178 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



me !" After which the fearful beast got a hold of his 

 neck, and then all was still, except that his comrades 

 heard the bones of his neck cracking between the teeth 

 of the lion. John Stofolus liad lain with his back to 

 the fire on the opposite side, and on hearing the lion he 

 sprang up, and, seizing a large flaming brand, he had 

 belabored him on the head with the burning wood ; but 

 the brute did not take any notice of him. The Bush- 

 man had a narrow escape ; he was not altogether 

 scatheless, the lion having inflicted two gashes in his 

 seat with his clav/s. 



The next morning, just as the day began to dawn, 

 we heard the lion dragging something up the river side 

 under cover of the bank. We drove the cattle out of 

 the kraal, and then proceeded to inspect the scene of 

 the night's awful tragedy. In the hollow, whore the 

 lion had lain consuming his prey, we found one leg of 

 the unfortunate Hendric, bitten off below the knee, the 

 shoe still on his foot ; the grass and bushes were all 

 stained with his blood, and fragments of his pea-coat 

 lay around. Poor Hendric ! I knew the fragments of 

 that old coat, and had often marked them hanging in 

 the dense covers where the elephant had charged after 

 my unfortunate after-rider. Hendric was by far the 

 best man I had about my wagons, of a most cheerful 

 disposition, a first-rate wagon-driver, fearless in the 

 field, ever active, willing, and obliging : his loss to us 

 all was very serious. I felt confounded and utterly sick 

 in my heart ; I could not remain at the wagons, so I 

 resolved to go after elephants to divert my mind. I 

 had that morning heard them breaking the trees on the 

 opposite side of the river. I accordingly told the na- 

 tives of the village of my intentions, and having order- 

 ed mv people to devote the day to fortifying the kraal. 



