THE LION COUNTRY 



bank of fog which covered it. At the same moment 

 a lioness appeared on my right, growling, but the 

 mist was so thick that I was unable to fire. I therefore 

 returned to camp to await sunrise. So soon as it 

 was clear enough, I followed the track of the wounded 

 animal, but ascertained that the lungs were not 

 touched,, and that the bullet must have passed above 

 the shoulder, between the spinal column and the 

 shoulder-blade ; after a long and futile pursuit I was 

 obliged to leave the animal. 



On September 12th I killed a lion which had, between 

 its skin and flesh, a 500 express-bullet equidistant 

 between the shoulder and spine. The shot had 

 evidently been fired some time ago, as no traces of 

 a wound were visible. 



The 14th and 15th were both lucky days, each 

 bringing me a lioness. 



Although I hear plenty of lions every night, they 

 seem to be getting scarce near us, and I therefore 

 think it better to change our quarters for a time, 

 returning to them later. The game has also become 

 wilder, and consequently has to be shot from much 

 greater distances. Besides a good number of gnus, 

 waterbucks, and zebras, of which last Equus selousi is 

 more common than Wahlberg's zebra., I have killed 

 some wart-hogs, several palas, tsessebes, oribis, and 

 reedbuck, a bushbuck, a sable antelope, two civets, 

 numerous aquatic birds which frequent the banks 

 of the Sungwe, and two young bustards. 



(119) 



