‘SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 9 
paws on the carcase, and roared and growled their pean of 
victory. Frank had come up; we were too near to speak, 
but I motioned him to take the lion on the left, while I 
wered the middle one. We fired together ; his fell dead 
with a broken back, filling its mouth with bush as it rolled 
rt: my shot was rather a slanting one, went in through 
back ribs, and out somewhere forward ; at all events, 
was not fatal on the spot, for the lion sprang over the 
lo without stopping to inquire where it came from ; the 
d never moved, but kept on shaking the dead bull till I 
loaded again .and killed him. I wish we could have 
ed up No. 2, but the evening was closing in too rapidly 
allow us to track him any great distance, and we did not 
efore bring him to bag, as we must under other circum- 
s have done, for he was wounded to his death. It was my 
first shot that was in fault, and Frank’s want of a second 
_ When a lion has fast hold of his prey with his mouth, 
eyes are nearly closed, and you may get quite close to 
the folds of the skin of the face being driven up by 
constriction of the muscles of the jaws against the lower 
the Kafirs all recognise this fact.!_ Vardon was a very 
te shot, and used to take me to task for snapping too 
But our weapons were different, his a finely-sighted 
, Mine a very open-sighted smooth-bore. 
He gave me quite a jobation one day, in the presence of a 
ag lion, not ten yards from us, when he delivered his text. 
ppened on this wise. The waggons were halted for the 
on the bank of a deep ‘nullah.’ There were no elephants 
rm in the neighbourhood, so I strolled cut on the chance 
a shot. _ It was late in the afternoon, 4 p.m., and I could 
r Vardon talking to his men two hundred yards off, as 
me back to camp. Whether roused by his voice, or by 
Mr. Wolf's sketch does not quite bear out this statement ; when he 
drawing it I forgot to mention the peculiarity. I am, however, able 
te it in the illustration, thanks to the courtesy of Mr. Caterson 
who altered the plate in accordance with my suggestion. 
