THE LION 205 



riding by her at a run, throwing the rope; the bush always 

 prevented the noose going over the Honess, and she would 

 charge at full speed (as the photos show) ; she was only the 

 length of the rope behind when she started, and gained for 

 the first fifteen or twenty yards, but never quite succeeded 

 in catghing the horse. Only the best and coolest riders, 

 on the best horses, could have performed the feat, how- 

 ever. The lioness finally became cowed, crouched in a 

 donga, and was roped, thanks to the nerve of Jones, and 

 the extreme skill of the cowpuncher who did the actual 

 roping. 



Light, agile men who keep some distance from the lion 

 when he is at bay can leap on their horses and ride off after 

 shooting if the lion charges. Says Mr. Roosevelt: "Per- 

 sonally, I was too old and stiff to try this, and on the occa- 

 sions when I was riding and dismounted to shoot at the 

 lion, I left the horse, advanced as close as I thought the lion 

 would stand without charging, and then trusted to straight 

 powder, and my repeating rifle. I stopped one lion while 

 in full charge, another as it began its charge, but while it 

 was only trotting, and another just as, I believe, it was about 

 to charge; and I killed a wounded lioness in tallish grass, 

 which ought to have charged but did not, and at eight 

 yards merely wounded a lioness, which I ought to have 

 killed outright, but which galloped away instead of charging, 

 so that a minute or two later I got an even closer shot, and 

 bagged her. Thus I personally met with no adventures 

 and neither did Kermit, although, when in company with 

 Leslie Tarlton he one afternoon galloped a party of eleven 

 lions and killed five, one of them, a lioness, charged with 

 fierce determination. But since I left Africa Tarlton per- 



