im, and lay a short distance away from the other remains, the
eyes staring wide open with a startled, horrified look in them. The
place was considerably cut up, and on closer examination we found that
two lions had been there and had probably struggled for possession of
the body. It was the most gruesome sight I had ever seen. We collected
the remains as well as we could and heaped stones on them, the head
with its fixed, terrified stare seeming to watch us all the time, for
it we did not bury, but took back to camp for identification before the
Medical Officer.

Thus occurred my first experience of man-eating lions, and I vowed
there and then that I would spare no pains to rid the neighbourhood of
the brutes. I little knew the trouble that was in store for me, or how
narrow were to be my own escapes from sharing poor Ungan Singh's fate.

That same night I sat up in a tree close to the late jemadar's tent,
hoping that the lions would return to it for another victim. I was
followed to my perch by a few of the more terrified coolies, who begged
to be allowed to sit up in the tree with me; all the other workmen
remained in their tents, but no more doors were left open. I had with
me my .303 and a 12-bore shot gun, one barrel loaded with ball and the
other with slug. Shortly after settling down to my vigil, my hopes of
bagging one of the brutes were raised by the sound of their ominous
roaring coming closer and closer. Presently this ceased, and quiet
reigned for an hour or two, as lions always stalk their prey in
complete silence. All at once, however, we heard a great uproar and
frenzied cries coming from another camp about half a mile away; we knew
then that the lions had seized a victim there, and that we should see
or hear nothing further of them that night.

Next morning I found that one of the brutes had broken into a tent at
Railhead Camp--whence we had heard the commotion during the night--and
had made off with a poor wretch who was lying there asleep. After a
night's rest, therefore, I took up my position in a suitable tree near
this tent. I did not at all like the idea of walking the half-mile to
the place after dark, but all the same I felt fairly safe, as one of my
men carried a bright lamp close behind me. He in his turn was followed
by another leading a goat, which I tied under my tree in the hope that
the lion might be tempted to seize it instead of a coolie. A steady
drizzle commenced shortly after I had