THE LION AND THE TRAIN.

Mataura Ensign, 21 April 1913, Page 2

THE LION AND THE TRAIN.

| A oonsixuctio?] train was puffing ; along with a heavy load of material, j near Givelo, when a full-grown lion was I sighted stretched right across the line and basking peacefully in the sun. In ' reply to the whistle of tho engine, the j brute looked up lazily, but did not at- ' tempt to move. The efforts of tho i driver and stoker to drive him off the j line by pelting hiin with billets of wood were no better rewarded. 'Hie train j was on the point of coming to a stand- : still when the lion lost his temper. Ho took a sudden spring at the engine, j seeking in vain for something on its smooth surface into which, he could drive his claws, and thus secure a footthat the best thing to do was to go full sprang, falling clear of the engine every time. Til© driver then realised that the bes tthing to do was to go full steam ahead and trust to the weight of the trucks behind the train on the line to clear tho lion from its path. This was done_, with the result that the lion—a magnificent specimen—was cut to pieces by the engine wheels.—"Cape-to-Cairo Railway," in 'Empire Magazine. '