50 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



tators expected to see the man instantly torn in pieces. What 

 was their astonishment to see the lion approach him, and 

 fawn before him like a dog who had found his master! It 

 was the lion Androcles had met in the desert, and the 

 grateful animal would not rend his benefactor. 



A Lion Hunt. Livingstone came to very close quarters with 

 a lion on one occasion, the circumstances of which he thus 

 narrates. "The Bakatla of the village Mabotsa, were much 

 troubled by lions, which leaped into the cattle-pens by night 

 and destroyed their cows. They even attacked the herds in 

 open day. This was so unusual an occurrence that the people 

 believed that they were bewitched, 'given' as they said, 

 into the power of the lions by a neighbouring tribe. They 

 went once to attack the animals, but being rather a cowardly 

 people compared to Bechuanas in general on such occasions, 

 they returned without killing any. It is well known that if 

 one in a troop of lions is killed, the others take the hint 

 and leave that part of the country. So the next time the 

 herds were attacked, I went with the people in order to 

 encourage them to rid themselves of the annoyance by 

 destroying one of the marauders. We found the lions on 

 a small hill, about a quarter of a mile in length and covered 

 with trees. A circle of men was formed round it, and they 

 gradually closed up, ascending pretty near to each other. 

 Being down below on the plain with a native schoolmaster, 

 named Mebalwe, I saw one of the lions sitting upon a 

 piece of rock, within the now closed circle of men. Mebalwe 

 fired at him before I could, and the ball struck the rock 

 upon which the animal was sitting. He bit at the spot struck, 

 as a dog does at a stick or a stone thrown at him, then, 

 leaping away, broke through the opening circle and escaped 

 unhurt. When the circle was reformed we saw two other 

 lions in it, but we were afraid to fire lest we should strike 

 the men ; and they allowed the beasts to burst through also. 

 If the Bakatla had acted according to the custom of the 



