THE RAHAD RIVER 201 



up the trail with three rifles loaded and ready. There 

 was a fair amount of blood, and within 40 yards we 

 found a fine lioness lying dead, and brought her with 

 the machan into camp on the camel, which I had 

 ordered overnight. She weighed 250 Ib. and measured 

 8 feet 1 inch. The bullet had passed through the 

 front of the shoulder without breaking it, but had 

 raked her completely, lodging under the skin of her 

 side. She contained three foetuses, the size of rats, 

 two male and one female. The rest of the day was 

 spent attending to the skin. 



April 2nd. Got ofi at 8 a.m. and marched some 

 5 miles to a maya where Captain D. had previously 

 bagged a fine lion. Saw several herds of ariel and a 

 few oribi en route, but did not get a shot. Shot three 

 whistling teal and two guinea-fowl on the swamp. 

 In the afternoon a buck ariel came within 50 yards 

 of the camp and paid the penalty with his life 

 12| inches. In the evening I went out on the edge of 

 the maya and saw a large herd of ariel and several 

 reedbuck, one of which I should have been tempted to 

 shoot if I had not previously bagged a particularly 

 fine specimen. The place looked very likely for 

 leopard or lion, so I tied up a goat in the evening 

 and sat in a perch on a tree, but without success. 



April 3rd. Was awakened towards midnight by a 

 succession of tremendous roars from a couple of lions 



