188 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



being wounded, under circumstances which seemed to invite 

 a charge, yet they made no effort to charge. Only one other 

 lion was shot by any other member of our party — a lioness 

 killed by Alden Loring; she charged with the utmost reso- 

 lution when mortally wounded, and died while still charging. 

 This short experience, taken by itself, would tend to show 

 that a full-grown male lion is rather more apt to charge, 

 and is rather more resolute in charging, than is likely to be 

 the case with a full-grown lioness (save where the latter has 

 young cubs) ; but it is impossible to generalize on such in- 

 sufficient data. Tarlton, who was with us, a noted lion 

 hunter of long experience, was inclined to think that on the 

 average the lioness was a little more apt than the lion to 

 charge. Probably the difference in this respect between the 

 sexes is not great, while the amount of variations among the 

 individuals of each sex is very great indeed. A beginner 

 might readily kill three or four lions without danger; and he 

 might be charged and killed by the first one he attacked. 

 If the sport is persevered in, the man who achieves success 

 must possess coolness, wariness, resolution, and reasonable 

 skill with the rifle; and now and then he will need to show 

 all these qualities. 



Lions can be hunted in many ways, aside from lying in 

 wait for them at night and from hunting them with dogs. 

 The three most satisfactory ways are to trail them in the 

 early morning, just after they have begun their return to 

 their day lairs, to drive them out of thick cover by a line of 

 beaters toward the previously stationed hunter, and to gal- 

 lop them down on horseback, usually after having roused 

 them from the shelter of some patch of bush, trees, reeds, or 



