MY ACQUAINTANCE WITH LIONS = 73 
on the leg by the lion. These were the only injuries 
to the men. Not a shot was fired during the twenty 
days. Our last encounter involved ‘five old lions, 
three of which were speared, and three cubs captured 
alive—but no pictures. It happened like this: 
Three lions going up a slope, signal given, pande- 
monium turned loose. Movements of men looked 
as if the lions had gone over the hill beyond to a dry 
stream bed. With the heavy camera I ran down the 
foot of the hill when I was called back and had to 
run back to the top of the hill where the lion was at 
bay. He might have been held indefinitely there 
in the open sunlight—a wonderful chance for a pic- 
ture. But in spite of long teaching, of threats, prom- 
ises, and urging, the boys’ excitement overcame them. 
The spears began to fly before the camera was ready. 
As I was adjusting the camera the lion was speared in 
full view in the open sunlight. A camera man never 
had such a chance before, but it was lost because the 
camera was slow. After the planning, the care, the 
work—the luck to have it go like this was too much, 
and my instinct was to grab my gun and shoot the 
man who threw the first spear. I think it was the 
most heartbreaking failure I ever had. I intended 
never to have another, and from that minute I began 
working on a camera that takes no time to adjust. I 
got it finally, but that one moment of poignant disap- 
pointment cost me many months of toil. 
Here is the way I see this lion spearing. A naked 
savage gets iron ore, then he gets fire from two sticks, 
and then charcoal. Then he makes a retort of clay 
