Big Game Shooting, volume 1 (of 2)Phillipps-Wolley, Clive
General
Big Game Shooting, volume 1 (of 2)
Phillipps-Wolley, Clive
Game and game-birds; Hunting
lacerated as if gashed by a knife, the cuts being so clean, but there
were no marks on the throat or back of the neck. With the exception of
a small piece of entrail lying on the ground, which had the appearance
of having been chewed, the whole of the inside and the soft flesh and
skin of the stomach were gone; the rest was untouched.
[Illustration: GOOD GUIDES]
In the extensive game countries of Masailand and Turkwel, a district in
the Suk country, lions are very plentiful, and may be heard at night;
but though undoubtedly numerous it is quite by chance that they are met
with. The greatest number seen at one time by myself and Dr. Mackinnon
was twenty-three. This troop was seen near Machako’s, in Ukambani, on
August 7, 1890. It consisted of three lions with splendid dark manes,
five or six lionesses and the rest cubs from three parts grown down to
the size of a fox terrier. Another large troop of eleven was seen near
Rombo, to the east of Kilimanjaro, by Mr. T. W. H. Greenfield in 1888.
Perhaps the best guides to the whereabouts of a lion are vultures.
Should these birds be seen soaring high up in the air, gradually
getting lower and lower, and finally going off in a bee line, the
sportsman should certainly follow them, as it is a sure sign that they
have detected the carcase of a dead beast. If, however, as he proceeds
in the direction they have taken, sees the vultures, marabou storks,
&c., sitting in trees, or circling round a few hundred feet up in the
air, in the event of there being no trees, it is a pretty certain sign
that a beast of prey is still at the carcase, and although it may turn
out to be only a hyæna or a lot of jackals, it is always advisable to
go up and have a look on the chance of there being lions. I was myself
attracted by vultures to three out of the four lions which I killed,
and on other occasions when I was less successful vultures were my
guides. Sitting up at night near a water-hole, provided there is no
other water nearer than 8 or 10 miles, might be well worth trying,
also sitting up a tree near a bullock or donkey tied up as a bait; but
as I have never tried either way I cannot speak from experience. For
lions I prefer a hollow Express bullet with copper tube, as they are
soft beasts, and the smashing power and shock to the system of a bullet
that flies to pieces _inside_ a beast is tremendous. The bullet should,
however, be much longer and heavier, with longer solid base, than
Eley’s ordinary Express bullet, which often flies to pieces before it
can penetrate to the vitals of even a soft beast like a lion, as I have
found to my cost on more than one occasion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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