LION HUNT 
119 
on to the ambushed lions, who spring on the game as it 
passes. 
On one occasion while hunting I had managed to slay a lean 
old rhinoceros cow at the end of a land arm projecting into the 
reeds of the river, and in the hope of surprising lions feeding on 
the carcass I started early next morning ahead of the expedition 
for the spot, arriving there shortly after sunrise. On going 
cautiously to the neck of the arm of land, bounded by reeds on 
each side, at the end of which the rhinoceros lay, and eagerly 
looking round the clump of bushes I had selected as cover, I saw 
first a grey-throated old lioness standing on top of the carcase, 
with her head in the air, apparently suspicious that all was not 
right. Then as she saw me, and growling jumped down behind 
the carcass, the backs and tails of several others appeared for a 
moment. And now with every sense alert to catch them 
passing out of this cul-de-sac, I soon realised by the splashing 
of numerous feet in the swampy reeds, as the lions made for the 
mainland, that a large troop of these beasts had spent the night 
feeding on the rhinoceros. 
Several attempted to come out on my side, but retreated, 
probably scenting me. Sure that they now would all pass on 
the opposite side only eighty yards off, I determined to have the 
pick of the crowd if only they would show themselves. Occa¬ 
sionally a dun-coloured ‘ something ’ shook the reeds while glid¬ 
ing past opposite, just affording a glimpse of its presence, but 
not enough to shoot at with accuracy, and I was beginning to 
despair of getting a shot, when a large black-maned male lion, 
apparently intent upon showing his fearlessness, came stalking 
along at the edge of the reeds. I fired for the middle of his 
neck, just where the vertebrae leave the shoulder ; a deadly shot 
if successful. But whether the bullet was diverted from its 
course by a bit of grass, or whether the lion jumped forward as I 
pulled, is a mystery to me. All I know is that I was perfectly 
cool and held straight. Whichever way it came to pass, the 
bullet struck the lion in the loins, fracturing the backbone and 
completely paralysing his hind-legs. For a moment it seemed 
