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S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S • 99 handling the rifle? Darkness had fallen, and the three hunters sat in the gloom. A jackel broke the silence with his querulous little bark, followed by the insane laughter of a hyena close at hand. Suddenly, there was a scurrying of padded feet and all was quiet. A soft, purring grunt denoted a lion's approach, scattering the other animals. The archers' hearts were pounding as they waited breathlessly. The men heard a lapping sound as the lion began licking the dead zebra's exposed flank just a few strides away. Pope and Young crept silently to the aperture of the blind, bows ready. Simson turned on his light, and there, in startling distinctness, appeared three lions snarling over the carcass. The men shot in unison, and two of the big cats instantly bounded from sight, while the third stood dazed in the beam of light. Pope drew another arrow and quickly shot. Simson saw the arrow strike before the beast jumped for the darkness. Hour followed hour. The hunters dozed for awhile or just sat and listened. They felt confident that three lions had been struck and at least one lay dead near the boma. Early in the gray light of dawn they sallied forth with great caution. Both archers found parts of their arrows, indicating at least one hit. How many of the lions were hit was not clear. Pope and Young began searching for blood and tracks that would lead the way to a dead lion. They searched in vain; no sign was found. A donga just a few yards away had swallowed up all evidence of a hit or kill. Into this no sane man would venture, especially knowing that three or more lions, some possibly wounded, were hiding in the dense cover. They scouted all over the plains and made all the disturbances they could on the outskirts of the donga, but to no avail. They returned to camp crestfallen and disappointed. "There's no satisfaction in wounding any animal and letting it escape, no matter how cruel or bloodthirsty that beast may be," lamented Pope. "We fully believed that one lion died, but we had no positive evidence of it." U ltimately, the archers' lion encounters were inconclusive and not to their liking. It appeared that shooting a bow from a blind over a bait and under artificial light would not produce satisfactory results, either. In all, they had 21 encounters with lions. Five beasts were killed solely with the bow and arrow, while 16 had to be stopped with the big bores. In the end, Pope and Young did not recommend using the bow and arrow for lions. White and Simson agreed. Hunting the big cats was dangerous enough when using high-powered rifles. n Editor's Note: Saxton Pope, or "Doc," as he was known, "was down with fever," exclaimed Stuart Edward White in his book, Lions in the Path, published in 1926. Pope was limited to hunting near camp because of failing health, while the others went on three- and four-week mini safaris. He would die from pneumonia on August 8, 1926, only a few months after his return from Africa.