NIGHT-SHOOTING. 
177 
forward, and stood on the bank close above us, and 
roared most terribly, walking up and down, as if 
meditating some mischief. I now thought it high 
time to make a fire, and quickly collecting some dry 
reeds and little sticks, in half a minute we had a 
cbeerful.blaze. 
“ The lion, which had not yet got our wind, came 
forward at once, to find out what the deuce was up ; 
but, not seeing to his entire satisfaction from the 
top of the bank, he was proceeding to descend by a 
game-path in the river-bed within a few yards of us. 
I happened at the very moment to go to this spot 
to fetch more wood, and being entirely concealed 
from the lion’s view above by the intervening high 
reeds, we actually met face to face. 
“ The first notice I got was his sudden spring to 
one side, accompanied by repeated angry growls, 
whilst I involuntarily made a convulsive spring 
backwards, at the same time giving a fearful shriek, 
such as I never remember uttering before. I fancied 
just as he growled that he was coming upon me; we 
now heaped on more wood, and kept up a very 
strong fire until the day dawned, the lions feasting 
beside us all the time, notwithstanding the remon¬ 
strances of the little native, who, with a true 
Bechuana spirit, lamenting the loss of so much good 
flesh, kept continually shouting and pelting them 
with flaming brands. 
“ The next morning, when it was light, I arose 
and inspected the buffaloes. The three that had 
fallen were fine old cows, and tw r o of them were 
partly consumed by the lions. The ground all 
