A Hunt by Torchlight 149 



track. At first we see upon it only the animal's 

 spoor made at the moment it sprang forward ; but 

 quickly we come upon a large jet of blood three feet 

 beyond the hut, the very stakes of which, on the side 

 against which the animal ran, are spattered with 

 blood. It is fairly common to see a lion upon re- 

 ceiving a shot spring forward, the beast, doubtless, 

 wishing to defend itself against attack, and its most 

 natural movement being this pretence of a charge. 



We believe that the animal is wounded fatally, and 

 that it is impossible it has gone far. But how look 

 for it without straw or torch ? Moonlight is quite 

 insufficient for such work. Even in daylight there is 

 no more dangerous work than looking for a wounded 

 lion : so I leave you to imagine the pleasure one must 

 take in the task in darkness, which makes every 

 shrub suspicious there are twenty chances to one of 

 finding nothing and at the same time risking your 

 life or the lives of your men. 



By common accord we were going to postpone the 

 search until the following day, when an idea strikes 

 me : if the lion is dead the hyenas of the district 

 will leave only the bones to-morrow morning. This 

 idea arouses my men because no skin, no reward. 1 



So we hold a meeting in consequence of which it 

 seems to me that the most reasonable thing to do is 

 to wait a little while, for the longer we wait the 

 more chance there will be that the lion, if wounded, 



1 As encouragement and reward my hunters received a small sum 

 agreed upon beforehand for each elephant, rhinoceros, or lion killed. 

 For other animals they received nothing. 



