A LION HUNT. 219 



heap, as they say; but quickly slinking off, he 

 backed out of the scrape. On a shot being fired at 

 the spot, up she bounced with a sharp, angry roar, 

 and at first came towards us, bounding through the 

 high grass with a few short, hollow grunts ; as if 

 quailing at our formidable numbers, was wheeling to 

 our right, when a volley laid her low, and after she 

 fell, some shameful dropping shots from the armed 

 servants tore the grass about her, and cut the skin 

 off her back. 



" Those who had fired re-loaded, and we hastily 

 mounted to push on for her mate. We had the 

 advantage of the height, about five-and-twenty paces 

 above the clump of reeds, when he started up, and 

 wheeled away across us with the same appearance of 

 adopting second thoughts ; three or four shots were 

 fired, and he fell head over heels into a sunken pool 

 of water, heavily struck in the body. He swam 

 across to the side next us, and as we descended we 

 saw his head and bristling mane, and glaring eyes 

 protruding through the screen of reeds, as the 

 wounded, but undaunted creature clung to the bank, 

 struggling to drag himself up and charge. A few 

 shots in the head put him out of pain, and he fell 

 back. When we looked over the edge, he lay quite 

 dead, and almost under water ; so having found a 

 place where the bank shelved to the bottom, two of 

 the party stripped, and plunged in, and one taking 

 him by the head, the other by the tail, they swam 



