March, 1922 
FOREST AND STREAM 
137 
my friends, moving at a more dignified 
pace than the natives, arrived after the 
I song and dance w'ere over; I felt much 
I less embarrassed. 
, Sulimani was very apologetic for 
I shooting. A gunbearer’s duty is to be 
always at his master’s elbow in the field, 
to be ready with fresh cartridges the 
instant the spent ones are ejected, to 
hand up the heavy rifle when dangerous 
game is afoot, to stand unperturbed be- 
hind his master when the latter is 
charged and perhaps misses, and to shoot 
1 only when it is absolutely necessary in 
I order to save his employer’s life. Both 
I Sulimani and I were fully aware of the 
nature of a gunbearer’s duties and I did 
I not appreciate more holes in my lion’s 
skin than were strictly necessary, but I 
could not bring myself to reproach him. 
I began to wonder whether I could do 
any better myself, or indeed, one half so 
well, if our jobs were reversed, as these 
three followers of mine. The tracker 
was only armed with a spear, Sulimani 
had my light rifle, which he was not sup- 
posed to use, and the second bearer that 
day had nothing in the nature of a 
weapon at all, the heavy gun having been 
left behind, as we were not expecting 
, anything very big. All the latter did 
after I wounded the lioness was to 
quietly draw Sulimani’s long knife from 
its sheath and calmly carry on, although 
it was still on the cards that the lioness 
might pull herself together sufficiently 
to give us an exceedingly unpleasant 
time. All three natives had seen me on 
occasion do some mighty bad shooting 
and for all they knew I might fail them 
I at a pinch, yet they followed me without 
the slightest hesitation and even ran 
ahead to show me the lioness’s last lurk- 
ing place, though as careful as ever not 
to get in my w'ay while I fired the last 
shot. And only a little broader grin 
than usual when it was all over to show 
that there had been anything at all out 
of the way ! 
' If I had been in Sulimani’s place, noth- 
ing on earth would have prevented me 
in the circumstances from using the 
weapon in my hands, and I did not feel 
that it Avas an occasion for reproof. I 
felt much more inclined to take my hat 
off to the three of them, and if I had 
another opportunity I would unhesitat- 
ingly employ them again. Never pre- 
suming, and always keen on finding game 
under arduous conditions of heat, wet 
and long marches, I somehow felt that 
men of their qualities were perhaps not 
' so low in the scale of humanity as we 
j white men have placed them, or that if 
they were, perhaps it is not worth while 
for us to be quite so high up. 
I was glad that I had been able to 
; shoot my one lion on foot, although as 
1 I have indicated, I did, in desperation, 
I spend two unavailing nights in a tree 
waiting' for lions that rvould not come. 
It seems to me that when one sets out 
to kill lions for one’s amusement, that it 
is only fair to play the game on as even 
terms as are consistent with the supposi- 
tion that one is worth rather more in 
this w'orld than a lion, and the posses- 
sion of a rifle gives one just the neces- 
sary advantage. I have nothing to say. 
Social Life 
in Nassau 
T hree days’ sail on a big modern Ward Line 
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seas or take in the races at Marianao. Well-ap- 
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l\(assau'^JyIexico 
There is no prettier spot in the Americas than 
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social life. Boating, bathing, tennis, golf and 
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WARD LINE 
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