SHOOT A LIONESS. 133 



"which had enabled us to distinguish the two animals, 

 which were exactly of the same colour, was due to the 

 lioness tearing at the camel's throat. Mockler fired, and 

 hit the lioness ; I was aiming at the moment, and as the 

 brute moved off without a sound, my bullet went harm- 

 lessly under her belly. Jesse had not distinguished the 

 parts in the confused mass of tawny fur, and, aiming 

 carefully at the lioness, as he thought, found subse- 

 quently that his mark, which he hit, was the unfortunate 

 camel's thigh. The lioness ran up the side of the hiU, 

 under a very heavy fusillade, and fell over dead. The 

 camel had several tooth-marks in the throat, but no 

 large blood-vessel was injured, and, despite lion and 

 bullet, she lived to reach Massowa some days afterwards. 

 The other lions ran off; we followed, and fired several 

 shots, but they had a long start, and we could not hit 

 them. They did not fail to return in the evening, and 

 amuse themselves by roaring close to our camp as usual. 



This was a good instance of the insolence which lions 

 show. They are certainly bolder animals than tigers, 

 but all the wild animals in Abyssinia appeared to me 

 to fear man less than they do in India. The only 

 exception is amongst the antelopes, which are at least 

 as timid in Africa as in Hindostan. 



On the following day we marched down the Lebka to 

 Ain. The floods which had descended had changed the 

 little watercourse greatly, but away from its banks aU 

 was parched and arid. There were far fewer birds ; 

 many appeared to have migrated to greener regions. 



On the 1 7th August we started in the afternoon for 



