so SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN 



to the lips of its adherents the most magnificent con- 

 fession of faith. Even the criminal hanging on the 

 gibbet will stretch out his forefinger to perform the 

 office his lips may not. We buried him with full 

 military honours, drawing the bullets from our cart- 

 ridges in order to fire the last volleys over his grave. 



At 1.30 P.M. we moved off. Two hundred yards or 

 so from our late camping-place we struck into the 

 pathless forest. The first part of the journey was over 

 black cotton soil. The trees were mostly one of the 

 gum-bearing thorns, with here and there mighty 

 tebeldis. We passed a number of depressions, now dry, 

 but which the rank vegetation showed must be full of 

 water at times. We put up antelopes here and there. 

 My guides at times would break off to the right or left, 

 resuming the original direction after going a short 

 distance. On asking the reason I was astonished and 

 somewhat incredulous to be told that we were passing 

 lions. Just at sunset we halted at a water hole (fula). 

 The unwonted zeal with which all gathered dried 

 branches convinced me that there were lions about. 

 We soon had three fires four feet high laid. I fired 

 the surrounding grass to give light and protection 

 to the wood-carriers, and the fiki, who had insisted 

 on accompanying us, went out to light that on the 

 other side of the fula. He had barely left camp 

 before a snarling roar drew me, rifle in hand, to 

 the side where he now came bounding back. The 

 fires were lighted, and shortly afterwards we began 

 to see lions walking round our camp, the firelight 

 playing on them, and showing, as they stood and 



