196 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



an antiquated lo bore (invisible rifling), black powder long bar- 

 relled hammer gun carrying a heavy charge of black powder and a 

 heavy solid lead bullet, that no lion had ever got at me with this 

 in my hand but I did not believe that any man could alone be cer- 

 tain of stopping a lion with any weapon, that I had on one occa- 

 sion put a lo bore solid lead bullet in a charging lion's neck low 

 down at 9 paces and for anything I knew had missed him and a 

 second similar bullet an inch or two above the first broke his neck. 

 On the same occasion Mr. Harold Hill at my side hit the lion at 

 9 paces in the nose (just at the base of nose, with .404 cordite) 

 and he too might just as well not have fired that shot at all for 

 anything it did to check the lion. The lion that charged George 

 Grey had his head up the last 20 yards of his charge; I doubt if 

 Grey saw anything but mouth, nose, hair, and a tawny mass 

 catapulted at him. 



On the 29th of January 191 1 a rendezvous had been fixed 

 at Lanjoro with Messrs. C, A. and H. D. Hill for 8.30 a. m. 

 the place being situated between their place Katalembo and 

 my farm and residence; and handy to the ground we thought of 

 drawing. 



Lions had destroyed many of my ostriches at Kitanga, four 

 had just been seen on a rocky hill, Kilima Theki, on my ground, 

 and the Hills had news of 2 lions the day before not far from 

 Philip Percival's (Potha farm). Captain Slatter and the Hills 

 were most anxious to get rid of these brutes and my party were 

 very keen to assist and have the chance of killing them. 



Our party from Kitanga consisted of — 



1. Captain Slatter carrying a double .450 cordite rifle, and his 

 gunbearer. He undertook to stand by Grey at the post he was to 

 occupy on Theki hill which it was decided to drive first. Captain 

 Slatter was mounted on a little slow, weak Somali pony. 



2. George Grey carrying his .280 Ross, and his gunbearer his 

 shotgun. He was mounted on a strong, rather slow, but good 

 pony hired from Newland and Tarlton. 



3. Mr, Howard Pease carried a .256 MannHcher and his gun- 

 bearer a Holland and Holland .390 ( .'' or .375 ?) cordite rifle and was 

 mounted on a very good pony hired from the Boma Trading Co. 



