74 SPORT IN THE EASTERN SUDAN 



to a bush, though it may merely lie on the ground. 

 Such a lamp at this distance gives a very clear 

 outline, and on moonless nights is practically indis- 

 pensable. I do not in the least believe in luminous 

 foresights, or any complicated apparatus attached to 

 the rifle. An ordinary white night-sight is, of course, 

 essential and often forms a part of sporting rifles. 

 Even on dark nights the disc shows quite clearly 

 against the illumination down below, and with the 

 above apparatus I bagged two lionesses, three 

 leopards, and two hyaenas on nights of absolute 

 darkness, wounded and lost a lion and a lioness, and 

 only once made a clean miss at a hyaena. It is a 

 curious fact that the animals showed very little fear 

 when I turned on the light, probably because they 

 are used to seeing nocturnal conflagrations. Once or 

 twice they trotted away, but always returned when 

 I turned off the light. Sometimes they did not even 

 turn round their heads. 



It is another curious and fairly well-known fact 

 that in this branch of sport a clean miss by no means 

 scares away a beast of prey entirely. He is sure to 

 make off for the time being, but if the sportsman sits 

 absolutely still, he is quite likely to return. In this 

 fashion a friend of mine in India missed a tiger three 

 times running, and secured it when it returned to be 

 shot at for the fourth time. I bagged one of my 

 leopards in the Sudan with a second shot. It bolted 



