HUNTING THE LION 145 



ha. 1 quenched their thirst, several wildebeests, that had a 

 fine fat appearance, came trotting up and, very sociably, 

 commenced drinking among them. Here was our game. 

 Delicious morsels of meat floated in perspective. Sin- 

 gling our fleshy targets, we fired, and as the herd scam- 

 pered away, as if all had received some shot in their tails, 

 we saw two wildebeests tumble on the plain. And now 

 it became our duty to guard at least one of these animals, 

 until day-break. After this no other game appeared 

 near the fountain, for some hours after midnight ; and we 

 were actually beginning to doze, when a loud lapping 

 noise at the farthest end of the fountain startled us to 

 turn our gaze in that direction, and we beheld a large 

 lion laying on his breast, with his massive arms stretched 

 out, and engaged in (Jrinking as if extremely thirsty. 

 Here, at last, was the far-famed king of the beasts. The 

 moonlight did not permit us to see the form, in all its 

 grandeur of aspect. But there was something awful about 

 the massive head and shaggy mane, which we did not 

 fail to perceive. It was agreed that we should each fire 

 a single bullet at him as soon as he rose from the ground. 

 He seemed to have a burning thirst. Four times, 

 he paused, to catch breath, and still the quantity of water 

 lapped up did not seem to satisfy him. We were patient, 

 however, and, at length, the lion stood up. Instantly, 

 our rifles rung on the air. As the smoke cleared away, 



13 



