io6 SCARCITY OF LIONS.

immense quantity of high grass, it was often difficult to get at it. The only species of big game of which we were astonished to find a scarcity, was the lion ; we had neither heard nor seen any since leaving Toadelook, and had, moreover, come across hardly any of their tracks. Giraffes we had seen tolerably often, but had shot only one ; and, as long as other meat was plentiful, we were not very anxious to kill any more. One day during the march, while halting under a tree, we had allowed the caravan to get ahead of us ; and two or three ran across the river's bed, just ahead of the camels.