94 
ALARM OCCASIONED BY A LION. 
tion to the horsemen, with such precipitation, that they over- 
threw one another ; my post was certainly not the most 
desirable, however I thoug-ht it my duty not to quit it ; my 
arms were loaded, and I ^prepared for defence, in case of a 
sudden attack. I confess that from a certain impulse of fear, 
I looked every now and then to see if the formidable animal 
was not advancing towards us, as he followed us for a quarter 
of an hour. The most courageous, when they hear such an 
enemy only a hundred paces distant, may I think be forgiven 
if they mistake bushes for lions. I was, moreover, by no means 
disposed to give credit to the assertion of the Negroes, who 
pretend, that the lion will not attack a man in the woods. 
After the unexpected appearance of this beast, we marched 
with extraordinary speed ; those who before were inclined to 
lag behind, had recovered sufficient strength and agility to 
keep up with the main body of the caravan ; we only stopped 
every six miles, half an hour each time. We then kindled 
fires ; there was no want of wood, we tore up whole bushes 
and threw them on the fire. Our beasts meanwhile were 
fastened to a tree. At our last halt, after having taken our 
frugal supper, consisting of a few handfuls of couscous, the 
Negroes, seeing what poor meals I made, frequently brought 
me some of their small loaves of millet flour, others a little 
honey, and all of them assembled near my fire, to keep it up 
whilst 1 slept. 
A fire is an indispensable necessary in Africa during the 
