148 THE LION. 



the runaways, seeing his predicament, returned. 

 One jumped on to the back of the lion, and pulled 

 stoutly at his ears to make him let go his hold ; 

 another hung on by the tail to stop him ; whilst the 

 third, watching his opportunity, sent a ball through 

 his forehead. The animal then quitted Lynx's arm, 

 but, in his death agonies, crushed his hand with his 

 teeth. The dying bite of a beast of prey," Sir 

 A. Alexander adds, "is always the worst." 



In parts of Africa in Abyssinia at least the 

 elephant, as will hereafter be shown, is circumvented 

 (hamstrung) by certain famous hunters called Agga- 

 jeers, with the sword alone, and that both on horse- 

 back and on foot. This I can well understand ; but 

 that these men, when armed only with that weapon, 

 should be in the habit of thus attacking and slayingthe 

 lion as that distinguished traveller and sportsman, 

 Sir Samuel Baker, assures us is the case seems 

 almost incomprehensible. He himself, however, when 

 in company with several of these daring Ximrods, 

 once took part in a chase of the kind ; and as his 

 story is well and spiritedly told, I give it to the 

 reader in his own words : 



" We had crossed the river, and, as we passed 

 through an opening in the belt of jungle on the banks, 

 and entered on a plain interspersed with clumps 

 of bush, we perceived, at about two hundred yards 

 distance, a magnificent lion, whose shaggy mane 

 gave him a colossal appearance, as lie stalked 

 quietly along the flat sandy ground towards the 

 pin co of his daily retreat. The Aggajeers whispered 

 " El Assut" (the lion), and instinctively the swords 



