174 In the Heart of Africa 



he dragged himself some thirty paces further to some bushes, 

 where he fell. Approaching nearer to give him his quietus, 

 I found this to be unnecessary, for the lion was dead. 



When I sighted this animal there was plenty of wild game 

 near, yet I did not notice that the proximity of their enemy 

 caused them any uneasiness. I therefore do not share the view 

 that the small game disperse in wild flight when a lion appears. 

 On many occasions I have from a distance observed a lion moving 

 round in the grasses of a plain abounding with game, yet I only 

 noticed signs of uneasiness amongst the antelopes stationed 

 immediately in the marauder's path or browsing near. Animals 

 further away contented themselves with merely a careful glance. 

 But I have never seen the creatures excited on hearing the roar 

 of " the king of beasts." 



I do not desire to put my readers' patience to too great 

 a test, and so will mention briefly that on the next day some 

 of the carriers, whilst searching for wood in the immediate 

 neighbourhood of the camp, came across three lionesses and four 

 big cubs sleeping in a gully of the gorge already mentioned. 

 Unfortunately, the man who brought me the news arrived at 

 the very moment that I bagged a reed-buck for our larder, and 

 though I was on the same side of the ravine as that where the 

 lions lay, I was quite unconscious of their presence. The camp 

 was immediately in commotion, and everyone was gazing atten- 

 tively towards the spot where the lions, roused by the shot, were 

 fleeing. 



Again my mood was hardly of the merriest, for had the man 

 reached me a few seconds before I fired my shot at the reed- 

 buck, I should without doubt have easily got within good 

 shooting distance. As it was, I only succeeded in hitting a 

 young lioness after a lengthy chase, who, injured by a wound 

 in the intestines, concealed herself in a thicket, and was found 

 dead the following day. 



Returning from the search for her body, I shot a leopard, 

 the only specimen I have ever encountered in Africa by daylight. 

 This little incident was not without a trace of piquancy, for. 



