128 Wild Beasts 



see Taber or Abu Do, those slayers of elephants, cut a 

 lion through the spine with their Solingen blades ; but 

 there is no doubt that these men encounter the animal on 

 horseback and armed with their swords alone. 



Brave as the Hamran Arabs were, and skilful, Baker, 

 who has recorded their deeds, was not behind them in dar- 

 ing ; and as the following narrative may almost be said to 

 stand by itself in the records of hunting as an illustration 

 of what can be done by a sportsman who is entirely coura- 

 geous and cool, it is given in the words in which he has 

 himself related his feat. 



Some lions had been wandering about his camp for 

 several nights, and they also gave him a good deal of 

 annoyance by devouring game that he shot. "Under 

 these circumstances," Sir Samuel says, " I resolved to cir- 

 cumvent one or the other of these beasts. On the following 

 morning, therefore, I took Taber Noor, with Hadji Ali and 

 Hassan, two of my trusty Tokrooris, and went to the spot 

 where I had left the carcass of the buffalo I had killed on the 

 preceding day. As I had expected, nothing remained, not 

 even a bone ; the ground was much trampled, and tracks 

 of lions were upon the sand, but the body of the buffalo 

 had been dragged into the thorny jungle. I was deter- 

 mined, if possible, to get a shot ; and therefore followed 

 carefully the trail left by the carcass, which formed a path 

 in the withered grass. Unfortunately the lions had 

 dragged the buffalo down wind, and, after I had arrived 

 within the thick nabbuk and high grass, I came to the 

 conclusion that my only chance would be to make a long 

 circuit, and to creep up wind through the thorns until I 



