226 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



ing. Snatching up my two-grooved rifle, which at all 

 times hung loaded in my wagon, I at once ran forward 

 under cover of a convenient bushy tree which inter- 

 vened, and on gaining this bush I was within seventy 

 yards of the lions. Here a forked branch afforded an 

 admirable rest. I placed my rifle in the fork, and, 

 taking the old lion low, I let fly, hitting him in the 

 shoulder ; the two then wheeled about, and, bounding 

 forward with angry growls, disappeared among the 

 trees. 



From the cool state I was in when I fired, and the 

 steady aim which the forked branch had afforded me, 

 I felt convinced that the lion, if not dead, must be 

 mortally wounded, but I prudently resolved not to pro- 

 ceed in quest of him alone. Presently some of my 

 men, who had gone to the carcass of a buffalo I had 

 slain the pirevious day, returned, bringing the dogs; 

 and, having informed them of what had happened, I 

 proceeded to take up the spoor of the wounded lion. 

 On reaching the spot where the lions had stood, my 

 dogs at once commenced barking angrily and looking 

 sharply around in every direction, their hair bristling 

 on their backs. I at once discovered blood, which in- 

 creased as I proceeded from small red drops to large 

 frothy blotches; and before advancing two hundred 

 yards, on approaching a dense green bush, my dogs, 

 which led the way, sprang suddenly to one side, bark- 

 ing with great vehemence. By this I knew that the 

 lion was dead, and, on cautiously rounding the bush, 

 taking care at the same time to give it a wide berth, I 

 had the satisfacttan to behold a princely lion stretched 

 lifeless on the ground. He was in the prime of life, 

 having fine sharp teeth ; and it being now the dead of 

 winter, he carried the most luxuriant coat of hair, the 



