330 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA VS 
CHAP. 
isolated clump, surrounded by narrow glades of 
sandy turf. From this asylum I felt sure it could 
not move, and although it would have been more 
heroic to have crept into the dark cover and have 
given it a quietus, or more probably to have re¬ 
ceived it myself, we came to the wise conclusion 
that if the lion could not move, it would be there 
on the following morning, when we should have 
daylight in our favour. 
We returned to camp, and the night passed 
without disturbance. Directly after sunrise we 
returned to the spot, and we found the lion still 
alive, although completely paralysed in the hinder 
portions. A shot in the centre of the forehead 
terminated the affair, and the joint efforts of ten 
men succeeded after great exertion in sliding the 
carcase upon three inclined poles from the ground 
to the saddle, while the camel was kneeling in a 
slight hollow, which the people had scraped away 
for the purpose. 
I had no means of weighing this animal, but it 
was immensely massive, and would according to 
my estimation have exceeded 500 lbs. 
The accounts published respecting the character 
of lions differ to such a degree that incidents which 
are considered natural in one portion of Africa may 
be regarded as incredible in other districts ; there 
can be little doubt that the character of the animal 
is influenced by the conditions of its surroundings, 
which renders it extremely difficult to write a 
comprehensive account, that will embrace the entire 
