X 
JOURNEY TO WEB BE SHABELEH RIVER 
261 
dawn, the people whom I sent out from camp failed to find his 
tracks. 
On the 9 th we moved the camp to a karia a few miles to 
the north-west, where lions were reported to be common. I sat 
all night in the top of a tree over a heifer tethered below, to no 
purpose. Next morning we came upon tracks of two lionesses 
and three cubs ; but we only found them at 8 a.m., and the 
enormous flocks and herds of the Rer Ali had wandered about 
the jungle in every direction, and almost entirely obliterated the 
signs, so we gave it up and moved camp back to the Aw4re pan. 
In the evening news of lions came from two opposite directions, 
south-west and north-east. I sent several horsemen out to 
verify the first, and despatched Hassan five miles to the north- 
east to the carcase of a camel which had been struck down by 
the lions, with orders to sit in a tree all night, and keep hyaenas 
from the carcase by throwing stones at it. He had seen a lioness 
bound away as he came to the spot at sunset, and sitting in 
a galol tree waiting for the brute’s return, spent a miserable 
night, for it rained heavily, and became so dark that a mob of 
hyaenas dragged away the meat in spite of his stoning. In the 
morning, because of this rain, Hassan failed to find any tracks ; 
so he returned to my camp, aching all over, for a rotten and twisted 
galol tree covered with large black ants is not a comfortable 
perch on a cold night. The horsemen whom I sent to the south- 
west reported the lion news to be a hoax of the karia people 
there, concocted in the hope of obtaining bakshish. During the 
day I received a visit from some Rer Ali headmen and minstrels, 
who serenaded me on foot while I was trying to get a little 
sleep at noon. 
On the 12 th I sent out horsemen to collect news of lions 
from the karias, and to make wide circles in the jungle in quest 
of tracks ; they found those of a family of lionesses and partly- 
grown lions, there being seven in all ; so at night we tied up a 
donkey three miles from camp. I was prevented from sitting 
up over the bait by heavy rain coming on towards evening, so 
remained in camp. Next morning we found the donkey killed 
and eaten by lions. Coming up in the half light of early dawn, 
and stooping under the bushes, I saw several hyaenas, and 
among them a lioness, stealing away. The range was nearly 
two hundred yards, but I fired and missed. I followed at best 
pace, and after twenty minutes’ tracking saw her head for a 
moment looking over a tuft of grass, as she crouched thirty 
