154 THE LTON. 



yards, but I had no chance to fire. Again the low 

 growl was repeated, and upon quietly creeping 

 towards the spot, I saw a splendid animal crouched 

 upon the ground, among the withered and broken 

 grass. The lioness lay dying with the bullet wound 

 in the shoulder. Occasionally, in her rage, she bit 

 her own paw violently, and then struck and clawed 

 the ground. A pool of blood lay by her side. She 

 was about ten yards from us, and I instructed my 

 men to throw a clod of earth at her, (there were no 

 stones), to prove whether she could rise, while I 

 stood ready with my rifle. She merely replied with 

 a dull roar, and I terminated her misery by a ball 

 through the head. She was a beautiful animal, the 

 patch of the bullet was sticking in the wound, she 

 was shot through both shoulders." 



But the most singular plan of circumventing the 

 lion not practised in Southern Africa, it is true, 

 and which, therefore, by rights, should not find a 

 place in these pages is that described by Layard 

 in his " Nineveh and Babylon." 



" The ]\Iaidan Arabs," says he, " boast of capturing 

 the lion in the following manner, and trustworthy 

 persons have assured me they have seen the feat per- 

 formed. A man havingbound his right arm with strips 

 of tamarish, and holding in his hand a strong piece of 

 the same wood, about a foot or more in length, that 

 has been hardened in the fire and sharpened at both 

 ends, will advance boldly into the animal's lair. 

 When the lion springs upon him, he forces the wood 

 between its jaws, which will then be held open, 

 whilst he can despatch the astonished beast at his 



