VIII 
JOURNEY TO WEB BE SNA BE BEET RIVER 
221 
us to a small ravine, where, on examining the sand, we found 
what had been poor Daura’s fate. While he had been quietly 
riding along at a walk across the ravine a lioness had rushed 
upon the mule, which, shying, had thrown Daura upon the 
ground and galloped away. The lioness had sprung upon 
Daura, and after a struggle, as was shown by the state of 
the sand, killed him ; his stick, broken in three places, still 
lay on the scene of the fight. The lioness had then dragged 
him away into the jungle, up a slope covered with thick khansa 
bushes ; and following at a run, w T e saw pieces of red-bordered 
waist-cloth we knew to be Daura’s hanging to the thorn-bushes ; 
later bn the piece of leather, enclosing a verse of the Koran, 
which he had worn round his neck, and the pouch, with a jag 
and piece of oiled rag, with which he had been accustomed 
to clean his rifle, and which he always carried, attached to an 
old luggage-strap, round his waist. On coming to some large 
and dense khansa bushes a little ahead of the men, I at last 
found Daura’s body. Every vestige of clothing had been torn 
off by the bushes. There were tw T enty holes in his throat from 
the teeth of the lioness, and his right leg had been bitten off 
at the hip, leaving a foot of the thigh-bone protruding. His 
hands and cheeks were also bitten through, showing that he 
had fought for his life ; and it seemed hard luck that he of all 
my men had been caught thus unarmed, for he was the best 
shot in the party, and would have been well able to defend 
himself if he had only carried the Martini-Henry which was 
usually in his possession. The lioness had disappeared ; so 
wrapping Daura’s body in a waterproof sheet, and roping it 
up on to a camel, I started the men off for camp, and cantered 
on ahead on the mule to give orders for a grave to be dug. I 
had first asked my men to help follow^ the lioness up, but they 
insisted that Daura must first be buried. 
As I reined up in camp the camelmen came to me smiling to 
say “ Salaam aleikumj expecting to hear that I had bagged a 
lion, which had made me late. Passing those in front I rode 
into the zeriba quietly and said, “ Daura is dead.” A curious 
change came over all the men, who stood about awkwardly, not 
knowing where to look ; and when I told off men for the bury- 
ing party, and another party to follow the lioness with me, the 
men moved about dreamily as if not understanding the calamity 
which had fallen upon them. Some one said, “Not Daura? 
Not our Daura?” and they only realised what had happened 
