From the Cape to Cairo: The First Traverse of Africa from South to North — John Shaqi
From the Cape to Cairo: The First Traverse of Africa from South to NorthGrogan, Ewart Scott
History
From the Cape to Cairo: The First Traverse of Africa from South to North
Grogan, Ewart Scott
Africa -- Description and travel; Grogan, Ewart Scott, 1874-1967
than thirty yards distant, we lay flat and awaited the turn of events.
He lashed out, tearing up the ground with his paws, then stood up and
looked like going away. I fired again. This gave him my whereabouts.
He swung round and began stalking towards me to investigate matters, so
I snatched my .500 and knocked him over with one in the chest. We then
retired to a more respectful distance. But he rose again, and once more
I fired. Still he fought on, rolling about, rumbling, groaning, and
making frantic efforts to rise, till I crept up close and administered a
.303 forward shot in the stomach, which settled him. He died
reluctantly even then. It is astonishing how difficult lions are to
kill, if the first shot is not very well placed. I attribute it to the
fact that after the first shot there is practically no subsequent shock
to the system. This is especially remarkable in the larger brutes, such
as the elephant, rhino, or buffalo. If the first shot is misplaced, one
can fire shot after shot, even through the heart, without immediate
effect. He was a good lion, in the prime of life, with mane, teeth, and
claws perfect.
[#] Fence or screen.
Sharp meanwhile had been making his first acquaintance with that
ingenious device of the devil’s, the jigger,[#] which confined him to
the camp for a week with a very ugly foot.
[#] _The jigger_, the "pulex penetrans."
Mahony, who had gone down-river, saw a male lion, but failed to stop him
with a long shot, but the next day in the same place came unexpectedly
on two lionesses, both of which he wounded. As they took refuge in the
grass, which was very extensive and thick, and he saw a cub, he sent
into camp for another gun. Sharp turned out in spite of his foot, and I
followed immediately when I returned to camp and found the note. After
a hard spurt of six miles, I met them coming back in triumph with the
pelt of one lioness and five small rolls of fur and ferocity slung on
poles. The cubs had been captured with difficulty. One only succumbed
after being bowled over with a sun helmet. They were great fun in camp,
and throve amazingly on cooked liver, of which they devoured enormous
quantities. Two of them were males, and three of them (one male and two
females[#]) are now disporting themselves in the Society’s Gardens in
Regent’s Park.
[#] One female has since died.
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