FOUR LIONS 209 



through the same place and found a stout zeriba, 

 leaning outward at an angle of about 30°, all but 

 completed. I then heard that the night after I left a 

 woman left her hut to fetch water, and promptly 

 found herself facing a lion. She screamed, and every 

 one (five all told) turned out, waving clothes at four 

 lions who were in the square, not fifty yards in 

 diameter, formed by the huts. I remained there a 

 day to help them to complete their stronghold, but 

 neither saw nor heard lions. 



I had intended to go from Dem Indris to Chakchak, 

 but the guide I had declared that the way was water- 

 less, so as only a few showers had fallen, and we 

 could not depend on the rains for water, I had to 

 change my plans. I therefore followed the " Mandalla 

 road" to Kossinga. It is used by the Mandalla on 

 their expeditions south to hunt elephants. 



Just after we turned up this road we passed a fair- 

 sized hill. It was quite invisible from the road, owing 

 to the height and thickness of the forest. These hills, 

 scattered all over it, would make the triangulation of 

 the district a work of the greatest simplicity. I left 

 my whole party cutting up an antelope I had shot, and, 

 as I knew the direction, I went on. My sole com- 

 panion was a bugler, whom I was bringing to Kafiakingi. 

 Chabinji, whom the Mamur, a great proselytiser, 

 transformed into the young Moslem, Mabruk Suliman, 

 was taken from a man caught red-handed selling slaves. 

 He came from near the Welle River, but was not a 

 Niam-Niam, as the A'Zendei are usually called — a 

 term of reproach (the sound is supposed to represent 



O 



