396 LIONS AND GIRAFFE. 



the Bushmen gorge on the carcass of elephants is very dis- 

 gusting ; and the process of cutting it up, in which they show 

 no little method and dexterity, is nearly equally so. 



Elephants, rhinoceroses, gnoos, zebras, &c., were now shot 

 almost nightly. Giraffes were not very numerous in this 

 neighborhood, but occasionally they made their appearance 

 at the pool, when I managed to get a shot.* 



Late one evening, in another part of the country, I had 

 badly wounded a lion, and at an early hour on the succeed- 

 ing morning was following the bloody tracks of the beast, in 

 the hope of putting an end to his career. Presently we 

 came upon the " spoor" of a whole troop of lions, as also 

 that of a solitary giraffe. So many tracks confused us ; and 

 while endeavoring to pick out from the rest those of the 

 wounded lion, I observed my native attendants suddenly 

 rush forward, and the next instant the jungle re-echoed with 

 shouts of triumph. Thinking they had discovered the lion 

 Ave were in pursuit of, I also hurried forward ; but imagine 

 my surprise when, emerging into an opening in the jungle, 1 

 saw, not a dead lion, as I expected, but five living lions (two 

 males and three females), two of whom were in the act of 

 pulling down a splendid giraffe, the other three watching, 

 close at hand, and with devouring looks, the deadly strife. 

 The beautiful illustration facing the title-page of this volume 

 is an exact representation of this most interesting incident. 



The scene was of so imposing a nature that, for the mo- 

 ment, I forgot I carried a gun. The natives, however, in 

 anticipation of a " glorious gorge," dashed madly forward, 

 and, wdth the most piercing shrieks and yells, compelled the 

 lions to beat a hasty retreat. 



When I reached the giraffe, now stretched at full length 

 on the sand, it made a few ineffectual attempts to raise its 



* It was my intention to introduce at length the history of this ani- 

 mal ; but being (as already alluded to in a preceding chapter) con- 

 fined as to space, I must, though reluctantly, abandon the idea. 



