87 
The weather being cold, we resolved to 
sleep close to one another ; but the guides 
told us the place we had fixed upon to 
rest during the night was known to be 
infested with leopards, and that, if they 
scented the party, nothing could prevent 
them from destroying some of us. This 
intelligence induced us to enlarge our fires, 
and we began to consult upon other mea- 
sures, that were likely to contribute also to 
our preservation. But such is the powerful 
influence of sleep over the harassed soul, 
that our conversation had scarcely com- 
menced on this important subject, when 
we were all relieved from any sense of 
danger, by gently falling into the arms of 
Morpheus, and where we remained in per- 
fect security until the morning. 
No sooner had the sun peeped above the 
horizon than we were all roused by the 
tremendous roaring of lions. Never were 
men in a situation more truly alarming. 
Had they discovered us during the night, 
we must have been torn to pieces when 
sleeping, as not an individual could attend 
the watch, or keep awake even for an hour. 
We therefore congratulated one another 
