1 82 CARNIVORA. 



and to prowl round it for two entire days, not daring to attack so appar- 

 ently defenceless a prey, simply because its bridle was dangling from 

 its neck, and made the creatures suspicious, even though the rein had 

 accidentally been hitched over a stump. On another occasion a lion 

 crept close to a haltered ox, saw the halter, and did not like it, crept 

 away again until he reached a little hillock about three hundred yards 

 away, and there stood and roared all night. 



The hunters take advantage of this extreme caution to preserve the 

 game which they have killed. A simple white streamer tied to a stick, 

 is amply sufficient to prevent the lion from approaching. Sometimes, 

 when no streamer can be manufactured, a kind of clapper is substituted, 

 which shakes in the wind, and by the unaccustomed sound, very much 

 ahums the brute. It does truly seem absurd, that so terrible a beast as 

 the lion should be frightened by the fluttering of a white handkerchief, 

 or the clattering of two sticks — devices which would be laughed to scorn 

 by a tomtit of ordinary capacity. 



Various means are adopted to destroy lions. The negroes dig a pit, 

 which they roof over with branches that give way at the slightest 

 pressure, on which they place a lamb as a bait. When he has fallen into 

 the pit, his enemies destroy him at leisure. The Arabs adopt a similar 

 device, but sometimes prefer an opposite method ; three or four men 

 hide themselves in a hole about three feet deep on the margin of a path 

 frequented by their prey. The roof is covered with heavy stones and 

 earth ; narrow openings are made in the sides, in order to see what may 

 be passing without, and on which to rest their fire-arms ; lastly, a lure is 

 placed in front of this sanctuary to induce the lion to stop, and when he 

 does a volley of bullets is his welcome. It is rare that he falls dead im- 

 mediately, he springs towards the ambush, hoping to find the foe ; but 

 the construction is too strong to permit him to enter, and he staggers 

 off, probably to die in his den. 



At other times, the hunters conceal themselves in a tree, to which 

 they even add more branches in order to make a safe hiding-place. 

 From this post they operate in precisely the same manner as in the sub- 

 terranean plan. 



In South Africa the lion is hunted by dogs, and shot down when he 

 is driven from his hiding-places into the plain. There is another method 

 recommended by Jules Gerard. You must study the lion's habits and 

 movements, and discover his favorite haunts; then you go alone on some 



