The Journal of a Sporting Nomad 



then set the surrounding country on fire. This 

 spread famously, but at a point twenty feet up- 

 river of me I left a small tongue of grass that 

 seemed to be damp and would not burn. Tom 

 had, meanwhile, been coaxing the kettle to boil, 

 there were barely enough sticks for this purpose. 

 Our supper was a primitive affair of cold meat 

 and bread and butter, washed down with tea. 

 It was now quite dark, the sky being studded 

 with millions of stars. On the opposite side of 

 the river, which in this place was seventy yards 

 or so wide, and close to the water, three different 

 lions were roaring. They made so much noise 

 that I happened to say to Weddell, " Perhaps 

 it is as well that I lit the grass, for there are 

 probably plenty of lions on this side also," little 

 thinking how close some of them must have been 

 to us at the moment. Weddell replied that he 

 did not think there were any on our side, as they 

 would have answered the roaring of those 

 opposite. However, I took up the torch again, 

 which I lit from the embers of our fire, then 

 approached the small tongue of grass that I had 

 failed to ignite a few minutes earlier. I did not 

 make a job of it, though ; it burnt a little, then 

 went out suddenly. As things subsequently 

 happened, there is no sort of doubt that when 

 I was thus employed I was within but a few 

 yards of a lion or lioness. The animal probably 

 did not go for me owing to the fact that I held 



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