ARAB FASHION OF HUNTING THE LION. 45 



side by side, their guns to their shoulders, and their finger s 

 on the triggers, while the lion with a watchful eye awaits 

 their coming. 



As the balls that are fired at him might hit his victim, it 

 is necessary to approach so close as to be sure of the aim, 

 and it is generally a near relative of the hunter who under- 

 takes this perilous duty, leaving the main body of the hunters 

 at about a dozen paces behind him. If the lion is near 

 his last agony he will crush the head of his prostrate prey as 

 he sees the hunters approach, and when the guns are levelled 

 at his head he will close his eyes and await his fate ; if on 

 the contrary he is strong enough to fight, he hastens to kill 

 the hunter he has under him, and bound on the daring friend 

 who comes to his rescue. 



As it may be readily imagined, the role to be played by 

 the new comer in the drama is none of the safest, for the lion 

 being crouched on the body of the prostrate man, in a state 

 of perfect stillness, gives no indications whatever of his inten- 

 tions. It may be, the desert matador can place the muzzle of 

 his gun to his ear and fire, or it may be, the very next step 

 he is dashed to the earth, and crushed to pieces without hope 

 of help from his friends at his back. 



The Arabs only send one marksman to do this duty, as 

 otherwise there is confusion, and by that manner the bullets 

 might reach the man instead of his destroyer. It is true that 

 the man is almost a corpse before that happens ; yet still it 

 is always hard to think that he was shot by his friends, and 

 there always remains a thought that he might have been 

 saved, if he had not been hit by these stray shots. Therefore 



