Owing his life to nothing but the trueness of his aim, what compelled British big game hunter Melliss to risk his life hunting multiple lions at the same time in the British colony of Somaliland? Melliss set out for his lion hunt in Somaliland with a caravan of ten camels, twelve Somalis, and two donkeys. His destination was the Haud, a waterless plateau about one hundred and fifty miles distant in the interior. The game along the route chiefly consisted of gazelle, antelopes, guinea-fowl, and bustards, while at night jackal and hyæna serenaded the camp. At last the Haud was reached, and plenty of larger game, oryx and hartebeest, supplied the camp with meat, and the spoor of lions began to be found. A Somali soon brought news of the brutes themselves, and after a fast ride, Captain Melliss found himself for the first time face to face with the king of beasts. The most exciting form of the sport, however, was not to ride up on foot to lions and dismount to shoot, as Captain Melliss usually did, but was to track a lion's spoor and follow him up on foot into the thick jungle, an exciting experience which our author several times enjoyed with the keenest appreciation.
