334 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA VS 
CHAP. 
hurry, the bullet stuck in the barrel and I could 
not drive it home. 
In this perplexity, to my astonishment my Arab 
hunter advanced towards the wounded lion, with 
his drawn sword grasped firmly in his right hand, 
while his left held his projected shield, and thus 
unsupported and alone, this determined fellow 
marched slowly forward until within a few yards 
of the lion, which, instead of rushing to attack, 
crept like a coward into impenetrable thorns, and 
was seen no more. The Arab subsequently ex¬ 
plained that he had acted in this manner, hoping 
that the lion would have crouched preparatory to 
a spring ; he would then have halted, and the delay 
would have given me time to load. 
I have before remarked upon the extreme danger 
of despising an adversary, and although I do not 
consider the lion to be so formidable or ferocious 
as the tiger, that is no reason for despising an 
animal which has always been respected from 
remote antiquity to the present day. It is im¬ 
possible to be too careful when in pursuit of 
dangerous game. My friend Colonel Knox of 
the Scots Fusilier Guards, an experienced and 
fearless sportsman, very nearly lost his life in an 
encounter with a lioness, although under the cir¬ 
cumstances he could hardly be blamed for want 
of due precaution. He had shot the animal, which 
was lying stretched out, as though dead. Being 
alone, he returned to camp to procure the necessary 
people, and together with these he went to the spot, 
