200 THE LION. 



the man, I fired at the lion, who had retreated a few 

 paces, where he sat quietly looking at me. I don't 

 know whether I hit him; for, what with the sud- 

 den fright and my weak constitution, I felt very 

 unsteady. Be that as it may, it had the effect of 

 scaring him away, for, at the report of the gun, .he 

 instantly betook himself to cover." 



On another occasion, when the missionary 

 waggon was on its road to Walfish Bay, a lion 

 sprang unexpectedly into the midst of the sleep- 

 ing party, bivouacking at the time on the banks 

 of the Kubakop river. One of Piet's sons, who 

 was present, picked up his gun from the ground, 

 but, in order to prevent the dew from injuring it, 

 he had wrapped his waistcoat round the lock, and, 

 in the hurry, he was unable to disengage the 

 garment. Finding, however, that the lion was just 

 about to lay hold of him, he held out the piece and 

 fired at random, but fortunately with deadly effect. 



Again, " the following fact," writes Moffatt, 

 " shows the fearful danger to which the solitary 

 traveller in the African wilds is at times exposed 

 from lions. 



" A man belonging to M. Schinelen's congrega- 

 tion at Bethany, returning homewards from a visit 

 to his friends, took a circuitous course in order to 

 pass a small fountain, or rather pool, where he 

 hoped to kill an antelope to carry home to his 

 family. The sun had risen to some height at the 

 time he reached the spot, and seeing no game, he 

 laid his gun down on a low shelving rock, the back 

 part of which was covered with a species of dwarf 



