AFRICAN CAMP FIRES 



him. We came quite close, and I planted my 

 fourth bullet in his shoulder. Even this was not 

 enough. It took a fifth in the same place to finish 

 him, and he died at last biting great chunks of 

 earth. 



The howls from the hilltop ceased. All gathered 

 to marvel at the lion's immense size. He measured 

 three feet nine inches at the shoulder, and nine feet 

 eleven inches between stakes, or ten feet eleven 

 inches along contour. This is only five inches 

 under record. We weighed him piecemeal, after 

 a fashion, and put him between 550 and 600 

 pounds. 



But these are only statistics and mean little unless 

 a real attempt is made to visualize them. As a 

 matter of fact his mere height — that of a medium- 

 size zebra — was little unless accented by the 

 impression of his tremendous power and quick- 

 ness. 



We skinned him, and then rode four long hours 

 to camp. We arrived at dark, and at once set to 

 work preparing the trophy. A dozen of us squatted 

 around the skin, working by lantern light. Memba 

 Sasa had had nothing to eat since before dawn, but 

 in his pride and delight he refused to touch a mouth- 

 ful until the job was finished. Several times we 

 urged him to stop long enough for even a bite. He 



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