LION HUNTING ON THE KAPITI PLAINS 79 
the yellow-brown grass was a lion; and then I found such 
difficulty in getting a bead on him that I overshot. How¬ 
ever, the bullet must have passed very close—indeed, 
I think it just grazed him—for he jumped up and faced us, 
growling savagely. Then, his head lowered, he threw his 
tail straight into the air and began to charge. The first 
few steps he took at a trot, and before he could start into a 
gallop I put the soft-nosed Winchester bullet in between the 
neck and shoulder. Down he went with a roar; the wound 
was fatal, but I was taking no chances, and I put two more 
bullets in him. Then we walked toward where Hill had 
already seen another lion—the lioness, as it proved. Again 
he had some difficulty in making me see her; but he suc¬ 
ceeded and I walked toward her through the long grass, 
repressing the zeal of my two gun-bearers, who were stanch, 
but who showed a tendency to walk a little ahead of me 
on each side, instead of a little behind. I walked toward 
her because I could not kneel to shoot in grass so tall; and 
when shooting off-hand I like to be fairly close, so as to be 
sure that my bullets go in the right place. At sixty yards I 
could make her out clearly, snarling at me as she faced me; 
and I shot her full in the chest. She at once performed a 
series of extraordinary antics, tumbling about on her head, 
just as if she were throwing somersaults, first to one side 
and then to the other. I fired again, but managed to shoot 
between the somersaults, so to speak, and missed her. 
The shot seemed to bring her to herself, and away she tore; 
but instead of charging us she charged the line of beaters. 
She was dying fast, however, and in her weakness failed 
to catch any one; and she sank down into the long grass. 
Hill and I advanced to look her up, our rifles at full cock. 
