The Lion ^^ 



that experience also, and it is just a little too exciting ; for that reason I 

 never fire at a lion racing me, at night, except of course in self-defence. 



I will now relate an adventure I had with lions in May 1894, near 

 Majekan's kraal in the Sabi Poort, on my way down to Delagoa Bay. The 

 night we reached this camp some lions roared freely after midnight, about 

 2 miles away, and as they continued their moaning grunts after daylight, 

 always apparently in the same spot, I thought they might possibly have a 

 kill in that direction, so I set out with a couple of boys to hunt them up. 

 An hour's walk, during which the lions seldom ceased grunting, brought us 

 near the spot, and we found the fresh spoor of a male lion which had been 

 chasing a hyasna, and, close by, his returning spoor, which we followed 

 through a stony spruit and up a slight incline towards a thick grove of trees 

 and some dense scrub-bush on the ridge. I now distinctly heard the growl 

 of a lion in that direction, and, from some spot nearer, the worrying, 

 snarling sound of a creature eating at a carcase. Within 30 yards of the 

 trees lay a dead hya-na, and I walked towards it, keenly alert, trying to 

 make out amongst the trees the creature that was eating ; but I was all the 

 time overlooking it, for it lay in a patch of grass just beyond the hyaena — 

 a fine young lion cub, about six months old. I pulled up instantly, 

 expecting each moment to see the lioness, but heard her give a deep 

 purring call to her cub from the top of the ridge, and the little beast 

 instantly scampered off as fast as its enormously distended belly would 

 permit, while I ran to try and intercept it. On the ridge the cub turned 

 to the left, while the lioness was growling on the right. The low scrub was 

 very thick, but as I ran on I saw four or five great yellow objects trotting 

 along in front of me. One of these almost immediately pulled up, and 

 turned, facing me, growling furiously. Though close, it was a difficult 

 shot through the thick scrub, but thinking it was the mother of the cub, 

 and that she was about to charge, I fired at once, tumbling her on to her 

 head, roaring tremendously. Unfortunately my rifle was single-barrelled, 



