There
They Both Stood, Growling Viciously And Lashing
Their Tails, For What Appeared To Me To Be A
Succession Of Ages.
The lioness then made up
her mind to go back to the lion, and they both
stood broadside on, with their heads close together
and turned towards us, snarling in a most
aggressive manner.
Had either of us moved hand or foot
just then, it would, I am convinced, have at once
brought on another and probably a fatal charge.
As the two great brutes stood in this position
looking at us, I had, of course, a grand opportunity
of dropping both, but I confess I did not feel
equal to it at the moment. I could only devoutly
hope that they would not renew their attack,
and was only too thankful to let them depart
in peace if they would, without any further
hostility on my part. Just at this juncture
the lion seemed to grow suddenly very weak.
He staggered some ten yards back towards his
lair, and then fell to the ground; the lioness
followed, and lay down beside him - both still
watching us, and growling savagely. After a few
seconds the lion struggled to his feet again and
retreated a little further, the lioness accompanying
him until he fell once more. A third time the
same thing took place, and at last I began to
breathe more freely, as they had now reached
the thicket from which they had originally
emerged. Accordingly I took a shot at the
lioness as she lay beside her mate, partly concealed
in the long grass. I do not think I hit her, but
anyhow she at once made off and bounded away
at a great rate on emerging into the open.
I sent a few bullets after her to speed her on
her way, and then cautiously approached the
wounded lion. He was stretched out at full
length on his side, with his back towards me,
but I could see by the heaving of his flanks that
he was not yet dead, so I put a bullet through
his spine. He never moved after this; but for
safety's sake, I made no attempt to go up to him
for a few minutes, and then only after Mahina had
planted a few stones on his body just to make
sure that he was really dead.
We both felt very pleased with ourselves as
we stood over him and looked at his fine head,
great paws, and long, clean, sharp tusks. He
was a young, but full-grown lion in fine condition,
and measured nine feet eight and a half inches
from tip of nose to tip of tail. My last shot had
entered the spine close to the shoulder, and had
lodged in the body; the first shot was a miss;
as I have already said; but the second had
caught him on the forehead, right between the
eyes. The bullet, however, instead of traversing
the brain, had been turned downwards by the
frontal bone, through which it crashed, finally
lodging in the root of the tongue, the lead
showing on both sides.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 78 of 130
Words from 40817 to 41339
of 68125
