IX 
THE LION 
323 
head of that bull buffalo in the narrow limits of the 
lion's den, but it hangs upon my walls now as a 
trophy that might be won from a lion, but never 
could have been wrested in the same manner from 
a tiger. 
Upon another occasion I crept in a similar manner 
into one of their dark tunnels, and shot the lion 
within a distance of four paces, but I never recovered 
the body, as the animal bounded into the dense 
thorny substance, which it was impossible for any 
human being to penetrate. The Hamran Arabs 
persuaded me to discontinue this kind of exploration, 
and my Tokrooris having taken the same view of 
the performance, I gave up the practice, as I did not 
succeed in actually bagging a lion by the attempt. 
In the locality which I have mentioned, the 
lions, although numerous, were never regarded as 
dangerous unless attacked; there was an abundance 
of game, therefore the carnivora were plentifully 
supplied, and a large area of country being entirely 
uninhabited, the lions were unaccustomed to the 
sight of human beings, and held them in respect. 
During the night we took the precaution to light 
extensive bonfires within our camp, which was well 
protected by a circular fence of impenetrable thorns, 
but we were never threatened by wild animals 
except upon one occasion. 
I was strolling in search of food, with a particular 
two-grooved single rifle No. 14 which was extremely 
accurate. Having shot a nellut [A. Sirepsiceros), the 
animal was fixed upon a camel and immediately 
