BATTLE WITH A LION. 
127 
account. He conjectured, however, that she was 
so exhausted by the severe chase that, when about 
to make her last bound, which might not im¬ 
probably have proved fatal, her strength utterly 
failed her. 
“ Returning one afternoon with Maphooh,” says 
Harris, (than whom no man more frequently at¬ 
tacked when alone the lord of the Indian and African 
wdlds,) sc to a koodoo that I had shot, in order to 
take up the head, which I had concealed in a bush, 
I was surprised to find an enormous lion feasting 
upon the carcass ; an odious assemblage of eager 
vultures, as usual, garrisoned the trees, wait¬ 
ing their turn when the gorged monarch should 
make way for them. Immediately upon my appear¬ 
ance he walked heavily off, expressing, by a stifled 
growl, his displeasure at being thus unceremoniously 
disturbed at dinner. It was not destined, however, 
that our acquaintance should cease here; for, 
passing the scene of this introductory interview 
the following morning, Richardson and myself 
were suddenly made aware of the monster’s 
presence by perceiving a pair of gooseberry eyes 
glaring upon us from beneath a shady bush ; and 
instantly upon reining up our horses, the grim 
savage bolted out with a roar like thunder, and 
bounded across the plain with the agility of a grey¬ 
hound. The luxuriant beauty of his shaggy black 
mane, which almost swept the ground, tempted us, 
contrary to established rule, to give him battle, 
with the design of obtaining possession of his 
spoils; and he ‘no sooner felt himself hotly pur¬ 
sued than he faced about, and stood at bay in a 
