IN THE LION COUNTRY. 623 



the shelter of a mapini-bush. Poor brute, it was evident that he was 

 sick unto death ; still, his heart was willing for the fight, though his 

 body was weak in power to assist him. On perceiving our advance, 

 with a determined effort, he gained his legs and faced us, his counte- 

 nance as plainly as language spoken showing that surrender without a 

 final effort was not intended. 



I fear I was prompted by too many feelings of revenge to appre- 

 ciate the noble sight the discomfited foe presented ; for what wonder ? 

 Had I not lost three of my best draught-cattle ? a loss the mag- 

 nitude of which can scarcely be understood except by those who have 

 been placed in similar positions. The gallant beast's head was down, 

 his lips curled upward, so as to show his formidable tusks, while 

 his tail, as stiff and straight as a crow-bar, was erected aloft. If he 

 had possessed the power now, he would have charged ; as it was, he 

 remained as splendid a target as the most fastidious could desire. I 

 aimed between his eyes, and, ere the smoke had drifted away from the 

 muzzle of my smooth-bore, the hero lay extended at length upon the 

 sparsely covered veldt. While admiring my prize, three Makalakas 

 approached me ; the grin upon their countenances showed that they 

 had something unusual to tell, or else something to dispose of. I was 

 not long detained in doubt which it was ; for from under a kaross two 

 of their number produced each a lion cub, about the size of a six- 

 months-old kitten. While admiring the little beauties, who seemed 

 in no way to feel the awkwardness of the position, a roar was heard 

 in the distance, which caused the Makalakas to pick up their treasures 

 and rapidly gain a position behind William and myself. " By gum," 

 exclaimed William, " here comes ma ! " and scarcely had he delivered 

 his brief assertion than her ladyship made her appearance, trotting 

 hastily toward us. When seventy or eighty yards off, she halted and 

 uttered a suppressed growl, different in intonation from any that I had 

 ever heard emanate from any of her family. Up to this time the little 

 wee beasties had been models of propriety, but the voice of their dam 

 had in a moment transformed them into fiends incarnate, for they 

 scratched and bit their possessors with such determination and energy, 

 at the same time squealing, that the Makalakas were fain to drop them 

 on the ground, the better to enable them to retain possession of them. 

 The three natives had a busy time of it in accomplishing their pur- 

 pose, but William and I had other and more important matters to 

 attend to, for, the moment the lioness heard the screams of her off- 

 spring, open mouthed and almost flying with velocity she charged 

 upon us. 



My first shot staggered her and brought her to the ground, but in 

 an instant she regained her feet, and, nothing daunted by the check 

 she had received, continued her headlong course. Again I pulled the 

 trigger, and down she fell, her shoulder smashed, for her left fore-leg 

 dangled and doubled under her as if deprived of joints ; but a three- 



