320 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
but the ox would struggle violently, and in this 
struggle it would most probably burst through the 
fence, and subsequently be dragged away by the 
lion, in a similar manner to the custom already de¬ 
scribed of tigers. It is quite a mistake to suppose 
that a lion can carry a full-grown ox ; it will partially 
lift the fore-quarters, and drag the carcase along the 
ground. 
Upon one occasion I was strolling through the 
forest on the margin of the Settite river in Abyssinia, 
and I suddenly met a large bull buffalo which was 
exactly facing me, having probably obtained my 
wind beforehand. It was not more than 20 yards 
distant, and it threw up its wicked head with the 
nose pointed directly at me, in the well-known 
fashion which makes a shot at the forehead utterly 
impossible. Knowing that my double-barrelled 
No. 10 with 7 drams of powder would have 
sufficient penetration, I aimed exactly at the nostril, 
then fully dilated by the excitement of the animal, 
and fired. The shot was instantly fatal, as the hard 
bullet of quicksilver and lead not only passed 
through the brain, having entered at the nose, but it 
penetrated far into the neck and cavity of the chest. 
This was a very large beast, and knowing that 
the dense covert of nabbuk i^Rhamnus Lotus) close 
by was a great resort of lions, I determined to leave 
the carcase for the night in the spot where it was 
then lying. 
On the following morning I revisited the place 
with two of my excellent Tokrooris; we found 
