forward in a solid body 
 without making too much noise, that the lioness would prefer 
 mounting the hill to turning to attack them. 
 
 So after giving the necessary orders, and having taken my 
 place with Ilamida upon a rock that guarded the passage, I 
 gave the signal to the hunters to advance. 
 
 The den which the animal had chosen, was nothing but a 
 jumble of rocks from which grew a number of stunted 
 juniper trees. My thirty hunters divided in two bodies 
 advanced slowly up the mountain, until they came within 
 fifty paces of the bushes, when the lioness came out, and sitting 
 down on her haunches took a quiet survey of the scene. The 
 men knelt down with their guns to their shoulders, and very 
 quietly and politely urged the beast to march off, but she 
 resolutely refused, showing her teeth and snarling with most 
 unfeminine ferocity. One of the party with his flint and steel 
 then set fire to the dry moss that covered the ground, and 
 the wind blowing fresh from up the hills, the lioness was 
 obliged to move ofi" sneezing with the smoke that appeared to 
 her of a very unpleasant perfume. 
 
 She slowly ascended the hill following the path I had 
 selected, shaking her head angrily at the disturbance, and 
 from time to time halting to look behind her until she 
 reached the summit of the path, and stood directly before 
 me. 
 
 As her eye caught mine, she came to a dead stop, and sat 
 down. Her look wandered from me to my spahi, and then 
 it seemed to be measuring the height of the rocks on which 
 
DEATH OF A LIONESS. 425 
 
 I was posted, to see if they were beyond her power, and then 
 it came back and settled on me again with a concentration 
 of gaze that was fascinating. 
 
 Finding myself in an awkward position for shooting, I 
 arose to ray feet. 
 
 The lioness did the same, without however moving a step 
 in advance. 
 
 I aimed between the eye and ear, but just as I pressed the 
 trigger a miserable jfly settled himself on the barrel of my 
 gun in such a manner as to intercept the view of the sight. 
 In spite of the danger of the thing the fable of the fly on the 
 coach wheel, came to. my mind with ludicrous force. 
 
 Twice I lowered my rifle, but the pertinacious insect kept 
 his place. 1 waived ^my hand and he flew off" only id buzz 
 back when I attempted to aim. 
 
 The lioness had not moved, though she regarded my 
 motions with her head thrown back and her eyes fixed on 
 mine as though not quite comprehending the operations that 
 delayed a battle she was not loath to commence. 
 
 Fearing lest I should miss aim altogether if I tried for her 
 head, I aimed for her shoulder and fired. The ball took 
 effect and the animal writhed under the shot without falling, 
 and then before she could recover I sent another ball, that 
 flies could not divert, into her ear, and she fell dead. 
 
 Thus died the lioness of El-Hanut, my last victim, and I 
 sent her off" that same evening for Constantino, to adorn the 
 table of my brothers-in-arms. 
 
 The next day I camped at Foum-el-Hamma, and then 1 
 hunted Fed-Joudj, the Gouriret, and burned off" the red grass at 
 Simerguenin, but all without success. The lions were not 
 there, though other game was started in abundance. 
 
 At length the rains of winter set in, and drove me from 
 the field, and thus ended the last campaign, dear reader, in 
 which I can be accompanied by you. 
 
426 
 
 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I have told you the successes and trials of the first ten 
 jears of my hunter life, as best a hunter may. Many a lion's 
 cub, panther, and game of lesser note fell beneath my balls 
 on the mountain height, or by river's marge, of which I have 
 kept no note, or never mentioned when remembered, for fear 
 of wearying the minds of those who love the chase less than 
 I. Many a scene of beauty in the deep forest, that lifts the 
 heart to God, or gay adventure in the Arab tent, that moves 
 the smile or tear, I have omitted for lack of meet words to 
 portray the events I feel but cannot describe. But what I 
 have written is sparse in words, though true in fact, and the 
 great world that I have hunted in will bear me witness. 
 
 I have finished my book, the only thing that detains me, 
 and fatigued with a life that wearies me, I go back to the 
 desert. Though I am growing old, and my rifle weighs 
 heavy on my arm, though I can find no one comrade to 
 accompany me to the chase, or stand by me when I die, I 
 return with a happy heart to the free life, whose adventures 
 I have narrated, bidding you all farewell. 
 
