264 MY SOMALI BOOK 



of folly. Charges do occur, and the sportsman who has 

 shot his dozen lions without an accident will find 

 little comfort in the fact when the thirteenth charges 

 and he fails to stop it ! And, apart from the possi- 

 bility of a charge, many shots in the jungle have to be 

 taken at an animal during the very short interval 

 occupied by it in crossing, sometimes at speed, a small 

 open space in cover. From these reasons arises the 

 absolute necessity for a measure of handiness, including 

 a facility for taking rapid aim, that would not be 

 essential if one's quarry were antelope in the open. 

 This is my second point. 



As to killing-power, it is a mistake to suppose that 

 either lion or tiger is particularly difficult to kill : 



several of the antelope tribe are decidedly more 

 tenacious of life. But instantaneous death can only 

 be counted on in the case of a beast hit in the brain 

 or spine, neither shot being one that the hunter can 

 often be sure of with this or indeed any class of game. 

 So that many a mortally wounded animal has succeeded 

 in avenging itself before succumbing to its injuries : 

 wherefore arises the necessity for a bullet possessed of 

 " stopping-power " as distinct from killing-power. 



The main element in both is striking energy. But, 

 as I have remarked, the effect of striking- energy varies 

 with different bullets and under different conditions ; 

 so that it is sometimes in part wasted or expended in 

 wrong directions, and varies considerably in the amount 



