Thompson’s description. 
121 
abandons bis covert, and stands at bay in tbe open 
plain. The whole band of hunters then march 
forward together, and fire deliberately one by one. 
If he does not speedily fall, but grows angry, and 
turns upon his enemies, they must stand close to¬ 
gether, and turn their horses rear outward—some 
holding them fast by the bridles, while the others 
kneel to take a steady aim at the lion as he ap¬ 
proaches, sometimes up to the very horses’ heels, 
crouching every now and then, as if to measure the 
distance and strength of his enemies. This is the 
moment to shoot him fairly in the forehead, or some 
other mortal part. If they continue to wound him 
ineffectually, till he waxes furious and desperate, or 
if the horses, startled by his terrific roar, grow 
frantic with terror, and burst loose, the business 
becomes rather serious, and may end in mischief, 
especially if all the party are not men of average 
coolness and experience. The frontier Boers are 
however, generally such excellent marksmen, and 
withal so cool and deliberate, that they seldom fail 
to shoot him dead as soon as they get within a fair 
distance. 
“ In the present instance, we did not manage 
matters quite so scientifically. The Bastards, after 
recounting to us all these and other sage laws of 
lion-hunting, were themselves the first to depart 
from them. Finding that with the few indifferent 
hounds we had made but little impression on the 
enemy, they divided themselves into two or three 
parties, and rode round the jungle, firing into the 
spot where the dogs were barking round him—but 
