cii. ix] MExVRNS AXD THE WOUNDED 203 



the Guaso Nyero. They had coUeeted hundreds of birds 

 and small mammals, among them several new speeies. 

 AVe had already heard that a JMr. Williams, whom we 

 had met at McMillan's ranch, had been rather badly 

 mauled by a lion, which he had mortally wounded, but 

 which managed to charge home. Now we found that 

 Dr. Mearns had been quite busily engaged in attending 

 to cases of men who were hurt by lions. I^oring nearly 

 got into the category. He killed his lioness with a light 

 automatic rifle, utterly unfit for use against African 

 game. Though he actually put a bullet right through 

 the beast's heart, the shock from the blow was so slight 

 that she was not stopped even for a second ; he hit her 

 four times in all, each shot being mortal — for he was an 

 excellent marksman — and she died nearly at his feet, 

 her charge carrying her several yards past him. Mearns 

 had galloped into a herd of wildebeest and killed the 

 big bull of the herd, after first ruiming clean through 

 a mob of zebras, which, as he passed, skinned their long 

 yellow teeth threateningly at him, but made no attempt 

 actually to attack him. 



A settler had come down to trade with the ^Nlasai 

 during our absence. He ran into a large party of lions, 

 killed two, and wounded a lioness, which escaped after 

 mauling one of his gun-bearers. The gun-bearer rode 

 into camp, and the Doctor treated his wounds. Next 

 day Mearns was summoned to a Masai kraal sixteen 

 miles off to treat the wounds of two of the Masai. It 

 appeared that a body of them had followed and killeo 

 the wounded lioness, but that two of their number had 

 been much maltreated in the fight. One especially had 

 been fearfully bitten, the lioness having pulled the Hesh 

 loose from the bones with her fixed teeth. The Doctor 

 attended to all three cases. The gun-bearer recovered ; 



