On the rising of the sun next day we had struck our camp, and were upon the march to Delladilla. On the way I shot a splendid buck mehedehet (R. Ellipsyprimna), and we arrived at our old quarters, finding no change except that elephants had visited them in our absence, and our cleanly swept circus was covered with the dung of a large herd. As this spot generally abounded with game, I took a single-barrelled small rifle, while the men were engaged in pitching the tent and arranging the camp, and with Taher Noor as my only companion, I strolled through the forest, expecting to obtain a shot at a nellut within a quarter of a mile. I had walked about that distance, and had just entered upon a small green glade, when I perceived, lying at full length upon the sand, a large lion, who almost immediately sprang up, and at the same moment received a bullet from my rifle as he bounded beneath a bush and crouched among some withered grass. Iwas unloaded, when, to my astonishment, Taher Noor immediately drew his sword, and, with his shield in his left hand, he advanced boldly towards the wounded lion. I reloaded as quickly as possible, just as this reckless Hamran had arrived within springing distance of the lion, who positively slunk away and declined the fight; retreating into the thick thorns, it disappeared before I could obtain a shot. Taher Noor explained, that his object in advancing towards the lion was to attract its attention; he had expected that it would have remained in a crouching position until I should have reloaded; but he ran the extreme risk of a charge, in which case he would have fared badly with simple sword and shield. Being close to the tent, Ireturned, and, in addition to my single-barrelled rifle, I took my two Reillys No. 10, with Hassan and Hadji Ali. In company with Taher Noor we searched throughout the bushes for the wounded lion, but without success. I now determined to make a cast, hoping that we might succeed in starting some other animal that would give us a better chance. The ground was sandy but firm, therefore we made no sound in walking, and, as the forest was bounded upon two sides by the river, and separated from the main land by a ravine, the fire that had cleared the country of grass had spared this portion, which was an asylum for all kinds of game, as it afforded pasturage and cover. We had not continued our stroll for five minutes beyond the spot lately occupied by the lion, when we suddenly came upon two bull buffaloes, who were lying beneath a thick bush on the edge of a small glade: they sprang up as we arrived, and started off. I made a quick shot as they galloped across the narrow space, and dropped one apparently dead with a Reilly No. 10. My Tokrooris were just preparing to run in and cut the throat, as good Mussulmans, when the buffalo, that was not twenty yards distant, suddenly sprang to his feet and faced us. In another moment, with a short grunt, he determined upon a charge, but hardly was he in his first bound, when I fired the remaining barrel aimed at the point of the nose, as this was elevated to such a degree that it would have been useless to have fired at the forehead. He fell stone dead at the shot; we threw some clods of earth at him, but this time there was no mistake. Upon an examination of the body, we could only find the marks of the first bullet that had passed through the neck; there was no other hole in the skin, neither was there a sign upon the head or horns that he had been shot; at length Inoticed blood issuing from the nose, and we found that the bullet had entered the nostril; I inserted a ramrod as a probe, and we cut to the extremity and found the bullet imbedded in the spine, which was shattered to pieces in a portion of the neck. As a souvenir of this very curious shot, I preserved the skull. My men now flayed the buffalo and took a portion of the meat, but Iordered them to leave the carcase as a bait for lions, with which this neighbourhood abounded, although it was exceedingly difficult to see them, as they were concealed in the dense covert of nabbuk bush. I left the buffalo, and strolled through the jungle towards the river. As I was leisurely walking through alternate narrow glades and thick jungle, I heard a noise that sounded like the deep snort of the hippopotamus. I approached the steep bank of the river, and crept carefully to the edge, expecting to see the hippo as I peered over the brink. Instead of the hippopotamus, a fine lion and lioness were lying on the sand about sixty yards to my left, at the foot of the bank. At the same instant they obtained our wind, and sprang up the high bank into the thick jungle, without giving me a better chance than a quick shot through a bush as they were disappearing.
I now returned home, determined to circumvent the lions if possible in this very difficult country. That night we were serenaded by the roaring of these animals in all directions, one of them having visited our camp, around which we discovered his footprints on the following morning. I accordingly took Taher Noor, with Hadji Ali and Hassan, two of my trusty Tokrooris, and went straight to the spot where I had left the carcase of the buffalo. As I had expected, nothing remained--not even a bone:
