supernatural. The circular sides of the interior cast
no shadow, so that the bottom of the hollow stood
out in all the perfection of its form. In the centre
of the hollow gleamed, white and startling, the
deposit of sulphate of magnesium.
Owing to the depth of the crater, and the bright
moonlight, we were unable to distinguish the fires,
which we knew would be burning if natives were
encamped there. Such is the distance of the crater
from the last village of the Embe on the Jombeni
range, that the natives visiting this spot are forced to
spend the night in its hollow bottom. Not only do
the natives imagine this crater to be inhabited by
spirits of the most dreadful type, but long and painful
experience had taught them that the spot we had
chosen for our camp, namely, the outer side, of the
crater, near the entrance, was infested with lions. For
that reason they invariably passed the night at the
bottom of the crater, where, for the purpose of safety,
they had build a strong thorn zeriba.
Upon reaching the edge of the crater, I sent Karscho,
my gun-bearer, with all the men (except those who had
remained behind with the two sufferers from thirst, and
my two tent-boys) to the bottom, to get water. I told
them to advance as noiselessly as possible, and procurfc
their water, without arousing the natives, should they
find any there; but if they should find natives in great
number, who in any way proved hostile, they were to
take what cover they could secure behind the rocks on
the side of the crater opposite the entrance. If attacked,
they were to fire upon the natives, who thereupon would
flee up the other side, in my direction, and endeavour
to pass through the only means of egress, which I, with
my Winchester, was perfectly capable of holding.
After my men left me, I experienced a feeling of
intensest loneliness, and my mind filled with a variety
of anxious thoughts: first, for the men we had been
forced to leave behind, who were so keenly suffering
from thirst; next, of the possibility that my people, who
had gone in search of water, might fall into the hands
of enemies; then, of my personal safety, for I knew
the spot was frequented by lions. My nerves were
stretched to the utmost tension. I sat down, placed
my back against the steep surface of a rock, and alternately
gazed into the dark shadows which surrounded
me, and the vast amphitheatre stretched at my feet.
I sat thus occupied for perhaps a quarter of an hour,
when I heard the well-known grumble of a lion in
search of prey. It is only in a menagerie that the
“ king of beasts ” expresses his hunger by means of
roars. When in a state of nature, where the gratification
of appetite is more dependent upon the degree
of silence and skill with which prey is approached, the
lion exercises greater self-control, but, fortunately, at
no time sufficient to conceal his whereabouts. Instead
of roars, he then gives vent to full-lunged, guttural sighs,
which are emitted, not in rapid succession, but with
sufficient pause between each to render their beginnings
and endings remarkably distinct and effective.
The noise of the footsteps of my men, as they descended
the stony path leading to the bottom of the
crater, satisfied, while it lasted, whatever curiosity my
sense of hearing aroused. But, when I could no longer
distinguish the noise of falling stories, and the groans