Section 215 An Adventure With a Lion. I.
It is well1 known that if one of a troop of lions is killed, the others take the hint2, and leave that part of the country. So3 the next time the herds were attacked, I went with the people, in order to encourage them to rid themselves of the annoyance by destroying4 one of the marauders. We found the lions on a small hill about a quarter of a mile in length5, which was covered with trees. A circle of men was formed round it, and they gradually closed up6, ascending pretty near to each other. Being down below on the plain with a native schoolmaster, named Mebalwe, a most excellent man (S. 53, N. 9), I saw one of the lions sitting (S. 78, N. 14, B) on a piece of rock within the now-closed circle of men. Mebalwe fired at him before I could7, and the ball struck the rock on which the animal was sitting. He bit at the spot struck, as a dog does at a stick or stone thrown at him; then leaping away8, broke through the opening circle, and escaped unhurt. The men were afraid to attack him on account of their belief in [an] witchcraft. When the circle was re-formed, we saw two other lions in it; but were afraid9 to fire lest we should strike the men, and they allowed the beasts to burst through also. If (App. § 36) the Bakatta had acted according to the custom of the country, they would have speared the lions in their attempt to get out. Seeing we could not get10 them to kill one of the lions, we bent our footsteps11 towards the village; in going round the end of the hill, however, I saw one of the beasts sitting on a piece of rock as before, but this time he had a little bush in front. Being about thirty yards12 off, I took a good aim at his body through the bush, and fired both barrels into it. The men then called out: “He is shot! he is shot!” Others cried: “He has been shot by another man, too; let us go to him!” I did not see any one else shoot at him, but I saw the lion’s tail13 erected in anger behind the bush, and turning to the people, said: “Stop a little till I load14 again.”
Notes
1 = generally.
2 es sich zur Warnung dienen lassen.
3 So, Als nun; the next time, wiederum, which place after the subject.
4 durch Vertilgung, which place, with ‘one — marauders’, immediately after the reflective pronoun ‘sich’.
5 Use the attributive construction.
6 and — up, welche sich allmählich enger an einander anschlossen; ascending = and ascended (den Berg hinauf´steigen).
7 ehe ich es thun konnte.
8 = and when, hereupon, he sprang away, he, etc.
9 = but ventured not; lest, aus Furcht, daß; render ‘should’ by the Imperf. Subj. of mögen.
10 dahin bringen.
11 we went (schreiten).
12 = steps; distances are generally measured by steps in Germany.
13 a lion’s tail, Schweif, m.; in, aus.
14 = have loaded.