Adventure Magazine Cover — page 104: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

860 failed them, the chief of the Insukamena _ buried his broad assegai in the heart of a Mashona youth and then hurled the quiver- ing body into the midst of his people. Seeing that there was no escape, the hunters prepared for the struggle. The armed warriors closed in on them, forcing them to advance. ‘The lions roared in chorus, singing, it seemed, a terrible song of war. The warriors beat their shields in impatience, making the sound of three thousand drums, and the Mashonas set up a howl as much to relieve their own fear as to scare the fight out of the lions. The din was frightful. With a cry of despair a Mashona youth ran and threw himself, in sacrifice, as it were, among the lions, seizing the tangled mane of the largest with his teeth and hands. For a moment there was a desperate struggle; then the brave fellow fell bleeding to the earth, struck dead by a blow of the mighty beast’s paw. The lion roared and stood with his forefeet on the body of his victim. The cubs, not knowing exactly what to make of the unusual commotion, crept up and licked the wounds of the dead man. “Advance or we’ll kill you all!”’ cried the chief warrior as his troops closed in. With a wild cry the terrified wretches rushed upon the five full-grown lions. For a mo- ment the brutes crouched in fear, and then, realizing their predicament, they turned on the hunters in bloodthirsty fury, frightful in its might. As a cat would crush a sparrow the lions crushed one miserable Mashona after another while wild screeches of pain and despair filled the air. It was a bite and the blow of a paw and the victim fell un- conscious or dead. Bleeding and broken, they trembled in heaps as the spears behind them kept urging them on. The lions, seeing with what ease they were killing their enemies, commenced to enjoy the fight. Even the cubs joined in grabbing an already dying man by the throat and finishing him. The boulders were splashed © with red and the lions looked as though they had been painted, the hair of their manes sticking and clogging against their skins. The fight went madly on, neither beasts nor humans being able to retain a foothold on the slippery rocks.- So quickly did the hunters fall that the den was soon floored with dead. At last, overcome by exhaustion, a lion retreated up the rocks where a powerful Adventure young man had climbed with a noose. Be- fore he was aware of his danger the lion was on him. He turned and seized it by the throat in a fierce struggle for life. Both man and beast fell to a rocky ledge below, the lion beneath and badly hurt, for it lay still and quivering. The young man was no sooner on his feet to defend himself than a spear flew from the hands of one of the In- sukamena above him and pierced his back. He died beside the lion and a cry went up from the warriors: “Alive! Alive! They must be alive and unhurt!” For they feared that the Mashona would kill the beasts. A dozen young men held a hurried con- sultation and a moment later rushed as one on the remaining lion, who was thrown off his feet. He rose and closed his jaws on the shoulder of a man who had succeeded in placing a noose around his neck. It was the poor fellow’s last act. Five of the men seized the beast by the mane; half exhausted as he was, he shook them off with difficulty, but not before a noose was placed on his back feet. This was drawn tight and he fell. Before he recovered himself another loop settled over his front feet. He roared and struggled in vain. Half a dozen men at the ends of the ropes, drawing them taut, placed the red monster at the mercy of the hunters. Five minutes later he was bound to a stout pole, and a cry of triumph rose above the groans of the maimed and the wails of those who had lost friend or relative. The Insukamena, seeing that danger was past and that the great act was accomplished, rushed in and stabbed the lionesses and the cubs to death amid cries of admiration from their comrades. With many chants of self-praise the “invincibles’”? had the captured lion carried to their kraal on the Gwelo River, where it was washed clean of the stains of the combat. THE pleasure of the King was un- bounded when a messenger arrived with the news that a lion had been captured. He ordered a great rejoicing and a gala reception for the Insukamena, and all the villages were signaled that the Rain- makers and the warriors were to gather at the royal kraal and receive the medicine, the uninjured full-grown lion that the priests had demanded to break the drought. Suddenly a breeze came up bringing with COmiclbook C©