THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA 335 



lay loose at no great distance from the others. My old shoot- 

 ing horse was tied to the forewheel of the waggon, on the side 

 nearest to the hill, whilst my old servant and waggon-driver, 

 John, and two Kafirs, were sleeping under a shelter which 

 they had made on the other side of the waggon. 



I had sat up till a late hour talking with Dr. Edgelow, and 

 when I at last went to bed in Mr. Graham's hut the camp was 

 perfectly quiet, everyone being fast asleep, an example which I 

 was not long in following. I must have slept for some hours 

 when I was suddenly awakened by the discharge of a rifle. 

 Being inside the hut I awoke without any distinct idea of the 

 direction in which the shot had been fired ; but the first report 

 was quickly followed by a second which I knew must have been 

 fired from my waggon. Jumping up I at once made for the 

 door of the hut and opened it just as a third shot was fired. 

 What's the matter? ' I called out in Dutch to John. 'It's a 

 lion, sir ; he has killed the loose ox,' he answered, and again 

 fired. This time the shot was answered by a low hoarse growl, 

 the bullet, I suppose, having passed very close to the marauder. 

 I was soon down at the waggon alongside of John, but nothing 

 was to be either seen or heard. The rain had ceased, but as 

 the moon was now down, and it was very cloudy, the darkness 

 was intense, and it was evident that nothing could be done till 

 daylight. John felt sure the ox was dead, as he had heard it 

 make a short rush and fall heavily twice, after which all was 

 still, and as we could now hear nothing, we both thought the 

 lion had been scared away from the carcase by the last shot. 

 It is worthy of remark that, although this ox was seized and 

 killed by a lion within thirty yards of fourteen other oxen that 

 were tied to the yokes, not one of them evinced the slightest 

 alarm, and the greater part of them lay quietly chewing the cud 

 till daylight, undisturbed either by the near proximity of the 

 lion or by the shots fired by John. I suppose the lion had 

 come up below the wind, and never having scented him, they 

 did not realise what had happened. My old horse, however, 

 which was always very nervous and fidgetty in the presence of 



