rifle upon full cock, and I saw a magnificent lion
standing- in the middle of the glade, about ten yards
from me : he had been lying on the ground, and had
started to his feet upon hearing me approach through
the jungle. For an instant he stood in an attitude
of attention, as we were hardly visible; but at the
same moment I took a quick but sure shot with
the little Fletcher. He gave a convulsive bound,
but rolled over backwards : before he could recover
himself, I fired the left-hand barrel. It was a glorious
sight. I had advanced a few steps into the glade, and
Hassan had quickly handed me a spare rifle, while
Taher Noor stood by me sword in hand. The lion
in the greatest fury, with his shaggy mane bristled
in the air, roared with death-like growls, as ^penmouthed
he endeavoured to charge upon us; but he
dragged his hind-quarters upon the ground, and I
saw immediatelv that the little «/ Fletcher had broken his spine. In his tremendous exertions to attack,
he rolled over and over, gnashing his horrible jaws,
and tearing holes in the sandy ground at each blow
of his tremendous paws that would have crushed
a man's skull like an egg-shell. Seeing that he was
hors de combat, I took it coolly, as it was already
dusk, and the lion having rolled into a dark and
thick bush, I thought it would be advisable to defer
the final attack, as he would be dead before morning.
We were not ten minutes’ walk from the camp, at
which we quickly arrived, and my men greatly
rejoiced at the discomfiture of their enemy, as they
were convinced that he was the same lion that had
attempted to enter the zareeba.
On the following morning, before sunrise, I started
with1 nearly all my people and a powerful camel, with
the intention of bringing the lion home entire. I rode
my horse Tetel, who had frequently shown great
courage, and I wished to prove whether he would
advance to the body of a lion.
Upon arrival near the spot which we supposed to
have been the scene of the encounter, we were rather
puzzled, as there was nothing to distinguish the
locality; one place exactly resembled another, as
the country was flat and sandy, interspersed with
thick jungle of green nabbuk ; we accordingly spread
out to beat for the lion. Presently Hadji Ali cried
out : “ There he lies, dead ! ” and I immediately rode
to the spot, together with the people. A tremendous
roar greeted us, as the lion started to his fore-feet,
and with his beautiful mane erect,' and his great
hazel eyes flashing fire, he gave a succession of deep
short roars, and challenged us to fight. This was
a grand picture; he looked like a true lord of the
forest, but I pitied the poor brute, as he was helpless,
and although the spirit was game to the last, his
strength was paralysed by a broken back.
It was a glorious opportunity for the horse. At
the first unexpected roar, the camel had bolted with
its rider; the horse had for a moment started on one
side, and the men had scattered; but in an instant I
had reined Tetel up, and I now rode straight towards