THE LION 217 



skin. Later in the morning, after the return of Rainey with 

 the hounds, the dogs were put upon the trail of the Hon 

 which had bolted upon our approach. But a single one of 

 the hounds was able to follow the trail which had now been 

 subject to three hours of sunlight. Carefully working his 

 way along this faint scent, the hound took the pack some 

 two miles away into a bushy ravine. Here they found his 

 majesty and routed him out. He ran a mile and then sav- 

 agely took his stand in another dense thicket. Rainey soon 

 discovered him and waded into the bush to within forty 

 yards of the bayed brute. As soon as an opportunity offered 

 of shooting the lion without endangering any of the dogs, he 

 shot him. This lion was also maneless and in fat condition, 

 being practically the same age as the trapped specimen. 



" To those who have witnessed the savage way in which a 

 wolf attacks with its teeth and the entire strength of its 

 body a trap which holds it by a foot, it will appear quite 

 beyond the powers of belief to give credence to the catch- 

 ing of adult lions in traps of similar size as here narrated. 

 The miracle, however, is due to the extreme caution with 

 which the lion preserves its teeth from breakage. It re- 

 fuses to risk them on hard substances like iron and will not 

 even attempt to break heavy bones with them. When 

 caught by a steel trap its caution is still dominant, and its 

 rage asserts itself merely in futile tugs at the drag without 

 any assault upon the trap or attempt at amputation of the 

 limb by which it is held. The hyena, on the other hand, 

 though a thoroughly cowardly beast, will attack the trap 

 savagely, doing great injury to the crowns of its teeth, and 

 at times as a last resort freeing itself by the amputation of 

 the limb by which it is held. 



