156 
AFRICAN HUNTING. 
round me of lions, hyenas, and jackals, mingled with 
the snorting and stamping of wildebeests, barking of 
quaggas, and the occasional rushing away of spring¬ 
buck or blesbuck into the darkness, as they came 
noiselessly towards the water, and first got our wind. 
Expecting lions every moment, I put my handker¬ 
chief round the lock of my gun, to keep it as dry as 
possible, and prevent its missing fire, as everything 
was reeking wet, and sat cross-legged, almost be¬ 
tween Adrian’s fore legs, as I made sure they would 
attack him, being proverbially fond of horse-flesh. 
After being in this frightful state of suspense an hour 
at least, with their low subdued growls on all sides, 
as they kept moving round, they left me, Hopeful 
now and then giving vent to a low savage growl; but 
I kept him near me, as there was a sense of protec¬ 
tion in even an animal; and his time and attention 
were devoted and fully occupied in licking carefully 
two holes in his chest, just previously made by a 
wild boar, who carried him bodily away on the 
points of his tusks, full fourteen yards. I shot it in 
the breast, and it fell on its knees. Hopeful rushed 
in at it, when it jumped up, prodded him, and carried 
him away this distance, when it fell over dead, most 
probably shot through the heart. 
I suffered dreadfully from cold, and was getting 
worse. I at last hit upon the following device : I 
made loose my stirrup-leathers, put one round Hope¬ 
ful’s loins, and buckled it loosely above my knees ; 
then put the other behind his shoulder, between 
