8 IN AFRICA 



cordite. They use it under the following condi- 

 tions : Suppose that a big animal has been wounded 

 and not instantly killed. It at once assumes the ag- 

 gressive, and is savage beyond belief. The pain of 

 the wound infuriates it and its one object in life is 

 to get at the man who shot it. It charges in a well- 

 nigh irresistible rush, and no ordinary bullet can 

 stop it unless placed in one or two small vital spots. 

 Under the circumstances the hunter may not be able 

 to hold his rifle steady enough to hit these aforesaid 

 spots. That is when the paradox comes in. The 

 hunter points it in a general way in the direction 

 of the oncoming beast, pulls the trigger and hopes 

 for the best. The paradox bullet hits with the force 

 of a sledge hammer, and stuns everything within 

 a quarter of a mile, and the hunter turns several 

 back somersaults from the recoil and fades into 

 bruised unconsciousness. 



We decided not to get the paradox, preferring 

 to trust to hitting the small vital spots rather than 

 transport the weapon by hand through long tropical 

 marches. 



The nine-millimeter rifles were said to be large 

 enough for nearly all purposes, but not reassuring 

 in extremely close quarters. The .256 Mannlichers 

 are splendid for long range shooting, as they carry 

 a small bore bullet and have enormous penetrating 

 power. 



The presumption, therefore, was that we should 

 first shoot the lion at long range with the .256, then 

 at a shorter range with the nine-millimeter, then at 



