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Wild Beasts and Their Ways

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to the spot where he found the lioness in the same position. Naturally he considered that it was dead, but upon approaching the prostrate body he was instantly attacked, knocked down, and seized by the back; he would assuredly have been killed had he not been assisted by his followers. Although he killed the lioness, he was seriously mauled, and was laid up for a considerable period in consequence. It would be easy to produce cases where lions have caused terrible fatalities, and others where they have failed to support their reputation for nobility and valour; but as I have already observed, there is no absolute certainty or undeviating rule in the behaviour of any animal. The natives of Central Africa, who are first-rate sportsmen, have no fear of the lion when undisturbed by hunters, but they hold him in the highest respect when he becomes the object of the chase. I have known a lion which, when stopped by the nets in one of the great African hunts, knocked over five men, all of whom were seriously wounded, and, although it was impaled by spears, it succeeded in evading a crowd of its pursuers. Stories of lions are endless, and were they compiled, a most interesting work might result, but my object in producing a few anecdotes, mostly of my own personal experience, is to elucidate the character of the animals by various examples, which prove the impossibility of laying down any fixed or invariable rule. There can be no doubt that the mode of hunting generally adopted in Central Africa is far more dangerous than the careful contrivances of India, where the tiger, as fully described, is hunted either upon elephants or by posting the guns in secure positions. Even in Rajpootana, where hunting is frequently conducted upon foot, the ground is specially favourable among deep and precipitous ravines, where abrupt rocks and perpendicular banks afford protection to the hunter. In Central Africa the climate and fodder are so detrimental to horses that the explorer quickly discovers the utility of his own legs, and no experience is so conducive to steady and accurate shooting as the knowledge of an impossibility to escape by speed. We are all creatures of habit, and are more or less the slaves of custom; this is proved AD ABSURDUM by the peculiar feeling when a man who is accustomed to shoot tigers from the secure and lofty position in a tree, finds himself compelled to seek the animal upon foot. In Africa, also in Ceylon, the hunter is so much in the habit of standing upon his own legs that he ceases to fear the attack of any creature, feeling certain of the accuracy of his rifle; but this same individual would begin to feel unnaturally exposed if, after a continuous experience in secure mucharns and mounted upon elephants, he should be suddenly called upon to seek a wounded tiger or lion upon foot. I have never followed lions except on foot. They are killed by the Hamran Arabs on horseback; fairly hunted by two or three of these splendid fellows, and cut down by a stroke across the spine with the heavy broadsword. The lion is never specially sought for by the natives of Central Africa, but should he be met with in their ordinary hunting expeditions, he takes his chance like all other animals, and is attacked either with arrows or the spear. Many of the natives are exceedingly courageous, and will advance to the attack upon a lion with spear and shield, or even without the latter safeguard, as they are confident in the support of their companions in case of an emergency. I remember upon one occasion I had wounded a lioness by a shot in the chest from a very accurate but extremely ineffective rifle, which, although _'577_, carried a small charge of 2 1/2 drams of powder. The animal took refuge in a patch of high grass only a few yards square. Invisible in this retreat, my three hardy natives offered to go in and throw their spears at her, provided I would be ready to support them should she charge into the open when they had failed. This proceeding would have been a reflection upon our superior weapons, and I declined the proposal, as too dangerous to the men. I sent the natives to the summit of a white ant-hill about 7 feet high; from this they espied the animal lying in the yellow grass, but so indistinct that it was impossible to determine her exact position. I accordingly instructed the men to keep a sharp look-out, and to throw their spears should the lioness charge, as I would provoke an attack by firing a shot at hazard into the long grass. Placing Lieut. Baker, R. N., upon my right, with instructions to enfilade the expected attack, I advanced to within 20 yards of the grass, and fired into the spot she was supposed to occupy. The effect was instantaneous. At the report of the rifle the lioness uttered a loud roar and charged directly upon myself, the most prominent antagonist. I fired the left-hand barrel at her chest, but this miserable weapon had no penetration (it was the first and last that I ever possessed with a hollow bullet); the natives hurled their spears, but missed the flying mark; Lieut. Baker fired right and left with a No. 70 small-bore, which hit, but without effect. Everybody turned and ran at their best speed, as the lioness in hot pursuit was within a few feet of us. A native servant of Lieut. Baker passed me with his master's spare gun in his hand. To snatch this from the man, and to turn round and face the still roaring pursuer, was the work of an instant, and I fired into her chest a No. 12 spherical ball with 4 1/2 drams of powder from an ordinary smooth-bore. To my delight, this rolled her over and checked her onset; but she immediately sprang back to her asylum of yellow grass. We were now reduced to our original position, but I knew the wound would be quickly fatal. The natives recovered their spears, while we all reloaded, and presently one of our people from the summit of the ant-hill excitedly pointed to an object in the high grass; within a distance of about eight yards I distinguished the back of the head and neck of the lioness. She was looking in the opposite direction; this gave me a fatal opportunity, and a shot in the nape of the neck settled the affair, after a well-contested struggle. It was impossible to carry this animal, we therefore skinned it, and

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