396 ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA chap. 



time to make the kraal secure. Of course, with so few hands, 

 it was not possible to remedy this defect in one day, especially 

 as Juma and his two men did not get back till the evening ; 

 however, it was made as strong as could be managed under the 

 circumstances, in the hope of keeping the donkeys in ; and, at 

 sundown, those that had been recovered were put in and the 

 entrance closed, as securely as could be contrived, with big 

 thorny boughs. 



I could, of course, do nothing myself but look on and 

 encourage my men. To attempt to look for the lions would, 

 even had I been whole, have been quite useless without dogs 

 (even Pice had died in Kere) in the thickets that surrounded 

 us in every direction. Had I been able to shoot, I might have 

 posted myself in some position whence I could watch the dead 

 donkey all night, after securing it in some way to prevent its 

 being dragged, so as to ensure as far as possible the lions 

 remaining by it, should they come at all, until the moon rose, 

 which would not be till after ten that night. Even that might 

 not have been successful, as the night proved cloudy and dark, 

 while the place where the kraal had been was overshadowed by 

 trees ; but, as it was, I did not, of course, attempt anything of 

 the kind. 



We had been obliged to use all the branches of which the 

 " boma " had been made for the new one, cutting more to add 

 to them ; and, even working their hardest all day, my few men 

 (including cook and all) could not construct such a fence as to 

 make me feel much confidence that the panic-stricken donkeys 

 could not burst through, if frightened again, formidable though 

 the barricade of branches looked. Hence there was no time 

 to build any barrier round the carcase, to allow of my setting a 

 gun in the only way it can be usefully done over a kill ; and 

 the only thing I could do to-day was to set one baited with 

 meat in the way I always adopt with success when the depre- 

 dator whose end it is wished to compass is a hyena. Having 

 done that, I thought it best to remove the dead donkey, so 



