72 THE LION. 



incident that occurred when Mr. Galton and myself 

 were travelling in company in Damaraland. 



"With the exception of resting an hour or two by 

 the way, we had pushed on with the two waggons 

 (each, as is usual in Africa, drawn by twelve 

 oxen) during the night, when at day-break, and 

 just as we had reached the Swakop river, we were 

 suddenly startled by the most tremendous roaring 

 of lions, which, evidently, were close at hand. In 

 a few moments afterwards, two of those magnificent 

 beasts male and female emerged from the bushes 

 at about one hundred and fifty paces a-head of us. 

 On perceiving the cavalcade, they gave another 

 terrific roar, of so anarv a nature as to cause the 



O \i 



greatest consternation amongst the cattle. Those 

 attached to the foremost waggon wheeled round 



o o 



instantaneously ; and, before it was possible to 

 prevent them, ran right into the midst of the after- 

 most team, and I expected every moment to see 

 the vehicles capsized or smashed to atoms. 



What with the bellowing of the oxen, the shout- 

 ing and screaming of the men, the smashing and 

 breaking of yokes, &c., and the continued roar of 

 the lions, the scene was such as to baffle all de- 

 scription. 



The lion, himself, after having approached very 

 near to us, again retreated into the bushes ; but 

 the lioness seated herself quietly within less than a 

 hundred yards of the waggons, growling most 

 furiously. Throwing the reins over the saddle of 

 ' Spring,' who, by-the-byo, had nearly unseated 

 me on the first appearance of the lions, I sprang 



