XI CHASED BY A LIONESS 229 



along in front of me. Upon hearing me behind 

 them, they both stopped, and standing broadside to 

 me, turned their heads and looked towards me. 

 Pulling in my horse, I jumped to the ground, upon 

 which they started off again at a gallop. I fired at 

 the hindermost one as she ran, and evidently struck 

 her, for she threw up her tail and gave a loud growl. 

 They now went into a patch of short mopani bush, 

 beyond which the country was open forest, with no 

 underwood. At first they trotted out into this open 

 forest, but the wounded one not seeming to like it, 

 turned, and squatting on the ground, crept back Hke 

 a cat, with her shoulders above her back, and her 

 eyes all the time fixed upon me, until she reached a 

 little thorn bush, under which she stretched herself 

 at full length, and lay watching me with her head 

 couched on her outstretched paws. All this time 

 the other lioness was standing in the open, and I was 

 just going to dismount and fire at her, when, turning 

 towards me, she trotted a few steps forwards, and 

 then, throwing her tail two or three times straight 

 into the air, came galloping forwards, growling 

 savagely. Turning my horse's head I pressed him 

 to his utmost speed, closely pursued by the lioness. 

 I do not know how near she got, but her loud purring 

 growls sounded unpleasantly close. As soon as the 

 growling stopped, I knew she had given up the 

 chase, and so rode round in a half-circle to get a view 

 of her. She then trotted to a large mopani tree, in 

 the shade of which she stood. When I rode to 

 another tree about sixty yards off, she lowered her 

 head and stood looking at me, snarling savagely, 

 with her tail held straight in the air. I think that 

 she had done her best to catch me, as her flanks were 

 heaving like those of a tired dog, with the exertion 



