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. One night in particular a lion
attempted to enter, but had been repulsed by the Tokrooris, who pelted
him with firebrands. My people woke me up and begged me to shoot him;
but as it was perfectly impossible to fire correctly through the hedge
of thorns, I refused to be disturbed, but promised to hunt for him on
the following day.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 73 of 175
Words from 37285 to 37801
of 90207
