And when he saw the beast, he fired quickly, bullet
after bullet.
The lion made a great uproar, and fled for his life, but
the bullets nevertheless found a resting-place in his heart.
And everyone began to shriek and groan in their
uneasy sleep, jumping up in fear, when unexpectedly
the roaring of the lion was heard.
All thought of sleep was banished, and fear came in
its place:
And the Sahib gave emphatic orders that no one
should go out, or roam about.
And in the morning we followed the marks of blood
that had flowed from the wounded animal,
And some five or seven chains away, we found the
lion, lying wounded and in great pain.
And when the Sahib saw the animal he fired bullets
incessantly;
But when the lion saw the Sahib, the savage animal,
burning with rage, and pain,
Came by leaps and bounds close to the Sahib;
But here he was to meet his match in a brave Sahib
who loaded his gun calmly, and fired again and again,
killing the beast.
All the Punjaubis assembled together and agreed
that the Sahib was a man who appreciated and cared
for others, so much so that he roamed about in the
forests for our sake, in order to protect us.
Previously, many Englishmen had come here to
shoot but had been disappointed,
Because the lion was very courageous and ferocious,
and the Sahibs were afraid;
But for the sake of our lives, Patterson Sahib took
all this trouble, risking his own life in the forest.
So they collected many hundreds of rupees, and
offered it as a present to the Sahib, because he had
undergone such peril, in order to save our lives.
Oh! Roshan, all the people appeared before the
Sahib saying, "You are our benefactor";
But the Sahib declined to accept the present, not
taking a pice of it.
So then again the Punjaubis assembled, and consulted
as to how the service that the Sahib had done them
could most suitably he rewarded.
And it was agreed to send all the money to England,
in order that it might be converted into some suitable
present,
Which should bear an engraving of the two lions,
and the name of the mistari[1], head of the workmen.
The present should be such, and so suitably decorated,
as to be acceptable to Patterson Sahib;
In colour it should resemble moon and sun; and that
would indeed be a fit present, so that the Sahib would
be pleased to accept it.
Oh! Roshan, I hope that he will accept this present
for shooting the lions, as some small reward for his
action.
My native home is at Chajanlat, in the thana of
Domli, which is in the district of Jhelum, and I have
related this story as it actually occurred.
