THE LION 



pace, and if not successful in his charge he gives up 

 the chase. 



Favourite resorts of Hons are the water holes and 

 other drinking places w^here the various animals con- 

 verge in the early hours of the morning to slake their 

 thirst. In this v^ay they are enabled to ambush 

 their prey. When overtaken by disease, old age, 

 v^orn-out or broken fangs, the lion is no longer able 

 to capture the alert and fleet-footed antelopes, and 

 resorts to meaner fare, even satisfying his hunger 

 upon rats, mice, and lizards. But he is not satisfied 

 for long with this meagre fare, and at last screws up 

 his courage to tackle a native ; and then it dawns 

 upon him that these black,- half -naked humanf oik are 

 very easy to kill and afford an abundance of good 

 meat obtainable with very little effort. This de- 

 struction of human life continues until, in self- 

 defence, the terrified villagers turn out in a strong 

 body and put an end to the man-eater — usually after 

 a sanguinary combat. In many parts of Africa 

 where the villagers' goats and other domestic animals 

 begin to mysteriously disappear, they say : " Ah, 

 there is an old toothless lion about. We must turn 

 out and kill him, or he will soon begin eating us." 



Unless sorely pressed by hunger, a lion, fit and 

 capable, seldom takes to killing human beings, as he 

 has a wholesome dread of this formidable biped, and 

 particularly so after he has once come in contact 

 with an armed and mounted hunter. The lion is 

 by no means the noble, courageous, fearless animal 



105 



