154 ROOSEVELT'S EXPERIENCE IN THE /UNGLfi. , 



"Crack!" spoke a rifle full in his face. 



Limp in death the majestic beast crashed to earth and Col. 

 Roosevelt's first shot at really big game in Africa had saved two 

 lives. 



The Ex-President's fondest ambition had been realized! 



Scarcely had this magnificent beast fallen before the deadly 

 aim of the American sportsman, now more than ever a hero among 

 these simple children of nature than one of the beaters who had 

 gone up the river-bed close by to get some water, came running 

 back to say that a lion had been down to drink at one of the shallow 

 sand wells. Col. Roosevelt started at once with two trackers, tell- 

 ing his pony-boy to follow on as soon as he could get the pony 

 saddled. When tracking, he had been advised always to hav^ the 

 pony led some distance behind. The boy ought to have no difficulty 

 in following the tracks of two or three men and a lion, and if the 

 pony is kept close up, it is sure to stamp or blow its nose at the 

 critical moment. 



A TIRESOME JOURNEY FOLLOWING A LION. 



When they got to the well there was the spoor plain enough in 

 the sand, but rather blurred by some rain which had fallen at day- 

 break. This made the tracking a little difficult after they left the 

 river-bed, but when they had followed it slowly for some distance, 

 they came to a place where the lion had lain down imder a thick bush, 

 evidently to shelter from the rain, as the spoor after this was quite 

 distinct on the top of the damp ground. 



This made the party think they were in for a short track, for 

 it must have been light when the lion went on again, and lions gen- 

 erally lie up shortly after the sun rises; but this day proved an 

 exception, because it was cloudy and cool through the forenoon. 



The spoor now led along a sandy path, where they could follow 

 it as fast as they could walk. When it turned off into the bush, all 

 quite expected to see the lion at any moment ; but not a bit of it — he 

 wandered about through endless clumps of mimosa and "irgin" 

 bushes, as if he did not mean to lie up at all. 



The track at last led down p ^Htle sandy watercourse, which it 



