THE LEOPARD AND 9p JOHN NICKEL
J ohn Nickel is a building engi neer for the Sudan Interior Mis sion in Nigeria. John is big (6'1", 240) and works at a merciless pace (54 buildings in 54,months plus a good many remodeling jobs). It was on a leper settlement job that he ran out of supplies. So he head ed for Jos. As part of standard pro cedure he took a rifle along Near Jos he ran into a bmall- sized commotion. A marauding leopard had been cornered in some rocks and a British District Officer and a scattering of natives were heading for the spot. Nickel was asked to bring his rifle and join the hunt. The British officer and Nickel stationed themselves outside the cave-like hole in the rocks while an eager native who had appar ently forgotten what a cornered leopard is like crawled in to in vestigate. But one glimpse of the beast convinced the native that such a job was better suited to the
onto the missionary’s knee. This time Nickel booted the cat in the nose and he let gq and dived back into the hole in the rocks. (A very unusual thing, since leopards al most always stay for the kill once they’ve tasted blood.) It wasn’t long after doctors got through working on the men (56 stitches for the British officer; 64 for Missionary Nickel) that a tele gram came from Governor Sir John MacPherson telling Nickel that he was to receive an immediate ap pointment as honorary member of the British Empire, one of the high est honors for a civilian non-Brit isher. In the weeks following the epi sode, Nickel found that the natives came from many miles to salute the man who had fought a leopard and lived through it. And each who came found a humble man who turned the occasion into a straightforward witness for Christ.
ruling class. After the native had made his swift decision and equal ly swift exodus the British officer went in. The officer fired one shot and raced back out. The six-foot leopard, maddened by a superficial wound, leaped out a side entrance and onto the back of the officer. The officer was knocked to the ground and the giant cat hung on for the kill. Nickel’s rifle-was use less under such conditions so hold ing the weapon in his left hand as a sort of shield he sprinted to the foray and kicked the leopard in the ribs. At this point the animal decided it was Nickel and not the officer that was the aggressor. In a lightning slash the leopard clawed Nickel’s arm and then bit heavily into his left arm. Nickel let loose a terrific punch with his right fist, square on the big cat’s nose. The punch completely somersaulted the animal but he bounded right back and clamped his rugged jaws
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Institute of Los Angeles (Christian education, *45). Mrs. Nickel (Ëleanor Cole) graduated from same school in Î946. The written citation , reproduced in part above, was presented when he was made honorary member of British Empire.
Mr. & Mrs. John Nickel and children Dorothy, Joy, Carol and Joanne. Missionary Nickel, who recently received British medal for bravery, is a building contractor in Africa for the Sudan Interior Mission. He is a graduate of the Bible
29
JULY, 1956
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