hat the chief was waiting
to do the honours. I have not space to describe it. I exerted myself
to do it justice, and so did Bigg, who succeeded much better than I did.
Some of the dishes, composed of baked roots and fruits, were not bad,
but the animal food was of a very doubtful character. Some of the
smaller creatures might have been hares or rabbits, but they looked
remarkably like monkeys, while there were other things which might have
been eels, but were, I had a strong suspicion, snakes cut into bits.

When the feast was over, Bigg told me that the chief was anxious that I
should go out that evening and kill some lions. I nodded my head in
assent.

"I have told him you would do so if his people would show you where they
are to be found," he observed.

Accordingly, the chief and a large number of his people set out with us.
Some dozen were, I found, said to be experienced hunters. Solon
followed at my heels. He had created almost as much interest among the
natives as we had, I was looking out for a deer or a zebra, or some
other smaller animal to serve as a bait for the lions, when I heard a
loud trumpeting in the forest, and presently a huge elephant rushed out
directly in front of us. I was delighted to see him, but the natives
hurried off right and left to escape from him. I, to their surprise,
stood my ground, though his trunk was lifted, and he was evidently about
to charge. I had a tree near me. Solon, as before, performed his part
faithfully, rushing on and barking close up to him. The elephant
lowered his trunk to strike him when within fifteen yards of me; I
fired, and in a moment he sunk to the ground.

This feat alone satisfied the natives of my prowess, but I was
determined to show that I could kill lions also. I left a large party
of them cutting up the elephant, and walking on, shot a zebra. The
body, I knew, would attract the lions, so I signed to Bigg to get a hole
dug near the spot, that it might serve as a rifle-pit for us. He and I
took up our post there, while the natives hid themselves away in the
surrounding bush to watch my proceedings. I had not long to wait before
some jackals came screeching up to partake of the banquet they had
scented far off. Before long two magnificent lions followed. My
ambition was to kill both of them. They soon began to attack the
carcass of the zebra, but I waited till they both at the same moment had
their sides turned towards me. Then I le