186 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



dark inane of a noble lion on the other side of a mass which proved 

 to be the remains of the bull buffalo ; another head, of a lioness, 

 arose upon the right, and at the same, instant, with a tremendous 

 roar, the scene changed before I had time to fire. We were alone 

 with the remains of the buffalo, and I believe three lions had 

 decamped, never to bo seen again in the obscurity of the dense 

 green nabbuk. We were actually in possession, having driven the 

 lions from their prey, simply by our cautious advance, without a 

 shot. 



It required some time and trouble to cut off the head of that 

 bull buffalo in the narrow limits of the lion's den, but it hangs 

 upon my walls now as a trophy that might be won from a lion, 

 but never could have been wrested in the same manner from a 

 tiger. 



U{)on another occasion I crept in a similar manner into one of 

 their dark tunnels, and shot the lion within a distance of four 

 paces, but I never recovered the body, as the animal bounded into 

 the dense thorny substance, which it was impossible for any human 

 being to penetrate. The Hamran Arabs persuaded me to discon- 

 tinue this kind of exploration, and my Tokrooris having taken the 

 same view of the performance, I gave up the practice, as I did not 

 succeed in actually bagging a lion by the attempt. 



In the locality which I have mentioned, the lions, although 

 numerous, were never regarded as dangerous unless attacked; there 

 was an abundance of game, therefore the carnivora were plentifully 

 supplied, and a large area of country being entirely uninhabited, 

 the lions were unaccustomed to the sight of human beings, and 

 held them in respect. During the night we took the precaution 

 to light extensive bonfires within our camp, which was well pro- 

 tected by a circular fence of impenetrable thorns, but we were 

 never threatened by wild animals except upon one occasion. 



I was strolling in search of food, with a particular two-grooved 

 single riHc No. 14 which was extremely accurate. Having shot a 

 nellut (.1. Strepsiceros), the animal was fixed upon a camel and 

 immediately forwarded to camp, towards which I advanced by 

 a circuitous direction in the expectation of finding other game. 

 The country was perfectly flat in the vicinity of the river, and 

 although much covered with dense bush, it was interspersed with 

 numerous small glades, covered with parched herbage 2 or 3 feet 

 in height. A few Tokrooris accompanied me witli spare rifles (all 

 muzzle-loaders, as the breech action had not been introduced in 

 those days), and I was leading the way, occasionally breaking 

 through the intervening bush, with as little noise as possible. 



