Motor Matt's Peril; or, Cast Away in the Bahamas

by Stanley R. Matthews

  NIGHT WATCHES FOR BIG GAME.

  From Sebenane to Thamasetse, both of which are pools of water situatedon the old Hunter's road from Francistown to the Zambesi, is, roughlyspeaking, seventy-five miles. Since the railway has been opened upbetween Francistown and Buluwayo this road is never used, and ispractically deserted. We had started very early in the morning. Justabout sunrise I heard a rustle in a bush close to the road, writesArnold W. Hodson in the _Field_. Thinking it was only a steinbuck or aduiker, I paid no attention till I heard the animal bound away, whenit struck me as making rather a loud noise for so small an antelope. Ithen caught sight of a yellow object moving parallel to the road andsaw it was a lioness.

  She bounded into the road and stood looking at me. I had my thickgloves on, as it was very cold, and in consequence rather fumbledpulling off my night protector, which, to save time, I dropped on theroad instead of putting into my pocket. My pony, however, began topirouette round in circles, and before I could get him in hand thelioness bounded away. I galloped after her down the road, but she soongot into the thick bush, where we lost her.

  We got to Thamasetse the next day and found old lion spoor, but nonefresh. Some days afterward one of the bushmen appeared and reportedthat the lions were at Thamasetse. I got ready as soon as possible andleft that evening with one native. We rode all through the night andarrived at our destination the next afternoon. The lions did not comedown to drink till the third night, when in the morning we found theirspoor still fresh and damp. We followed it up carefully, going throughthorn bush.

  We got so close to them once or twice that we could hear them growling(there were five altogether), but the wind changing, they smelled usand made off and although we followed them up for some distance we didnot catch sight of them again. Eventually we had to give it up.

  The following day we found the spoor of one male and one female, andfollowed them up for about twelve to fourteen miles. We would come toa place where they had been sleeping, and then, evidently smelling us,we would see how they had become uneasy and gone on a short distance,where they had slept again. This went on till we had gone too far andhad to go back.

  After this experience I decided to try different tactics, so we dug ahole fifteen yards from the water, in which I intended to watch thatnight. We made the hole as inconspicuous and secure as possible, andthen went around to the outside pools and filled them all up, so thatthe lions, if they wanted to drink, would have to come down to ourwater. At sundown I took up my position in the kadiri (the native namefor "game hole"). A few hours afterward some sable and roan antelopescame down to drink, and it was a very pretty sight to watch them.

  They approach the water carefully and when quite close suddenly boundaway. My opinion is that they do this to see if by chance there is alion in the water hole, because the latter lie up close to the edge ofthe pool in the shadow of the bank and then spring on the game when itdrinks. The mere fact of their bounding away would probably entice thelion forth. The sable antelope seemed to me to be always more cautiousthan the roan antelope. One of the former, a female, came twelve timesto the water and dashed away each time. Of course she may have justsmelled me, which would have accounted for it; but I do not think shedid, for she eventually drank.

  I kept watch night after night, and although I saw plenty of game, nolions came. It was very lonely by oneself in these holes, and the criesof the wolves and jackals are at times very uncanny. One evening atdinner time just as Ranchubu, my servant, was bringing in the soup,one of my little bushmen, a splendid little chap of about 14 and veryplucky, who was going down to the water to fill his billy, suddenlycommenced yelling with all his might "Newe! Newe!" (leopard, leopard),and then, still shouting, commenced running after it across the veld. Isnatched up my rifle and calling to the dogs rushed after him. Luckily,I had on a pair of light running shoes instead of my usual heavyshooting boots, so was easily able to keep up with the others who hadjoined us.

  We must have gone about three miles when we heard the dogs barkingand knew that they had bayed the leopard. In a few minutes it wouldbe quite dark, so I put on a fresh spurt to try to get a shot while Icould see my sights. The leopard was standing outside a thick patch ofbush with the dogs, furiously excited, surrounding him. After severalshots and misses, the leopard breaking away each time, a lucky shotstruck him in the neck and killed him.

