IV A LUCKY SHOT 75 



snarling which I remember so well in the case of 

 four different lions when driven to bay, and the fact 

 that I do not carry in my mind the picture of any 

 lion snarling that I have ever shot, makes me 

 wonder whether it is correct to depict an angry lion 

 as snarling like an angry cat or leopard. This is a 

 small matter, no doubt, but one which I think it is 

 worth while inquiring into, as if an angry lion really 

 does not snarl, it differs in this respect from all 

 other members of the cat tribe. 



I once galloped almost on to a lion lying flat on 

 the ground in grass only about a foot in height 

 before I saw it. When I at last made it out, I was 

 directly in front of, and probably less than twenty 

 yards away from it. As I pulled my horse in, this 

 lion had its head pressed down on its outstretched 

 paws and its eyes were fixed upon me. Had I 

 ridden by, it would certainly never have moved 

 until I had got out of sight. As I raised my rifle 

 and looked down the barrel to align the sights upon 

 its head, I saw the black tuft of hair at the end of 

 its tail flicked lightly from side to side, and the fore- 

 paws, that had been stretched out straight beyond 

 its nose, drawn slowly under its breast, without its 

 head or body being perceptibly raised. I knew the 

 lion was on the very point of charging, but my horse 

 kept breathing hard and I could not get my sight 

 steadily fixed below its eyes. Then, just as I saw 

 the crouching beast's hind- quarters quivering, or 

 rather moving gently from side to side, I fired, and 

 luckily my bullet struck it just between the eyes, 

 and crashing into its brain, killed it instantly, so 

 that it never moved, but still lay crouching on the 

 ground, struck dead at the very last moment before 

 starting on its charge. Since that time I have on 

 several occasions watched a cat when stalking a 

 bird go through every movement made by that lion 

 — the same apparently involuntary twitching of just 



