MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN LION HUNTING. 200 



distant horsemen, and the herds of cattle below, until the 

 prospect became obscure, and then I entered my little fort. 



Hardly had I ensconced myself within and carefully closed 

 the door, before I heard footsteps along the path. In a 

 moment more I heard the wagging of jaws that were devour- 

 ing my bait with the greatest vigor. I looked through all 

 the loop-holes, but could not see the body of the horse, although 

 it was only five or six steps from me, and yet the animal con- 

 tinued to feed as fast as ever. 



Was it the lion, or a hyena, or a jackal ? My eyes not 

 being able to inform me, I tried if my ears could give me any 

 satisfactory indication, and sought to judge of the size of the 

 beast by the noise he" made at his meal. In about half an 

 hour of listening, of watching and anxiety, I could hear not 

 only the sound of one animal, but it appeared to me a legion, 

 and a most infernal hubbub they made, not only near the 

 house, but all around me and over my head. There was growl- 

 ing and walking, tearing and scratching, as if all the demons 

 of hell had given rendezvous there for a bacchanalian orgie. 



At one moment I thought the roof of my cell was a*bout 

 to fall in on my head under their tramping feet. Just as I 

 seized my pistol, determined to sell my life as dearly as possi- 

 ble, the stone that occupied the place of a door was pushed 

 down, and a head with two great eyes protruded in the opening. 

 "Without pausing to see what manner of beast it might be, 

 I tired my pistol directly at the eyes and the animal rolled 

 into my apartment writhing in the agonies of death. 



That the reader may be as much reassured as I was on 

 that fearful occasion, I will tell him that the animal proved 



