A RIDE THROUGH RHINO COUNTRY 327 
in. Lord turned first to one then to another of these 
much vaunted and useless men to find —empty guns!!! 
The lion was upon them. Lord fell, for some reason 
or other, forward on his face. The lion seized one gun- 
bearer and shook him. Then strode across the fallen 
body of Lord and seized the second man. As he 
did so the bloody spume from his mouth was streaked 
all over Lord ’s back. All three, to Lady ‘S\ECELON, 
lay prone, the lion standing over them. A man who was 
with Lady told me it was the worst thing he ever 
saw. The great beast then walked quietly away, unmo- 
lested! ‘That was a case where bad shooting and undis- 
ciplined gunbearers combined invited a tragedy. 
The discipline of the gunbearer is a matter of life and 
death. I may be held guilty of giving brutal advice to 
sportsmen, but I feel sure that those who know what 
dangerous game shooting is, will acquit me of brutality. 
I advise you to have long talks and most clear explana- 
tions with the men who must accompany you into danger 
after wounded game. Having made your meaning per- 
fectly plain, if your gunbearer disobeys you, there and 
then knock him down with such a blow as he is likely 
never to forget. It may save your life and his. And do 
not take Somali gunbearers with you unless you can help 
it. The Wakamba are in every way superior. Some 
Swahili that are first-class can be secured. A Somali, 
though brave, gets uncontrollably excited and is mon- 
strously conceited, as a usual thing, to boot. He wants 
different food from the other men. ‘Tea, ghee, halva — 
tice, sugar. He seldom speaks the truth and he bullies 
the porters and makes much trouble in the sefari. And 
there is one thing more should be said. ‘The outrageous 
prices that the Somali demand and receive are apt to have 
a most demoralizing effect on your other men. 
