66 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



brush and rode too near it. It came out at a run and was 

 on them before their horses could get under way. Gold- 

 finch was knocked over and badly bitten and clawed; Lu- 

 cas went to his assistance, and was in his turn knocked 

 over, and the lion then lay on him and bit him 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 with lions. Sir 

 Alfred had shot many in different parts of Africa; some 

 had charged fiercely, but he always stopped them. Cap- 

 tain Slatter had killed a big male with a mane a few months 

 previously. He was hunting it in company with Mr. Hum- 

 phery, the District Commissioner of whom I have already 

 spoken, and it gave them some exciting moments, for when 

 hit it charged savagely. Humphery had a shot-gun loaded 

 with buckshot, Slatter his rifle. When wounded, the lion 

 charged straight home, hit Slatter, knocking him flat and 

 rolling him over and over in the sand, and then went after 

 the native gun-bearer, who was running away the worst 

 possible course to follow with a charging lion. The mech- 

 anism 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 horse not springing 

 and strike down the fugitive. Humphery 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 be- 

 gun to feel the effect of his wounds, and was too sick to re- 

 sume hostilities of its own accord. The gun-bearer was 

 badly but not fatally injured. Before this, Slatter, while 



