female should discover us by any chance. But when a roar, that shook the ground on which we lay, announced the nature of the danger from which the female gorilla had so narrowly escaped, my Fan friend, black as he was, actually became pallid with fear!
The roar of the lion was instantly answered by a deeper, hoarser, louder, and more savage roar. A sound so expressive of anger, defiance, and relentless, savage, cruel ferocity, I never heard!
I looked at the Fan, and smiled. He understood me instantly. His limbs ceased to tremble. He closed his mouth with an effort, then grinned, placed his fingers on his lips, and turned to watch the combat which was now inevitable, and in the occurrence of which lay our best hopes of safety.
Scarcely thirty yards on our left, the lion had come crashing through the jungle, and had cleared the close inner tangle with a bound. He now stood full in sight in the clear open, his head erect, his mane standing up and out, all straight, like the hair of an angry cat, magnifying his apparent bulk to colossal proportions; his tail, which at first stood nearly straight, was waving from side to side. At length it struck his ribs alternately on either side with sounding blows, and he uttered a longer and more terrific roar than that which he had given when the female gorilla escaped from him. Opposite to him was the male gorilla, now looking most unlike the uncouth, sleepy figure which we had seen propped against the tree.
At the first shriek from his mate, the gorilla had sprung into life and sudden energy. Placing the knuckles of his upper hands upon the ground, he bounded lightly into the air to a surprising height, rising from all his four hands together, and coming down upon all fours again. When the lion roared, the gorilla seemed at once to comprehend the nature both of the challenge and the adversary, and to resolve upon fighting, although it would have been easy for him to escape by springing into a tree. He rose upon his hinder hands (or feet), and standing erect, looking very like a large-bodied, long-armed, short-legged, powerful negro, about six feet two inches in height, he uttered his tremendous acceptance of the lion’s challenge, beating his breast at the same time with his huge fists alternately, and producing sounds like heavy blows upon a bass drum. When the lion sprang into the inclosure and stood bristling before him, the gorilla dropped upon all-fours again, with his knuckles on the ground; his eyes, which flamed like fire seen through rubies, fixed upon his dreadful enemy, and his eyebrows working up and down with inconceivable rapidity, giving to his countenance a look of such demoniac ferocity, that it seemed to make the lion pause at least, if he did not quail.
Lashing his sides with his tail until he roused himself to fury, the lion delivered his second roar, as though his honour were concerned in outroaring no less than in vanquishing by his prowess all antagonists; and, on his part, the gorilla, albeit questions of honour seemed little likely to be favoured or considered by him, accepted nevertheless the preliminary contest of angry noise, and uttered another roar so utterly demoniac and horrible, standing up again in order to deliver it freely, that the lion crouched at once to spring upon him and bring the question of superior prowess to the proof. A few short, swift steps— a bound of twenty feet—two or three sharp, snarling growls—and I expected to see the combatants locked in fatal embrace! But it was not so.
As the lion rose in his long bound, the gorilla sprang also, but more lightly and higher, straight up into the air. The lion struck upwards to catch him; the action turned himself over, and he fell heavily on his side, the gorilla dropping on him, striking him twice, and then springing off with a sidling, jumping run, to a distance of several yards. Instantaneous as had been the encounter, both were severely wounded. The gorilla was bleeding from the head and back. The lion had a fearful gash across his ribs; and judging from the crashing sounds of the two blows which he had received, I thought that some of his ribs must have been broken. The lion rushed without a moment’s pause at his adversary, but the agility of the gorilla was too great to permit the lion to close at his pleasure. For some minutes the movements of the lion in attack, and of the gorilla in avoidance, were almost too rapid for the eye to follow their evolutions. At length the lion paused, bewildered by the speed and activity of his antagonist. Instantly the gorilla sprang upon and rolled him over with a single blow upon the side of the head. Again the chase and avoidance were resumed, but this time for a much longer space than before, the lion being resolved to catch the nimble ape; but again he was obliged to pause, and again he was instantly knocked over. When he rose he staggered, whether from the effects of the terrific blows which he had received, or from giddiness resulting from his gyrations in pursuit of the gorilla, it was impossible to decide, but he reeled and fell off several steps to the right before he recovered sufficiently to prepare for another charge. In the meantime the gorilla was dodging round and bobbing up and down before him, as captured monkeys may be often seen to do in their cages when persons are teasing them. Both lion and gorilla kept up an incessant noise, growling, snarling, roaring, and screaming, varying their tones in accordance with their actions or sufferings, and although nothing like a close had taken place, both were bleeding freely; the lion’s right eye was either shut up or gone, and the gorilla was nearly scalped. The lion had now learned so much of his enemy’s strength and activity that he tried several feints to get him within range. He lay down, but the gorilla kept jumping round him so near, that he was obliged to spring round with equal alertness, to avoid being taken by surprise. He tried another rush, but he stopped sooner than at first, and when the gorilla sprang upon him to strike, the lion turned on his back and received him with teeth and claws.
The crisis of the battle had arrived. Growls, snarls, shrieks, and roars came out in a demoniac chorus from a confused mass of swirling leaves and dust; limbs, teeth, claws, blood, and springing bodies, as though ten fighting beasts instead of two were combating amidst a whirlwind! I