248 BIG GAME SHOOTING 
caught her on the point of the shoulder as she faced me, 
smashing the blade-bone into fragments and tearing the flesh 
to a frightful extent. This wound may have knocked all in- 
clination to charge out of her, if she ever had any ; otherwise, 
considering the way she was harassed and the reputation lions 
have for charging under such circumstances, she might have 
done so, more especially as the nature of the covert in many 
places was decidedly favourable for such a demonstration on 
her part. 
The second time I was attracted to where a lion and two 
lionesses had killed a cow buffalo, mentioned above. As the 
vultures and marabou storks were sitting patiently waiting in a 
large leafless tree, I felt pretty sure that lions were still at the 
kill, and I also knew before I actually saw them that they had 
killed a buffalo, as the ground was cut up in all directions by the 
fresh spoor of a large herd of these beasts as they stampeded. 
On crawling up to a bush and looking through it, I saw the 
head of the lion, as he stood on the far side of the dead buffalo. 
As there was nothing but the lion’s head showing, and as I 
could only get an indistinct view of one lioness as she lay, I sat 
and watched them with the aid of binoculars for a considerable 
time, until the lion stepped clear of the carcase and stood 
broadside on, offering me a splendid shot. Aiming at his 
shoulder, I fired at a range of a trifle over 100 yards, and he 
answered to the shot with a growl, bounded forward a few 
yards, and stood behind a small skeleton bush. At the shot 
the lioness stood up and looked hard in my direction, but could 
not see me, and I then noticed for the first time that there was 
another lioness standing under a small bush close by ; but as I 
could only make out the head of either of them, and could not 
see the effect of my shot on the lion, I reloaded and waited. In 
a short time I had the satisfaction of seeing the lion limp back 
to the buffalo, dead lame, and feeling pretty confident that he 
would not go far (in which I was greatly mistaken), I took a 
shot at the nearest lioness, as she stood facing me. She also 
"answered to the shot with a grand roar, reared up in the air 
