198 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



before at least a gunbearer or Slatter joined us (they were hurry- 

 ing after Grey). To my reHef my son and party below in the 

 plain shouted and signalled that she had left the bush and gone 

 up the rocks. If she had been there it was an even chance that 

 she would have charged Grey and me and when I saw he had 

 only his little Ross I was alarmed: but regarding him as an ex- 

 perienced, confident, and fearless man I felt he would not Hke 

 me to find fault, and I only said, "you know you ran right to 

 the very spot where she was and I expected her to charge out." 

 He was breathless with running and just smiled. 



We decided to leave her alone for another day and proceeded 

 across to a donga that runs down from Wami (on the Theki side 

 of Wami) and joins the main dry donga that runs east of Wami 

 into the Potha River. On reaching this donga (which is the one 

 where Col. T. Roosevelt killed his first lion) my gunbearer found 

 the spoor of two lions going down. We drew this donga down, 

 I myself riding a little wide of it on the Wami side in order to hold 

 up any lion that broke away on that side. Others were riding 

 out on the Theki side. After drawing the donga down about a 

 mile, CliflPord Hill walked across to me and said "they are going 

 to draw that donga on to the junction; we will cut across here 

 (pointing south) and draw the main donga and cheetah bush 

 down to them." Taking some boys we did this, Clifford Hill and 

 the boys walking in the donga and I riding on the east side to hold 

 up anything that might break that way: anything that broke the 

 other side would be in full view of the main party. We drew 

 the cheetah bush blank and our boys joined the main party at 

 the junction. I was then about Y2 ^ rcnXe from the main party 

 on the east side and just about to come down and join them and 

 get on to lunch at the water at Potha, when Clifford Hill ran up 

 to me on foot and was joined by two boys and said it was just 

 about here the 2 lions were seen yesterday. I saw my son's bay 

 arab being led and called for him and told Hill to mount the horse 

 which he did. We rode up the hill and the boy showed us the 

 little thorn bush with unmistakable evidence of the truth of his 

 story. Clifford Hill then said "we had better go on a bit and 

 then we can draw the little spruit running down to where they 

 {i. e. the party) are, it is a likely place for them" (the lions). We 



