There was not much delay in the operations, for the lions had undoubtedly been driven from their haunts by the heat from the volcano, by the light from which I soon discovered an immense drove of fine ones on the first ridge between me and the lurid mountain. I counted a hundred, and there were many, very many more—not to say anything about the cubs. And it was to the presence of these young ones that I attributed the fierceness of the old ones. My experienced eye told me they were advancing directly toward me and I must make ready for them. My knowledge of this game was such I knew my artillery would be of no power whatever against these rapacious animals when once they had scented me, which they quickly did. Now, what I was to do I did with celerity, and it was to ascend a palm tree and ensconce myself in its branches, taking with me the ropes with which I had constructed my parachute. As is usually the case the monarch of the herd led the way and was the first to come beneath the tree. In following my scent he ran his head through the noose I had hung down for the purpose. I thereupon gave him such a sudden and powerful jerk as to break his neck. Another came and I treated him to a hanging. And so it went until two massive fellows got their heads in at the same time, and, knowing it would require additional effort to crack such vertebrae I gave them an extra twist; but it seems they must have sprung into the air at the exact moment, and between the force of my arm and the spring of their limbs, they went to such a height as to pass clear over the tree and, what was worse than all, carried my noose with them. There still remained about twenty females and their young, and these seemed inclined to camp out there and then, which was not at all to my liking. They must have been almost starved, for they fell upon the bodies of their lords and masters with a horrible snarling and snapping. All would probably have been well if I had not in a spirit of wantonness shot one of the cubs with the only bullet I had brought up, not thinking I should have occasion to use the firearms at all. This so angered the mothers they held a council how to get me down. They began to smell around the guns and I was thunderstruck to see one gray-whiskered old female take the Winchester between her paws, point it at me, and begin to fumble for the trigger. I did not lose my presence of mind, and proceeded to put into execution another plan for ridding myself of these obnoxious beasts.