216 
THROUGH SOMALILAND AND ABYSSINIA chap. 
falling asleep, we again heard him roar louder, and, as it seemed, 
at the spot where we had left the beisa-meat the evening before. 
He was heard again during the night ; and so when I was 
awakened by the intense cold which precedes the dawn I roused 
Suleiman the cook, and after swallowing a cup of hot coffee, 
prepared for a lion-hunt. I told Adan Yusuf to take charge 
of the caravan and march about ten miles, and that we would, 
after the hunt, pick up the tracks of the camels ; and he was 
to have the tent pitched and dinner ready at the noon camp 
awaiting my arrival. 
As the sun rose I took a trotting camel, the mule, Daura 
Warsama, Abokr, the two hunters Geli and Hassan, and a 
Malingur guide, with blankets, water-bottles, and dried meat ; 
and we made straight for the spot where we had left the dead 
beisa, knowing that we should find fresh lion-tracks round the 
body. There was no beisa, but looking on the ground we 
saw last night’s story : a heap of half-digested grass and stains 
of blood all over the ground showed where the lion had cleaned 
the carcase, and the trail where he had dragged it away led to 
the north-east over smooth red earth ; and we easily followed 
it, dotted as it was occasionally by the broad pugs of the lion. 
After we had gone a mile we came to a glade of yellow 
grass about three feet high, in the centre of which, a quarter of 
a mile broad, were three or four low, flat Jchansa mimbsas 
growing close together. Three foxes ran out from these, going 
off at different angles, and looking beyond the bushes we saw 
the lion dragging the carcase slowly over the ground, and 
keeping the bushes between himself and us. He looked grayish 
black, and I could see over the top of the grass that he had 
a fine mane. The distance was about one hundred and twenty 
yards, and as I thought he had winded us, and there was no 
time to be lost, I sat down, and holding the rifle, rested my 
elbows on my knees to fire. But I could see nothing over the 
bushes, so I again rose to my feet, and seeing he was still 
holding on into the open, pulling along the carcase, I walked up 
closer, keeping under cover of the bushes, and then sat down 
again, holding the sights of the rifle fixed on a gap in the 
bushes where I expected to see his dark mane and head appear. 
He duly walked on, and his body was in full view in the gap 
when I fired. The bullet told loudly, and answering it with a 
short and rather dismal roar, he bounded away at a good pace, 
dropping the carcase of the beisa ; crossing the grass he rushed 
