298 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



a mounted Griqua lad and several of my best 

 Bushmen, to look for them. Twice after we had 

 left the waggon their deep, menacing voices rolled 

 out over the silent veld, and assured us that they 

 were still in the open grass plain, but after the sun 

 rose they became silent. 



We had ridden for perhaps a mile and a half 

 across the open plain, when I suddenly saw some- 

 thing dark appear above the long yellow grass some 

 four hundred yards ahead of me, and knew at once 

 that what I had seen was the maned shoulder of a 

 lion. At this time I do not think he had seen us, 

 but had just risen from the spot where he had been 

 lately lying roaring, with the intention of making his 

 way to the thorn jungles ahead of him. I was 

 mounted on a very good, well-trained shooting horse, 

 in splendid hard condition, and very fast, and I at 

 once put spurs to him, and rode as hard as he could 

 go, in the hope of getting up to the lion before the 

 latter gained the shelter of the thorn jungle, where 

 no horse could have followed him. 



The noble quarry gave but one quick look 

 towards the approaching horse, and then turned and 

 galloped away through the grass at a great pace, 

 making straight for a small island of forest and 

 jungle lying in the open plain just outside the main 

 bush. I was now going at racing speed, and was 

 gaining fast on the lion, who did not appear to 

 be exerting himself, though he got over the ground 

 pretty quickly, going at an easy gallop, and looking 

 like an enormous mastiff. He was very dark in 

 colour, with a full dark mane. 



Just before he got to the edge of the small 

 isolated piece of bush, I ought to have pulled in 

 and taken a shot at him at about 150 yards, but I 

 thought he would halt at the edge of the cover and 

 turn round and look at me, as lions, after having 

 been chased across an open place on horseback, 



