Hunting Them By
Day, Moreover, In Such A Dense Wilderness As
Surrounded Us, Was An Exceedingly Tiring And
Really Foolhardy Undertaking.
In a thick jungle
of the kind round Tsavo the hunted animal has
every chance against the hunter, as however
careful the latter may be, a dead twig or something
of the sort is sure to crackle just at the critical
moment and so give the alarm.
Still I never gave
up hope of some day finding their lair, and
accordingly continued to devote all my spare time
to crawling about through the undergrowth.
Many a time when attempting to force my way
through this bewildering tangle I had to be
released by my gun-bearer from the fast clutches
of the "wait-a-bit"; and often with immense
pains I succeeded in tracing the lions to the river
after they had seized a victim, only to lose the
trail from there onwards, owing to the rocky
nature of the ground which they seemed to be
careful to choose in retreating to their den.
At this early stage of the struggle, I am glad
to say, the lions were not always successful in
their efforts to capture a human being for their
nightly meal, and one or two amusing incidents
occurred to relieve the tension from which our
nerves were beginning to suffer. On one occasion
an enterprising bunniah (Indian trader) was riding
along on his donkey late one night, when suddenly
a lion sprang out on him knocking over both
man and beast.
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