4i6 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



This will show how little instinctive fear this horse 

 had of lions ; and my experience is that, speaking 

 generally, animals that are entirely unacquainted with 

 these carnivora have no instinctive fear of them. I 

 have seen many instances of both horses and oxen not 

 evincing the slightest concern at the near proximity of 

 lions, although the latter were above the wind. Once, 

 however, let a horse or an ox either be mauled by a 

 lion, or witness the death of a comrade by the teeth 

 and claws of one, and he will become demoralised, 

 and ever afterwards evince great terror at the near 

 proximity of these animals. I think, too, that a few 

 terror-stricken oxen will communicate their fears to a 

 whole herd, and the distances that cattle frightened by 

 lions will sometimes travel before stopping to feed are 

 very great. 



June 6th. — Rode across the flat again with my two 

 young Makalakas to where I shot the lionesses. I 

 then rode into the thick thorn-bush and shot a fine 

 large crested bustard, knocking a large hole through 

 him with my heavy single lo. After getting through 

 the belt of thorns, 1 came out upon a large open tract 

 of turf, walking across which, but at a great distance, 

 I saw two giraffes. Directing my boys not to leave 

 the horse's spoor, I took my rifle and cantered quietly 

 towards them. The ground was one mass of holes 

 and deep cracks, all overgrown with short grass, so 

 that, going even at a slow canter, I found it difficult 

 to keep my horse on his legs. I had worked my way 

 to within about a quarter of a mile of the giraffes, 

 which all this time had been walking quietly along 

 towards some thorn trees on the farther side of the 

 turf flat, when I saw something move in the grass 

 beneath a solitary little thorn-bush, about a hundred 

 yards ahead of me, which, on approaching a little 



