TREKKING THROUGH THE THIRST 163 



following; he killed two cheetahs, and a fine maned lion, 

 finer than any previously killed. There were three chee- 

 tahs together. Kermit, who was with Tarlton, galloped 

 the big male, and, although it had a mile's start, ran into it 

 in three miles, and shot it as it lay under a bush. He 

 afterward shot another, a female, who was lying on a 

 stone koppie. Neither made any attempt to charge; the 

 male had been eating a tommy. The lion was with a 

 lioness, which wheeled to one side, as the horsemen gal- 

 loped after her maned mate. He turned to bay after a run 

 of less than a mile, and started to charge from a distance 

 of two hundred yards; but KerrmYs first bullets mortally 

 wounded him and crippled him so that he could not come 

 at any pace and was easily stopped before covering half the 

 distance. Although nearly a foot longer than the biggest 

 of the lions I had already killed, he was so gaunt whereas 

 they were very fat that he weighed but little more, only 

 four hundred and twelve pounds. 



The following day I was out by myself, after impalla 

 and Roberts' gazelle; and the day after I went out with 

 Tarlton to try for lion. We were away from camp for 

 over fifteen hours. Each was followed by his sais and 

 gun-bearers, and we took a dozen porters also. The day 

 may be worth describing, as a sample of the days when we 

 did not start before dawn for a morning's hunt. 



We left camp at seven, steering for a high, rocky hill, 

 four miles off. We passed zebra and hartebeest, and on the 

 hill came upon Chanler's reedbuck; but we wanted none of 

 these. Continually, Tarlton stopped to examine some 

 distant object with his glasses, and from the hill we scanned 

 the country far and wide; but we saw nothing we desired 



