Upon one occasion I was strolling through the forest on the margin of the Settite river in Abyssinia, and I suddenly met a large bull buffalo which was exactly facing me, having probably obtained my wind beforehand. It was not more than 20 yards distant, and it threw up its wicked head with the nose pointed directly at me, in the well-known fashion which makes a shot at the forehead utterly impossible. Knowing that my double-barrelled No. 10 with 7 drams of powder would have sufficient penetration, I aimed exactly at the nostril, then fully dilated by the excitement of the animal, and fired. The shot was instantly fatal, as the hard bullet of quicksilver and lead not only passed through the brain, having entered at the nose, but it penetrated far into the neck and cavity of the chest. This was a very large beast, and knowing that the dense covert of nabbuk (Rhamnus Lotus) close by was a great resort of lions, I determined to leave the carcase for the night in the spot where it was then lying. On the following morning I revisited the place with two of my excellent Tokrooris; we found many fresh footprints of lions in the sandy soil, and a broad trace about 4 feet wide, where the body had been dragged away. This had apparently been effected by more than one lion, as the footprints varied in size. There was a vast mass of dense green nabbuk growing parallel with the banks of the river. This was an opaque screen of thorny foliage, covering an area of about 200 yards in width, but extending for a great distance. The nabbuk tree bears a small apple the size of a nutmeg, rather sweet, and pleasant to the taste; but the tangled mass, when growing upon the sandy loam near water, is absolutely impenetrable to a human being. Into this secure retreat the lions had crept, forming dark tunnels about 3 1/2 or 4 feet high, for some unknown distance. The trace of the dragged buffalo led direct to the entrance of one of these obscure tunnels, and there could be no doubt that the carcase was within, and the lions not far distant. I have frequently looked back to absurdities that have been scathelessly committed; among these on more than one occasion I have foolishly ventured upon the exploration of a lion's retreat. With two of my Tokrooris following with spare rifles (all muzzle-loaders) I crept upon hands and knees into the dark tunnel, upon the trace of the dragged buffalo. A light double-barrelled '577 was my companion.