54 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE.

ran out of the tent with his gun. About thirty paces from
the tent stood a lion, which, on seeing us, walked very
deliberately about thirty paces farther, behind a small thorn-
bush, carrying something with him, which I took to be a
young ox. We fired more than sixty shots at that bush,
without perceiving any movement. The south-east wind blew
strong, the sky was clear, and the moon shone very bright,
so that we could perceive everything at that distance. After
the cattle had been quieted again, and I had looked over
everything, I missed the sentry from before the tent, Jan
Smit, from Antwerp. We called as loudly as possible, but
in vain; nobody answered, from which I concluded that the
lion had carried him off. Three or four men then advanced
very cautiously to the bush, which stood right opposite the
door of the tent, to see if they could discover anything of
the man, but returned helter-skelter; for the lion, who was
there still, rose up, and began to roar. They found there
the musket of the sentry, which was cocked, and also his cap
and shoes. We fired again about a hundred shots at the
bush, without perceiving anything of the lion, from which
we concluded that he was killed, or had run away. This
induced the marksman of our company to go and see if he
was still there or not, taking with him a firebrand. As soon
as he approached the bush, the lion roared terribly, and
leapt at him; on which he threw the firebrand at him, and
the other people having fired about ten shots at him, he
retired directly to his former place behind that bush. The
firebrand which he had thrown at the lion had fallen in the
midst of the bush, and, favoured by the strong south-east
wind, it began to burn with a great flame, so that we could
see very clearly into and through it. We continued our firing
into it until the night passed away, and the day began to
break, when seven men were posted on the farthest waggons

to watch him, and to take aim at him if he should come —
out. At last, before it became quite light, he walked up the