66 Mr Leslie on Lion-hunting in South Africa, 



passing over a narrow plain, a spot of ground was pointed out 

 to MS by an eye-witness, where he had been seen to seize and 

 devour a quagga some days before. The hard and arid soil 

 was actually hollowed by the violence of the mortal struggle. 

 The dogs had scarcely entered the thick bushy banks of the 

 river ere they gave tongue, and they appeared to advance in 

 the pursuit, as if the lion was slowly retreating. At times it 

 would seem that he turned and rushed upon the dogs. We, 

 however, could not dare to enter farther than the skirts of the 

 iungle with a finger on the trigger, and the carbine half at the 

 present. One single clutch of his tremendous paw unquestion- 

 ably would have been fatal. For a considerable time the dogs 

 remained silent, and we fancied we had irrecoverably lost him. 

 With more and more confidence we examined the thicket, but 

 without success, and were about giving up the pursuit in despair, 

 when a Hottentot and boor observed his footsteps in the sand. 

 The word was again to horse. The lion's course appeared to 



be towards the mountain, which we had left. R , with a 



party of boors and soldiers, galloped strait up the nearest decli- 

 vity, while I, with a smaller number, rode round a projecting 

 edge of the hill, into a deep ravine, to which he might have re- 

 treated. With my party I had been too late ; he had been ju^t 

 brought to bay, as he was commencing his descent on the op- 

 posite declivity of the hill, but R delayed the attack 



until we should arrive to witness the encounter ; meanwhile the 

 dogs amused him. The ascent by which we could reach the 

 summit was steep and rugged, but our horses were accustomed 

 to such, and with whip and spur we urged them on. Whoever 

 has seen the African lion at bay, would assuredly say the sports- 

 man could never behold a more stirring scene in the chase. 

 There he was, seated on his hind quarters, his eye glaring on a 

 swarm of curs yelping around him ; his dark shaggy mane he 

 shook around his gigantic shoulders, or with his paw tossed in 

 the air the nearest dog, more apparently in sport than anger. 

 We arranged preliminaries. The horses were tied together in a 

 line, taking care to turn their heads from the direction where 

 the lion was at bay, and likewise that they were to the wind- 

 ward of him, lest his very scent should scare them into flight. 

 The retreat behind this living wall is the boors' last resource if 



