28o A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



her ! Stab her ! "), went out and found that the 

 lioness, that had thrice returned to the attack, had 

 met her fate at last, and lay dead before the muzzle 

 of the second gun, and just at the gap in the fence 

 through which she had entered the encampment on 

 the first night. The bullet had passed right through 

 her heart. The first gun had not injured her, and 

 could not have been properly set. This lioness was 

 apparently in the prime of life, with a good coat and 

 fine long teeth ; she was, however, very thin, and 

 had nothing in her stomach, and no doubt was 

 desperate from hunger. The following day Dr. 

 Crook buried poor Ruthven, and then moved the 

 camp to the Umfule, where, as I have related, we 

 found him. About a fortnight after these events had 

 occurred, I myself had a very lucky encounter with a 

 family of lions, which I do not think it will be out of 

 place to relate here. Mr. Collison and myself were 

 riding along one evening accompanied by a lot of 

 Mashunas, a few miles to the eastward of the 

 Hanyane river, when I espied an ostrich running 

 parallel to our line of march at a distance of several 

 hundred yards to our right. Thinking I might get 

 a shot by cutting across the bird's course, I at once 

 galloped in pursuit, leaving my friend with the Kafirs. 

 After riding about a mile and a half at a stiff" gallop, 

 I eventually did get a long shot, but missed. Shortly 

 after firing I heard another shot, which I subsequently 

 found had been fired by my friend at an eland. 

 I now rode slowly back towards where I had left 

 the Kafirs, and just as I sighted them also came in 

 sight of a small herd of tsessebe antelopes that were 

 feeding down an open valley. As it was now very 

 late in the afternoon, and time to think about making 

 a camp, I thought I had better shoot one of these 



