50 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES chap. 



The death of Mr. C. H. Ryall, the Assistant 

 Superintendent of the East African Police Force, 

 who was killed by a man-eating lion inside a rail- 

 way carriage on the Uganda Railway, is also a 

 most interesting episode, as it shows how extra- 

 ordinarily bold a hungry lion may become, when in 

 search of prey during the hours of darkness. 



When in East Africa a few years ago, I met 

 both the other two Europeans (Mr. Huebner, a 

 German, and Mr. Parenti, an Italian) who were in 

 the carriage with Mr. Ryall when he was killed, 

 and I heard the story of the tragedy from their lips. 



The railway carriage in question, which con- 

 tained a small saloon and an adjoining servants' 

 compartment, had been pulled on to a siding, close 

 to a small station on the Uganda Railway, in order 

 to give its occupants the chance of getting a shot 

 at a man-eating lion which had lately been giving 

 trouble in the neighbourhood — either as it came 

 prowling about during the night or by hunting it 

 up the next morning. There was a small window 

 on each side of the little saloon, and a sliding door 

 at the end of the carriage. Both the windows and 

 the door were wide open. Mr. Ryall took the first 

 watch, and seems to have taken up a position on 

 one of the seats of the carriage, with his back to the 

 open window. His head and shoulders would 

 therefore probably have been visible to the eyes of 

 a nocturnal animal from outside. 



Mr. Huebner turned in and went to sleep on one 

 of the top berths in the carriage, and Mr. Parenti 

 made his bed on the floor. It is probable, I think, 

 that Mr. Ryall also went to sleep after a time. 

 What happened afterwards I will now relate as it 

 was told to me by Mr. Parenti. '* I was awakened 

 from a sound sleep by the sensation of a weight 

 holding me down on the floor, and for a moment 

 was unable to move. Then the weight was taken 



