several beautiful gazelles and
one or two wild pigs ran past within shot. Presently we heard a shrill
trumpeting sound, which Peterkin, who had hunted in the forests of
Ceylon, told us, in an excited voice, was the cry of the elephant. We
hastened forward with our utmost speed, when suddenly we were brought to
a stand by hearing a tremendous roar close in front of us. Immediately
after, a large male lion bounded from among the bushes, and with one
stroke of his enormous paw struck down a negro who stood not twenty
yards from us. The terrible brute stood for an instant or two, lashing
his sides with his tail and glaring defiance. It chanced that I
happened to be nearest to him, and that the position of the tangled
underwood prevented my companions from taking good aim; so without
waiting for them, being anxious to save, if possible, the life of the
prostrate negro, I fired both barrels into the lion's side. Giving
utterance to another terrible roar, he bounded away into the bush,
scattering the negroes who came in his way, and made his escape, to our
great disappointment.

We found, to our horror, on going up to the fallen hunter, that he was
quite dead. His skull had been literally smashed in, as if it had
received a blow from a sledge-hammer.

I cannot describe my feelings on beholding thus, for the first time, the
king of beasts in all the savage majesty of strength and freedom,
coupled with the terrible death of a human being. My brain was in a
whirl of excitement; I scarce knew what I was doing. But I had no time
to think, for almost immediately after firing the shots at the lion, two
elephants came crashing through the bushes. One was between ten and
eleven feet high, the other could not have been less than twelve feet.
I had never seen anything like this in the menageries of England, and
their appearance, as they burst thus suddenly on my vision, was
something absolutely appalling.

Those who have only seen the comparatively small and sluggish animals
that are wont to ring their bells to attract attention, and to feed on
gingerbread nuts from the hands of little boys, can form no idea of the
terrible appearance of the gigantic monsters of Africa as they go
tearing in mad fury through the forests with their enormous ears, and
tails, and trunks erect, their ponderous tusks glistening in the
sunshine, and their wicked little eyes flashing like balls of fire as
they knock down, rend asunder, and overturn