OHAP. n.] HIS DEATH. 3S 



favour, and we nearly lost him; but by most skilful 

 tracking the Hottentots came u^) and often helped 

 us out when we were at fault. Some hours elapsed 

 when, as Mr. Bam and myself were cantering on, we 

 turned the corner of a sand hill and saw the lion about 

 sixty yards ahead, trotting on, looking over his 

 shoulder. I got my long rifle up, and, sincerely 

 praying that my horse would not kick me off when 1 

 fired, I pulled the trigger ; the horse was too blown 

 to start, and I placed my two-ounce bullet well into 

 the lion's quarter. He growled and snarled, and bit 

 the wound, but evidently had not heart to chase me, 

 but turned to bay under a bush. There was a sand- 

 hill opposite. We waited till the stragglers came up, 

 and then went behind the sand-hiU. and dismounted ; 

 and Stewartson and ourselves crawled up to the top 

 of it, right above the lion. He was in a tearing 

 passion, and fifty paces from us, yet I could not see 

 him as clearly as I could wish — wild beasts have such 

 a readiness of availing themselves of the smallest bush 

 or tuft of gTass as a screen, which he did on this 

 occasion ; liis head was between his paws, and his tail 

 whirling up the sand. One single shot at the head 

 struck him stone dead. He was a huge gaunt beast, 

 miserably thin, and had a dog of Stewartson's in liis 

 inside, which he had snapped up on the werft the 

 night before. Tlie dog was in only five pieces, not at 

 all chewed or even digested ; it had been bolted in a 

 hurry, and had probably disagreed with him. The lion 

 was soon skinned. My bullet had passed right along- 

 side the backbone, breaking its way through nearly 



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