86 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS 



sand of the river-bed, was the shadowy form of a lion walking 

 away from the camp. It was too dark to see the barrels, much 

 less the sights of the rifle, but I took two rapid shots in the 

 direction of our departing visitor, the second of which was 

 answered by an angry roar. The whole was the affair of a 

 moment ; and having reloaded and disentangled ourselves from 

 the blankets, G. and I went to see what mischief the lion had 

 done, who, it now appeared, had not carried away horse or 

 goat, but one of our men. Seized by the feet when asleep 

 round the fire, he had been dragged about four yards down to 

 the river-bed and there dropped by the lion, frightened probably 

 by the man's own shrieks and the shouts of the others, and 

 thanks to the plucky and determined manner in which his 

 neighbour had held on to the brute's chosen morsel. All was 

 confusion : the men had seized their spears and shields and 

 were rushing about here and there, though not leaving the safe 

 vicinity of the fire, rekindled now into an enormous blaze. 

 One man in his excitement set fire to the dead leaves of a 

 dome-palm, which burning up quickly into a column of flame 

 threatened a general conflagration. The unfortunate man who 

 had been so rudely awakened from his sleep had both his feet 

 badly injured by the lion's teeth, the greater part of the sole 

 of each having been torn away, but leaving the bones, luckily, 

 intact. Serious though no doubt his injuries were, the man 

 had had a very lucky escape, for a more horrible death than 

 that which would have awaited him, if carried to the lion's 

 den, is difficult to imagine. He was an obstinate old man 

 too, and had little or no faith in European methods of treat- 

 ment, such as thorough cleansing of the wounds and cold water ; 

 no, nothing but wood ashes and placing his feet as near the 

 fire as he could bear would do. Once we had nearly succeeded 

 in cleaning the wounds from sand and earth, but, to our disgust 

 a short time after, the feet thickly covered with dirty ashes 

 were once more roasting before the blazing fire. The man 

 who ought to have remained awake aud kept the fires up 

 was taken severely to task about his neglect of duty, but the 

 usual excuse was: "Fate it was written, and nothing would 

 have prevented it." We did not then tell him that it was also 

 written that he should get a licking on the spot, or no meat 

 for some days a worse punishment an Arab's stomach being 



