At daybreak, and just as we reached the Swakop, we were suddenly startled by the most tremendous roaring of lions, which evidently were close at hand. In a few moments afterward, two of those magnificent beasts—male and female—emerged from the bushes at about one hundred and fifty paces ahead of us. On perceiving the cavalcade, they gave another terrific roar, of so angry a nature as to cause the greatest consternation among the cattle. Those attached to the foremost wagon wheeled round instantaneously, and, before it was possible to prevent them, ran right into the midst of the aftermost team, and I expected every moment to see the vehicles capsized or smashed to atoms.
What with the bellowing of the oxen, the shouting and screaming of the men, the smashing and breaking of yokes, &c., and the continued roar of the lions, the scene was such as to baffle all description.
The lion himself, after having approached very near to us, again retreated into the bushes; but the lioness seated herself quietly within less than a hundred yards of the wagons, growling most furiously. Throwing the reins over the saddle of “Spring,” who, by-the-by, had nearly unseated me on the first appearance of the lions, I sprang to the ground, and seizing a double-barreled gun, which I always kept loaded for emergences, I made toward the beast, intending to punish her for her audacity, when Hans imploringly begged me to desist. “For,” said he, “if you do not shoot her dead on the spot, she will be down upon us in an instant.”
Allowing myself to be guided by his advice, I refrained from firing, but nevertheless took up my position within about fifty paces of, and opposite to the lioness, as well to draw off her attention from the men, and thus enable them to put the cattle and vehicles to rights, as to be in readiness to give her a warm reception, should she think proper to charge.
A short time before we were thus unceremoniously attacked, one of the draft oxen, which had always been very wild, managed to escape from the yoke, and a fleet-footed Damara was left behind to bring him on. In the midst of our confusion, we heard cries of distress and loud shouting behind us, and, on looking round, we saw, to our horror, the lion in full chase as well of the refractory ox as the man, who was trying to keep off his fierce pursuer by violently waving the fire-brand which he carried in his hand.[12] Telling Hans to mind the lioness as well as he could in my absence, I immediately ran to the rescue of the Damara and his charge; but, before I had proceeded far, the ox, catching sight of the remainder of the herd, made a successful dash right across the lion’s path, and fortunately rejoined us in safety. The object of the lion was clearly more the beast than the man; for, upon finding himself thus suddenly baffled, he stopped short, and with a savage look at us, and an angry growl, bounded out of sight as quick as thought, and by the time I returned to the wagons, the lioness had thought fit to follow her lord’s example. Thus, almost without any effort on our side, we were providentially saved from this most extraordinary and dangerous attack.
At the first appearance of the lions the men took refuge in the wagons, and long after the danger was over they trembled violently from fear and apprehension.
As a general rule, a lion, unless previously molested, will seldom attack an ox in the yoke or when attended by man, but long abstinence makes him desperate.
After considerable trouble and difficulty, we succeeded in rearranging the oxen, which had become excessively scared. Two or three hours’ further traveling brought us, without other mishap, safe to Richterfeldt, where our hair-breadth escape was listened to with the deepest interest.
We had left Scheppmansdorf, as said, in the afternoon of the 13th of November, and reached our present quarters early on the morning of the 22d of the same month. The whole of the distance by road could not have been much less than one hundred and thirty miles. Having performed this in five stages, and in about the same number of days, our rate of traveling, at an average, had been twenty-five miles daily. Taking into consideration the nature of the ground, the young and half-broken oxen, &c., it may fairly be considered first-rate speed, and our efforts were loudly praised by every one.