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His tusks were, like those of most Abyssinian elephants, exceedingly short, but of good thickness. Some of our men, who had followed the runaway horses, shortly returned and reported that during our fight with the bull they had heard other elephants trumpeting in the dense nabbuk jungle near the river.
For many miles on either side the river was fringed with dense groves of the green nabbuk, but upon the east bank, an island had been formed of about three hundred acres; this was a perfect oasis of verdure, covered with large nabbuk trees, about thirty feet high, and forming a mixture of the densest coverts, with small open glades of rich but low herbage.
Having reloaded, I hardly knew what course to pursue; we had no means of driving the lion from the bush, I therefore examined the ground, and we discovered that the nabbuk into which it had retreated was simply an isolated clump, surrounded by narrow glades of sandy turf.
We were alone with the remains of the buffalo, and I believe three lions had decamped, never to be seen again in the obscurity of the dense green nabbuk. We were actually in possession, having driven the lions from their prey, simply by our cautious advance, without a shot.
The dense shade of the nabbuk had been chosen by the Arabs as a screen to the camp-fires, that might otherwise attract the Base, who might be prowling about the country; but, as a rule, however pleasant may be the shade during the day, the thick jungle, and even the overhanging boughs of a tree, should be avoided at night.
On the following morning I revisited the place with two of my excellent Tokrooris; we found many fresh footprints of lions in the sandy soil, and a broad trace about 4 feet wide, where the body had been dragged away. This had apparently been effected by more than one lion, as the footprints varied in size. There was a vast mass of dense green nabbuk growing parallel with the banks of the river.
At the foot of this incline was thick thorny nabbuk jungle, for which impenetrable covert the rhinoceroses pressed at their utmost speed. Never was there better ground for the finish of a race. The earth was sandy, but firm, and as we saw the winning-post in the jungle that must terminate the hunt, we redoubled our exertions to close with the unflagging game.
Unfortunately the lions had dragged the buffalo down wind; therefore, after I had arrived within the thick nabbuk and high grass, I came to the conclusion that my only chance would be to make a long circuit, and to creep up wind through the thorns, until I should be advised by my nose of the position of the carcase, which would by this time lie in a state of putrefaction, and the lions would most probably be with the body.
For the moment he fell upon his knees, but recovering immediately, he rushed up the steep bank of the island, receiving the ball from my left-hand barrel between his shoulders, and disappeared in the dense covert of green nabbuk on the margin.
Upon arrival near the spot which we supposed to have been the scene of the encounter, we were rather puzzled, as there was nothing to distinguish the locality; one place exactly resembled another, as the country was flat and sandy, interspersed with thick jungle of green nabbuk. We accordingly spread out to beat for the lion.
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