CH. Ill] ADVENTURES WITH LIONS 65 



to death. Goldfinch, in spite of his own severe wounds, 

 crawled over and shot the great beast as it lay on his 

 friend. 



Most of the settlers with whom I was hunting had 

 met with various adventures in connection witli lions. 

 Sir Alfred had shot many in different parts of Africa ; 

 some had charged fiercely, but he always stopped them. 

 Captain Slatter had killed a big male with a mane a few 

 months previously. He was hunting it in company with 

 Mr. Humphries, the District Commissioner of whom I 

 have already spoken, and it gave them some exciting 

 moments, for when hit it charged savagely. Humphries 

 had a shot-gun loaded with buckshot, Slatter his rifle. 

 When wounded, the lion charged straight home, hit 

 Slatter, knocking him fiat, and rolling him over and 

 over in the sand, and then went after the native efun- 

 bearer, who was running away — the worst possible 

 course to follow with a charging lion. The mechanism 

 of Slatter's rifle was choked by the sand, and as he rose 

 to his feet he saw the lion overtake the fleeing man, rise 

 on his hind-legs like a rearing iiorse — not springing — 

 and strike down the fugitive. Humphries fired into 

 him with buckshot, which merely went through the 

 skin ; and some minutes elapsed before Slatter was able 

 to get his rifle in shape to kill the lion, which, fortunately, 

 ' had begun to feel the effect of its wounds, and was too 

 sick to resume hostihties of its own accord. The gun- 

 bearer was badly but not fatally injured. Before this 

 I Slatter, while on a lion hunt, had been set afoot by one 

 iof the animals he was after, which had killed his horse. 

 It was at night, and the horse was tethered within six 

 lyards of his sleeping master. The latter was aroused 

 (by the horse galloping off', and lie heard it staggering 

 on for some sixty yards before it fell. He and his 



