178 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



they were pleased to term my madness, in living alone 

 in an isolated position in such sharp times, and invited 

 me to place myself for protection under their banner. 

 I endeavored to persuade them to get up a party to 

 hunt the lion ; but this they declined to do, remarking 

 that "a lion (like Johnnie Gordon's bagpipes) was not 

 to be played with." Returning to my camp, I bowled 

 over a springbok at one hundred and fifty yards. On 

 the 23d, having breakfasted, I rode north, with after- 

 riders, to try for blesboks. It was a cool day, with a 

 strong easterly breeze, and we found the game ex- 

 tremely wild. As we proceeded, vast herds kept 

 streaming up on the wind, darkening the plain before 

 us in countless thousands. About two miles north of 

 the bushy mountain where I had heard the lion roar, 

 far in the vast level plain, were some bushy mimosa- 

 trees. Within a few hundred yards of these we dis- 

 covered an old bull wildebeest, newly killed by a lion 

 and half eaten. His large and striking foot-prints were 

 deeply imbedded in the sand, and so fresh that they 

 seemed to have been imprinted only a few minutes be- 

 fore. Moreover, there was not a single vulture near 

 the carcass. We therefore felt convinced that the lion 

 must be lying somewhere near us, having hidden him- 

 self on our approach. ^ We searched for some time in 

 the adjacent hollows, where the grass was very rank, 

 but in vain. The game now became more and more 

 wild, taking away into another district in long strings, 

 like our island red-deer when hard driven ; I accord- 

 ingly gave it up, and turned my horse's head for camp. 

 On my way thither I bagged one blesbok and two bull 

 wildebeests : one of these got the bullet through his 

 heart, but nevertheless stood at bay for some time after 

 On reaching camp I suddenly resolved to take men and 