  I was glad the matter ended as it did, for I found that two of myprevious shots had hit him, and it is seldom that a wounded leoparddoes not attack his assailant. It is curious that he did not take toa tree, as is nearly always the case when chased by dogs. He was anexcellent specimen of a large male. We got back to the camp about 9 p.m., a very jubilant party, and when I had had my supper I again took upmy position at the water hole. Plenty of game came that night, but nolions.

  The next day was very hot and oppressive, and we felt sure that iflions were anywhere near they would come down that night to drink. Itook up my position soon after sundown, and about 12 o'clock, as we hadno meat, shot a male sable antelope. He was mortally wounded and ranabout sixty yards to die, when, as I discovered, in the morning, he waspounced upon by a lioness and immediately killed. I heard nothing andsaw nothing till about 3 a. m., when I heard lap, lap, lap from thepool in front of me.

  I knew by the noise the beast was making it could be nothing else buta lion, but for the moment I could see nothing, as it was in the pool,and from the position I could only see an animal as it came in or wentout. At last the noise stopped and a shadowy figure came out of thepool. It stood for an instant on the edge silhouetted against the sky.I could not distinguish whether it was a male or a female, but therewas no doubt it was a lion, and, as it turned out afterward, a female.I brought my rifle in line with the object and fired. I knew at once Ihad hit by the terrific growls that followed. I hastily fired again andthe brute lay down, all the time growling terribly, so much so that itwoke up all the natives in my camp, some distance away.

  As soon as it was light I could see her ears moving and fired again,this time hitting her just below the head, which finished the matter.She was a splendid specimen of a lioness. My first shot had hit her inthe neck, and the second in the stomach. Her skin was perfect and veryglossy. We found the remains of the sable antelope she had killed abouteighty yards away, and saw by the spoor that there had been at leastsix lions around the pool that night.

  They had evidently been frightened by the fate of the lioness and hadnot come down to drink. We followed the spoor of a lion and a lioness.After we had gone a short distance the bushman pointed to a tree andshowed us where the lion had been standing up on his hind legs clawingit. He said that the lion was looking around for the lioness I hadshot and was very angry at being disturbed from his feast of the sableantelope. We went on mile after mile, but a breeze springing up behindus we had to go back.

  That night I again sat up at the water hole, but saw nothing moreexciting than a few sable and roan antelopes. The next day it was againvery hot, and at night I went down to the hole full of hope that thelions would come back. About 1 a. m. I heard a rustle and saw a leopardgoing into the pool, walking very quietly and without the least ideaof my near presence. She disappeared into the pool, but I could nothear her drinking, as I had heard the lioness two nights before. Shesoon came out and stood for a few minutes on the bank; I fired and shebounded away. My bullet went through her body and she was found nextmorning a few yards distant. She was very prettily marked, in goodcondition.

  About 3 a. m. the same morning I could hear some animals at the remainsof the sable antelope. The cracking of the bones was one of the mosthorrible noises I have ever heard. I made sure that the lions had comeback, and expected them when they had finished their feed to come downand drink; but they did not come, and in the morning we found that theywere jackals that had been eating the meat during the night.

  I continued to sit up at nights, but the lions did not return. On thethird evening just before going down to the game hole the leader camerunning
into camp and said that he had heard the cries of a dying sableantelope, so we went out as quickly as possible to the place, and ongetting near to it heard the peculiar half growl, half bark uttered bywild dogs. There were four or five of them. They did not run away whenthey saw us, but bounded a few yards and then turned round and lookedat us, all the time making a hideous noise. I shot one of them and therest then decamped. This wild dog appeared to me to be differentlymarked from one I had shot a few weeks before more to the southwest.These brutes do no end of damage among game, and the bushmen say thatsometimes if they are disturbed in their orgies they will attack a man.They certainly look fierce enough to do so.