when mr. cumming was in that part of the interior of south africa inhabited by the tribe called the griquas, he had a remarkable and fearful encounter with a lioness. he had been shooting some of the various kinds of antelopes which abound in that country, under various names, such as wildebeests, springboks, blesboks, and pallahs, when the adventure occurred, which he thus describes.
suddenly i observed a number of vultures seated on the plain about a quarter of a mile ahead of us, and close beside them stood a huge lioness, consuming a blesbok which she had killed. she was assisted in her repast by about a dozen jackals, which were feasting along with her in the most friendly manner.
directing my followers' attention to the spot, i remarked, "i see the lion;" to which they replied, "whar? whar? yah! almagtig! dat is he;" and instantly reining in their steeds and wheeling about they pressed their heels to their horses' sides, and were preparing to betake themselves to flight. i asked them what they were going to do. to which they answered, "we have not yet placed caps on our rifles." this was true; but while this short conversation was passing, the lioness had observed us. raising her full, round face, she overhauled us for a few seconds, and then set off at a smart canter toward a range of mountains some miles to the northward; the whole troop of jackals also started off in another direction; there was, therefore, no time to think of caps.
the first move was to bring her to bay, and not a second was to be lost. spurring my good and lively steed, and shouting to my men to follow, i flew across the plain, and, being fortunately mounted on colesberg, the flower of my stud, i gained upon her at every stride. this was to me a joyful moment, and i at once made up my mind that she or i must die.
the lioness having had a long start of me, we went over a considerable extent of ground before i came up with her. she was a large, full-grown beast, and the bare and level nature of the plain added to her imposing appearance. finding that i gained upon her, she reduced her pace from a canter to a trot, carrying her tail stuck out behind her, and slewed a little to one side. i shouted loudly to her to halt, as i wished to speak with her, upon which she suddenly pulled up, and sat on her haunches like a dog, with her back toward me, not even deigning to look round. she then appeared to say to herself, "does this fellow know who he is after?"
having thus sat for half a minute, as if involved in thought, she sprang to her feet, and, facing about, stood looking at me for a few seconds, moving her tail slowly from side to side, showing her teeth, and growling fiercely. she next made a short run forward, making a loud, rumbling noise like thunder. this she did to intimidate me; but finding that i did not flinch an inch nor seem to heed her hostile demonstrations, she quietly stretched out her massive arms, and lay down on the grass. my hottentots now coming up, we all three dismounted, and, drawing our rifles from their holsters, we looked to see if the powder was up in the nipples, and put on our caps, while this was doing the lioness sat up, and showed evident symptoms of uneasiness. she looked first at us, and then behind her, as if to see if the coast were clear; after which she made a short run toward us, uttering her deep-drawn, murderous growls.
having secured the three horses to one another by their reins, we led them on as if we intended to pass her, in the hope of obtaining a broadside. but this she carefully avoided to expose, presenting only her full front. i had given stofolus my rifle, with orders to shoot her if she should spring upon me, but on no account to fire before me. kleinboy was to stand ready to hand me my purdey rifle, in case the two-grooved dixon should not prove sufficient. my men as yet had been steady, but they were in a precious stew, their faces having assumed a ghastly paleness, and i had a painful feeling that i could place no reliance on them.
now then for it, neck or nothing! she is within sixty yards of us, and she keeps advancing. we turned the horses' tails to her. i knelt on one side, and, taking aim at her breast, let fly. the ball cracked loudly on her tawny hide, and crippled her in the shoulder, upon which she charged with an appalling roar, and in the twinkling of an eye she was in the midst of us, at this moment stofolus's rifle exploded in his hand, and kleinboy, whom i had ordered to stand ready by me, danced about like a duck in a gale of wind.
the lioness sprang upon colesberg, and fearfully lacerated his ribs and haunches with her horrid teeth and claws; the worst wound was on his haunch, which exhibited a sickening, yawning gash, more than twelve inches long, almost laying bare the very bone. i was very cool and steady, and did not feel in the least degree nervous, having fortunately great confidence in my own shooting; but i must confess, when the whole affair was over, i felt that it was a very awful situation, and attended with extreme peril, as i had no friend with me on whom i could rely.
when the lioness sprang on colesberg, i stood out from the horses, ready with my second barrel for the first chance she should give of a clear shot. this she quickly did; for, seemingly satisfied with the revenge she had now taken, she quitted colesberg, and slewing her tail to one side, trotted sulkily past within a few paces of me, taking one step to the left. i pitched my rifle to my shoulder, and in another second the lioness was stretched on the plain a lifeless corpse.
in the struggles of death she half turned on her back, and stretched her neck and fore arms convulsively, when she fell back to her former position; her mighty arms hung powerless by her side, her lower jaw fell, blood streamed from her mouth, and she expired. at the moment i fired my second shot, stofolus, who hardly knew whether he was alive or dead, allowed the three horses to escape. these galloped frantically across the plain, on which he and kleinboy instantly started after them, leaving me standing alone, and unarmed, within a few feet of the lioness, which they from their anxiety to be out of the way, evidently considered quite capable of doing further mischief.
