Sporting Trips of a Subaltern 



threw open my rifle and tried to reload the right 

 barrel ; the cartridge wouldn't go in ! Still watch- 

 ing the lioness, who had sunk into a crouching 

 attitude, I dropped the cartridge and tried another; 

 same result ! I now snapped my rifle to and lay, 

 with only one barrel, on the defensive. After 

 watching a bit and finding she didn't move, I 

 gradually advanced, and eventually found she was 

 stone dead; I had got her through the heart. 

 These were the afore-mentioned paper cartridges, 

 and they were swollen with the wet. The lioness 

 was 7 feet 8 inches from nose to tip of tail as 

 she lay. 



After this last lion, and in consideration of 

 our good sport and the discomforts of the rain, 

 we procured three fat sheep from the neighbouring 

 karia and gave them to our Somali followers, who 

 showed their appreciation by having them killed, 

 cooked, and eaten in about two hours. We our- 

 selves were quite contented with our venison diet, 

 and, indeed, the fat cook served up most appetizing 

 meals : aoul soup, roasted aoul kid, cold oryx with 

 occasional bustards, being fare for a king. The 

 Somalis liked game well enough, but preferred 

 large fat antelope to gazelle, and were rather 

 disappointed at our only killing occasional old 

 bulls of the former. However, we preferred spend- 

 ing a little on sheep to slaying game for our men's 

 pot, and indeed meat was only a luxury for them, 



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