1 64 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER CH. 



term be generously applied to the hunting down of 

 lions with dogs, for, while the lion's attention is 

 occupied with his canine opponents, to shoot him is 

 a matter 'of comparative ease and attended with 

 very little risk. 



Lion-hunting entails a considerable amount of 

 risk when a wounded animal seeks cover in long 



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grass or dense bush, and the hunter follows his 

 quarry on foot with only his tracker carrying a 

 spare rifle. This requires a combination of nerve 

 and cunning and is excellent sport. The same may 

 be said of buffaloes and, in a greater degree, of 

 elephants. 



It is my opinion that the- risk attached to the 

 shooting of the rhinoceros is very small, for he lacks 

 the intelligence and cunning of the aforementioned 

 animals, and, though I have shot scores of them, on 

 no occasion has one charged me. 



The hunting of the hippopotamus is the very 

 tamest of sports, and even when shooting from a 

 native canoe, the hunter is comparatively safe, for in 

 ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the beast, when 

 wounded, will make every effort to escape without 

 showing fight. 



Taking all smaller game into consideration, I 

 cannot say that their pursuit is fraught with much 

 peril to the sportsman. Quite recently, I have read 

 what I can only term as somewhat hysterical accounts 