 May God a.^ 
 
 Jules G^iuxi. 
 
 you! 
 
 it may not be forgt>it.en tb;ii ab_' . ■ . 3 'fir a 
 ago tlie newspapers aanounced tho deutu of: 
 , Ju.es Gerard, tlieiamoBS lion-killer, tUirniK* 
 an exploring visit in Ueniral Afrtcd, buf gavd 
 'no acoouii-t oJ bow it occurred, it appears thaoJ 
 'lire Frpiich ConsnlHr Aged at Sierra ljeon©a 
 ;lias been able to^obtain some pnTlicular^, wbjcb 
 "be aa» commun'icaied to tlie j^oveniTnerit. Ac-' 
 cording to information given by JM. lluehard. 
 
 guard 
 
 establi.^lied III *.tu 
 
 nh: 
 
 ►ft Frencli inercti 
 
 a»»(J'by Al: .■■• ■ I .! . ■•■ 
 
 ■Heburd-, 
 pj^a-leru.;^ 
 
 ^»ge<t ns Uis ;iunj'',-i and prouC jia. Ha ba^j- 
 •ga<{8«nd provisions v/wer'at llrst pilaj^ed re- 
 p. <i!f)C!)}' diir!!!^ li:? jouraey fiuiri Sf^raboo to 
 
 ' ' ^ ■ ■■:'"'• -^ig*". 
 
 ■iiely 
 
 vy baok to i • 
 .-■ ■ • village of .\ 
 
 Lliat be b;id been diowinid by lii ■ ,,. 
 ixtxiS conducted biat lri;iu \N ool 
 and tbnt bi« b ) )y v?as Idund in 1. 
 I'rntory ot : 
 Hint ibL- bo. I 
 .■•.," : ■ •' ■ Utt arms iir-.: ..-i : ; 
 
 back, ;iiid a pif.i- ul wood with a lar^p slotic 
 MltaeliiHt was lasteneU to Ins wai>t. Ali irietf^ 
 lo lecover hi> iiiatrumeirB, but could not do 
 so. Tne provi--;o»s lie had were talieu trora 
 
EXTRACTS. 427 
 
 EXTRACTS, 
 From the works of the Arab write?', Dameirij entitled Hanet 
 
 AND HaNIAWANE. 
 
 (Translated from the original Arabic, by Monsieur Cherbonneau, Professor of 
 Arabic, of the College of Constantine.) 
 
 These books are quarto volumes, aud were written in the 
 yilltli Siecle of the Hegira. Tliey treat indiscriminately of 
 animals and philosophy, and without, in the least, following the 
 ordinary course of works on natural history, commence with an 
 invocation to the Prophet, according to the sacred custom of all 
 Mussulman writers, and then adorn the lives of the animals 
 with numberless digressions and holy counsels. The native 
 opinions concerning the lion may not come amiss in a book 
 devoted principally to the chase. The description of the lion 
 reads as follows : 
 
 The Arabs designate the lion by the generic name of agade, 
 oftener ougaude,, this is the classical name found in the Koran, 
 in the poets, in the works on natural history, and in the fables 
 of Lokman the "Wise. 
 
 The Algerine dialect has adopted the expression sseid, or sseouda, 
 with an emphatic 5, that we express by the double s. The lioness 
 is called, louba, and her cub, chebel; in the written language, five 
 hundred different words, mostly adjectives, are used to designate 
 the sultan of animals. There are epithets selected by writers 
 to express his moral or physical qualities, his habits or faults. 
 
 I will only mention those that are most common : 
 
428 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 M-ta'-adje^ the crowned one ; BjaMeb^ the stout ; El-hareth^ 
 the hunter ; Er-ribale^ the rapacious ; Ez-joufar^ the hero ; Es- 
 sabone^ the most ferocious; Es-saab^ the lofty; Ed-dhorgame^ 
 the valiant; Ed-dhigreme^ the hiter; El-tirar^ the agile; El- 
 a?nhess, the redoubtable ; El- Gadhamfar^ the mighty ; El-Jcaraica^ 
 thetearer; El-Jcacoura, the recluse; El-Jcahar, the impetuous; 
 El-laits^ the vigorous; El-metanene^ the intrepid', El-neTi-Tidbe^ 
 the hunter; El-mofarrasse^ the devourer; El-onerd^ the tawny; 
 ^JoM ^l-aMale, the father of heroes; Abou-zzafrane^ the red ; Abou- 
 el-aTcriass^ the. monster of the caves; Abou-achebale^ the father 
 of young hunters ; Abou H-abasse^ the animal of the imposing 
 presence; AbouH-hafs^^ the devouring monster ; AbouH-harts^ 
 the beast who tears up the ground. The grammarian, Ali-Ben- 
 Kacem-Ben Djaafar, has added a hundred more to tlie list of 
 names already given, which if it does not prove the veneration 
 in which they hold the animal, at least, shows the richness of 
 the Arab tongue. 
 
