no-infested country, far from camp. The water was nearly gone
and the general outlook was far from pleasing.

The gunbearers skinned the lion. My first shot had struck one of his
back teeth, breaking it squarely off, and then passed through the fleshy
part of the neck. It was a wound that would startle, but not kill. The
second shot had hit him between the eyes, but had glanced off the skull,
merely ripping open the skin on the forehead for five inches. The third
shell had killed him, except for the convulsive heaving that was finally
stilled by the small bullet in the base of the brain.

[Drawing: _As I Planned to Look in the Photograph of "My First
Lion"_]

The skinning was interesting. All the fat in certain parts of the body
was saved, for East Indians bid high for it and use it as a lubricant
for rheumatic pains. The two shoulder blades are always saved and are
considered a valuable trophy. They are little bones three inches long,
unattached and floating, and have long since ceased to perform any
function in the working of the body. The broken tooth was found and
saved, and, of course, a photograph was taken. My gunbearer took the
picture, and when it was developed there was only a part of the lion and
part of the lion slayer visible. It was a good picture of the tree,
however.

[Drawing: _As I Looked--From Photograph by Gunbearer_]

At four-thirty the homeward march was begun. At five-thirty two rhinos
blocked the path and one of them had to be shot. At six we were still
several miles from camp, with the country wrapped in darkness. The water
was gone and only one shell remained for the big gun. Somewhere ahead
were miles of thorn scrub in which there might be rhinos or buffaloes.
Two days before I had killed two large buffaloes in the district through
which we must pass, and there was every likelihood of others still being
there. At seven we were hopelessly lost in a wide stretch of hippo
grass, and I had to fire a shot in the hope of getting an answering shot
from camp. In a couple of moments we heard the distant shot, and then
pressed on toward camp. The lion had been carried on ahead while we
stopped with the rhino, and so the news reached the camp before us. A
long line of porters came out to greet us and a great reception
committee was waiting at the camp. It was the first lion of the
expedition, and as such was the signal for great celebration. That night
there were native dances and songs around the b