76 THE LAND OF THE LION 



When I got to the place in the morning, I found it far 

 more formidable even than I should have fancied from 

 the account given me. The long grass in which they had 

 left the lion was bad enough, but it could be searched. 

 It was safety and simplicity itself, however, when com- 

 pared with the riverside jungle into which the lion had 

 crawled afterward. This was almost impenetrable. On 

 the right hand side, the deep river ran with steep-cut banks 

 so high that no wounded lion could cross it anywhere. 

 From the bank there extended a belt of cover, shaded by 

 large trees, where vines, reeds, and a hundred thorny leafy 

 plants were matted together. Here were pools of water 

 and deep black hollows, and over all was spread even at 

 midday the dark shade of the trees. Sometimes the sun- 

 light broke in. Usually it was so dark that it was impos- 

 sible to see anything at even a few yards' distance. 



Nothing would have induced me to allow, so long as I 

 could prevent it, any one to enter such a place, had I not 

 had the most positive assurances from J. J. W.'s hunter 

 that he knew where his bullets were placed, and that 

 without any doubt whatever the lion was dead by now. 

 He had emptied his repeating .350 Mauser at the lion, and 

 had at least one steady standing shot (the distance measured 

 afterward was only 120 yards), so presumably he should 

 have known what he was talking about. Vultures now 

 rose from the darkest of the thicket, and sat expectant on 

 the tree limbs overhead. Everything looked like a dead 

 lion. So we went in. We formed the beaters up in line, 

 only a few feet apart, with a gunbearer or askari carrying 

 rifle or double barrel gun here and there to give the men 

 heart, and slowly, foot by foot, began our advance into the 

 semi-darkness. (There were twelve rifles and double 

 barrels in all.) 



My knee made it impossible for me to enter the thickest 

 of the jungle, so I had to content myself with the left of 