 It is usually pretended that no animal in the world can support 
 hunger and thirst like the lion. When he is hungry he is cruel 
 and pitiless, but when he has dined, his character improves. He 
 prefers the flesh of living animals, and disdains corpses. He 
 prefers a fresh animal for every meal, and will not return to the 
 yesterday's repast. The lioness brings forth but one cub at a 
 birth, and when it is born it is a formless mass of flesh, and 
 remains motionless for three day. On the fourth day the male 
 lion comes up to it, and blows upon it, until it begins to breathe. 
 When it has moved and stretched its legs, the lioness offers it 
 her teats, but it does not open its eyes until the seventh day. 
 
 Some persons have noticed that the lion refuses to drink from 
 water where a dog has drunk, and that it trembles at the sound 
 of the crowing of a cock, or the ring of metal. 
 
 The lion has such a good opinion of himself that he will not 
 associate with any other animal. His temperament is very 
 warm, and he has a constant fever. He lives to a great age, and 
 when old, his teeth drop out. According to the accounts of 
 historians, the lion was of a very sweet disposition in the times 
 of the holy Jesus (Aica), and he lived in peaceful harmony with 
 the camel and other quadrupeds. 
 
EXTRACTS. 429 
 
 Our books of hadits, or Mohammedan traditions, are full 
 of remarks upon this glorious animal. I give the three fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 When the lion roars, he says, " Ya rahli^ ma teQallot ni a la 
 ellecll ifaal el Kliair gallot ni d la ed-dabeome^^^ which signifies, 
 "Seignior, deliver to my power the wicked only, and let the 
 good go free.". 
 
 Ali-beu-ali-Thaleb, the cousin of the prophet, spake unto the 
 faithful these words : 
 
 " WJien you cross a desert infested with lions, you will free 
 yourself from all danger by calling upon Daniel in the lions' 
 den." 
 
 When Noah first planted the grape vine, Eblis came up to him 
 and blowing upon the stalk, dried it up with liis breath. The 
 poor patriarcli, disheartened, sat down in despair, when Eblis 
 reappeared to him and said : " If you want your plant to recover, 
 take seven animals and spill their blood at its root, and your 
 vine will return to life." 
 
 So ^oah arose and girded up his loins, and slew a lion, a 
 bear, a tiger, a dog, a fox, a magpie and a cock, and then he 
 poured out their blood upon the root of the vine he had planted. 
 
 Before this time the shrub had borne only a single grape, but 
 on the next year it bore seven kind of grapes, or rather, grapes 
 endowed with seven distinct virtues. And all this explains why 
 the wine that is made from the grapes, when a man has well 
 drunken thereof, makes him at once bold, strong, fretful, noisy, 
 cunning, talkative and crowing. 
 
 The qualities of the lion are numerous, and many wise Arabs 
 have thought and written much upon the subject. 
 
 When Noah was about going into the ark, he took with him 
 two animals of every kind there was on the earth. But his 
 children and friends became alarmed at the measure, and came 
 to him and said : " What a dangerous predicament we shall be in 
 •when we all get cooped up in those narrow quarters with the 
 lion." 
 
 The patriarch prostrated himself before tlie Father, and 
 implored his protection. And forthwith a fever fell upon the 
 lion, and he was rendered quiet and subdued all the time he was 
 
430 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 in the ark, and this was the origin of the fever in the world. 
 The lion by this means was put upon his good behavior, but 
 >;here was another animal who, though smaller in size, was 
 equally troublesome, and this was the mouse. He ate the pro- 
 visions of the crew, and burrowed into their choicest dainties 
 without compunction. Noah applied himself again to prayer, 
 and relief was awarded unto him. The lion sneezed, and out of 
 his nostrils came forth a cat that devoured the mice. From 
 thenceforth the cat oecame the natural enemy of the mouse, and 
 the latter animal was reduced to a life of timidity and disgrace. 
 
 We read in the works of Abd-el-Mekk, entitled " Descriptions 
 of Properties of Animals," that, " He who rubs his body with the 
 fat of a lion, will cause every other wild animal to flee in 
 dread." 
 
 To cure a babe of child's sickness, suspend a piece of the skin 
 of the lion with a morsel of hair, to his neck. 
 
 To drive away wild beasts, burn a little of the hair of the 
 lion. 
 
 To cure a person of the paralysis, let him eat of lion's flesh. 
 
 A piece of lion's skin put into a chest of clothing, will pre- 
 serve it from all vermin except ticks. 
 
