THE WHITE-EARED COB 
175 
no stampede ensued, nor (so far as we could see) was 
there any sign of alarm or even of recognition. When 
first seen, these lions would be from 400 to 500 yards 
distant—beyond all reasonable range, yet still offering 
a bare off-chance. For the second time in my life with 
lions (see On Safari , p. 246), I was so intent on watching 
an entrancing scene that the rifle was forgotten. 
I have not thought it necessary to add further 
particulars from a purely sporting point of view, because 
I have always found the white-eared cob fairly easy of 
access. This, however, may not be a universal rule, and 
other sportsmen have expressed an opposite opinion. It 
is, I think, largely a question of locality. There are 
certain well-known resorts where the “ teel” have been 
heavily hunted, and there they are probably wild enough. 
We studiously avoided these oft-exploited points, despite 
the entreaties of our men, who love best the beaten track. 
At the spots where these notes were gathered together, I 
conceive it quite possible that no white man had hunted 
before. It must be borne in mind that the game-country 
of White Nile covers hundreds of miles (on both banks), 
and that a landing -— except at the well-known spots 
referred to—usually presents very considerable difficulties. 
These may prove absolutely insuperable; yet the effort is 
always worth making, since success spells nothing less 
than gaining a hunter’s paradise, stocked with unsophisti¬ 
cated game intact in all their native grace and beauty. 
It is not that I fear tackling the wildest of wild game— 
and being beaten ; but I love yet more to wander around 
amidst Nature’s pristine conditions, where the wild 
beasts—never having heard the report of a rifle—allow 
one to study them at leisure, and to select, with discrim¬ 
ination, such specimens as may be required. 
Though the evidence is obviously incomplete (owing 
to circumstances beyond my control—that is, the War), I 
will venture to insert this provisional diagnosis :■—(1) That 
northern individuals of the white-eared cob—while in no 
