Accordingly I Struck Off To My Left, And Continuing Straight
Forward For Some Hundred Yards, I Again Struck Into The Thick Jungle And
Came Round To The Wind.
Success depended on extreme caution; therefore I
advised my three men to keep close behind me with the spare rifles, as I
carried my single-barrelled Beattie.
This rifle was extremely accurate,
therefore I had chosen it for this close work, when I expected to get a
shot at the eye or forehead of a lion crouching in the bush.
Softly and with difficulty I crept forward, followed closely by my men,
through the high withered grass, beneath the dense green nabbuk bushes,
peering through the thick covert, with the nerves braced up to full
pitch, and the finger on the trigger ready for any emergency. We had
thus advanced for about half an hour, during which I frequently applied
my nose to within a foot of the ground to catch the scent, when a sudden
puff of wind brought the unmistakable smell of decomposing flesh. For
the moment I halted, and, looking round to my men, I made a sign that we
were near to the carcass, and that they were to be ready with the
rifles. Again I crept gently forward, bending and sometimes crawling
beneath the thorns to avoid the slightest noise. As I approached the
scent became stronger, until I at length felt that I must be close to
the cause.
This was highly exciting. Fully prepared for a quick shot, I stealthily
crept on. A tremendous roar in the dense thorns within a few feet of me
suddenly brought my rifle to the shoulder. Almost in the same instant I
observed the three-quarter figure of either a lion or a lioness within
three yards of me, on the other side of the bush under which I had been
creeping. The foliage concealed the head, but I could almost have
touched the shoulder with my rifle. Much depended upon the bullet, and I
fired exactly through the shoulder. Another tremendous roar! and a crash
in the bushes as the animal made a bound forward was succeeded
immediately by a similar roar, as another lion took the exact position
of the last, and stood wondering at the report of the rifle, and seeking
for the cause of the intrusion. This was a grand lion with a shaggy
mane; but my rifle was unloaded, and, keeping my eyes fixed on the
beast, I stretched my hand back for a spare rifle. The lion remained
standing, but gazing up wind with his head raised, snuffing in the air
for a scent of the enemy. No rifle was put in my hand. I looked back for
an instant, and saw my Tokrooris faltering about five yards behind me. I
looked daggers at them, gnashing my teeth and shaking my fist. They saw
the lion, and Taher Noor snatching a rifle from Hadji Ali was just about
to bring it; when Hassan, ashamed, ran forward. The lion disappeared at
the same moment. Never was such a fine chance lost through the
indecision of the gun bearers! I made a vow never to carry a
single-barrelled rifle again when hunting large game. If I had had my
dear little Fletcher 24 1 should have nailed the lion to a certainty.
However, there was not much time for reflection. Where was the first
lion? Some remains of the buffalo lay upon my right, and I expected to
find the lion most probably crouching in the thorns somewhere near us.
Having reloaded, I took one of my Reilly No. 10 rifles and listened
attentively for a sound. Presently I heard within a few yards a low
growl. Taher Noor drew his sword and, with his shield before him, he
searched for the lion, while I crept forward toward the sound, which was
again repeated. A low roar, accompanied by a rush in the jungle, showed
us a glimpse of the lion as he bounded off within ten or twelve yards;
but I had no chance to fire. Again the low growl was repeated, and upon
quietly creeping toward the spot I saw a splendid animal crouched upon
the ground amid the withered and broken grass. The lioness lay dying
with the bullet wound in the shoulder. Occasionally in her rage she bit
her own paw violently, and then struck and clawed the ground. A pool of
blood lay by her side. She was about ten yards from us, and I instructed
my men to throw a clod of earth at her (there were no stones), to prove
whether she could rise, while I stood ready with the rifle. She merely
replied with a dull roar, and I terminated her misery by a ball through
the head. She was a beautiful animal. The patch of the bullet was
sticking in the wound. She was shot through both shoulders, and as we
were not far from the tent I determined to have her brought to camp upon
a camel as an offering to my wife. Accordingly I left my Tokrooris,
while I went with Taher Noor to fetch a camel.
On our road through the thick jungle I was startled by a rush close to
me. For the moment I thought it was a lion, but almost at the same
instant I saw a fine nellut dashing away before me, and I killed it
immediately with a bullet through the back of the neck. This was great
luck, and we now required two camels, as in two shots I had killed a
lioness and a nellut (A. Strepsiceros).
We remained for some time at our delightful camp at Delladilla. Every
day, from sunrise to sunset, I was either on foot or in the saddle,
without rest, except upon Sundays. As our camp was full of meat, either
dried or in the process of drying in festoons upon the trees, we had
been a great attraction to the beasts of prey, which constantly prowled
around our thorn fence during the night.
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