THE KATRIAWAR LION. 749 



me know by a sowar as soon as they had found it. I did not 

 hear from them again on that day, but on the following a sowar 

 came galloping into camp bringing the welcome news that the 

 lion had been marked down and the pagis were keeping a watch 

 over it from a distance. It was a long ride to the spot, but I 

 reached it at the very best time, viz., at the hottest part of a very 

 hot day. The lion on this occasion had been tracked down 

 by a fine young Sidi from the Jambuda Ness who generally worked 

 under the directions of the head pagi Hebat whom I have already 

 mentioned. With him was one Ismail, a Mekrani Jemedar in 

 the Junagadh State service, also a good staunch man for a tight 

 corner. The lion had not moved and was lying down under a 

 shady tree on the tip top of a small conical hill where the cool 

 breeze direct from the sea could reach it. The ground all around 

 was very rough and hilly and a drive with any certainty of 

 getting a shot was out of the question, especially with the very 

 few men we had with us — only about half a dozen — so I decided on 

 a stalk. The hill was covered with small loose stones, so in order 

 to run no risk of disturbing the lion, we divested ourselves of our 

 boots and shoes at the foot of the hill where we left them with the 

 extra men. Ismail, who was armed with a D. B. muzzle-loading 

 rifle, and I, with the 500 Express, led the way closely followed 

 by the pagi who acted as guide and Kutchra with my spare gun. 

 It was painful work getting over the rough ground without 

 boots, but fortunately we had not a long climb. When we were 

 about twenty -five yards from the top of the hill, the pagi pointed 

 in the direction we were to look for the lion, and I soon made out 

 the contour of the upper part of its body through the bushes — the 

 lower part of it not being visible owing to the slope of the grounds. 

 To fire from where I was standing was to court a failure as no 

 vital part of its body could be seen, and again it seemed hardly 

 possible to advance any more without disturbing the lion. It 

 was an anxious moment and there was no time to be lost, for 

 the lion might discover us at any moment and be off down the 

 opposite side of the hill for ever. By good luck, however, just at my 

 side, there happened to be an old stump of a tree about a yard 

 high and with a flat top. Once on that — and I saw — it would be 

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