 An infallible remedy for chilblains, rub the feet with lion's 
 grease, and finally, if one wants to be guarded from all the wiles 
 and deceits of others, let him carry with him a lion's tail. 
 
 El-Tabair mentions that the image of a lion in our dreams, 
 portends marvellous things, that necromancers and magicians 
 do always consult. 
 
 If you see a lion in your dreams, it proves either that the 
 earth is to be governed by a tyrant, or that you are about 
 to die. 
 
 If a sick man dreams of a lion, he is going to be well again. 
 If one dreams in his sleep that a lion has dragged him to the 
 earth, it proves that he has a fever. 
 
 If one dreams he has pulled out some hairs from a lion's 
 mane, that proves that he will soon gain treasures from his 
 foes. 
 
 If the dream of the lion causes you terror, some great evil is 
 coming upon you. 
 
EXTRACTS. 431 
 
 If you dream that you are lying side by side with a lion, it 
 proves that you have nothing to fear from your enemies. 
 
 To eat the head of a lion is to become the chief man of the 
 State. 
 
 If a pregnant woman dreams she is holding a lion on her 
 knees, she will assuredly be delivered of a male child. 
 
 Don't let your animals drink from a still pool after a lion, if 
 they do, they will commence to grow thin, and finally become 
 crazy. 
 
 The sound of a tambour made of lion's skin, will make a 
 horse ill. 
 
 And among all the Arabs, the greatest amulets, and of most 
 sovereign power, are those made of hair or nails of a lion. 
 
 Extract from the book of Kazourni. entitled Adiaib el Makh- 
 loukat. 
 
 The marvels of creation. 
 
 The lion is the strongest, boldest, and most terrible of all the 
 creatures of God. His creator has endowed him with an enor- 
 mous head, a rounded face, large teeth, sharp nails, immense 
 arms, a broad chest and a lithe body, and his voice is like the 
 voice of the sea. ]^o animal can resist him, and none dare 
 attack him. 
 
 They say he never eats other beasts of prey, and that when 
 he kills an animal, he eats the heart and leaves the rest. He is 
 too noble and proud to return to a victim of which he has once 
 tasted. He loves the singing of voices, and the sound of sweet 
 instruments. 
 
 If in the night he sees a light, he marches straight towards it, 
 and then his spirit seems to be quieted, and he becomes less quick 
 in his movements. 
 
 It has been remarked that he will not harm those who pros- 
 trate themselves before him. When he has eaten flesh, he seeks 
 salt to aid his digestion. There be some men who say that when 
 lie is ill, he eats a monkey to cure himself as with a purge. The 
 lion has always a fever, and it is from this fact that they call a 
 fever da-el-acad^ the lion sickness 
 
 "When the lion is wounded in the foot by arrows, he eats gla- 
 diole in order to make the arrow-heads come out of the wound. 
 
432 THE LION KILLER. 
 
 I 
 
 He is often killed by a slight wound or an ulcer, because he 
 cannot rid himself of the flies that settle on it and breed corrup- 
 tion. 
 
 The sight of a white cock or the ring of metal or china will 
 make him fly. 
 
 When he roars, the earth is frightened, and all animals fly 
 before him, except the ass. 
 
 When the lioness brings forth her young, she deposits them in 
 a damp place, lest otherwise the ants should do them injury, by 
 crawling in their organs. 
 
 Sometimes the cubs scratch or bite their mother's breasts, 
 making them very sore, and the lioness cures herself by eating 
 chameleons. 
 
 A very remarkable trait with the lioness is, that when she 
 leaves home to seek for food for her little ones, she covers over 
 her tracks as she goes, that no one can find her young. When 
 the old lion takes his little ones out to hunt, if he notices that 
 one of them trembles at tlie sound of any voice or cry, he puts 
 his mouth to his ear, and gives a roar that renders the cub there- 
 after insensible to lesser sounds. 
 
 No animal has such a fetid breath as the lion, and in the dark, 
 his eyes glow like coals. In this respect he resembles the tiger 
 the cat, and the viper. 
 
 When he sees a leathern bottle blown up, he becomes afraid. 
 
 There are some lions that live on sailors, and catch them after 
 the following fashions : 
 
 They frequent the borders of the sea, or the rivers in which 
 the boatmen or fishermen come to take refuge for the night, or 
 draw their seines. 
 
 The lion then hides himself behind a stone until daybreak, 
 knowing that a man will have to come ashore to cast off the 
 fastenings of the ship, and the moment that he lands, he seizes 
 him and carries him ofi^, without ever thinking how the lines are 
 to be unfastened when he is gone. 
 
 THE END. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
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 JUL 2 8 1973 
 
 
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