66 SOUTH AFRICA. 



a cunning old brute, as he took up poor Aaron, 

 after killing him, and carried him off to a distance, 

 and although we pursued him and found pieces 

 of the victim's clothes along the spoor for more 

 than a mile, we eventually lost all trace of the 

 murderer, owing to the very thick bush and the 

 abundance of other lion spoor, as well as that of 

 much other game quite fresh. Returning some 

 months afterwards, I was glad to find that the 

 Kaffirs had killed him by planting several assegais 

 in a slanting direction in the ground and placing a 

 dog as bait. To get at this he was obliged to 

 jump a low fence just in front of the sharp blades, 

 two of which went right through him as he landed 

 from jumping the fence the same night the trap 

 was laid. Notwithstanding this, he killed the 

 dog, and got some fifty yards away from the kraal 

 before he fell dead with the dog still in his mouth, 

 and was so found by the Kaffirs next morning. 



My losses from leonine depredations have been 

 small, and included one Kaffir, one horse and four 

 oxen in all. Nevertheless, I consider lions very 

 dangerous brutes under treatment with gunpowder, 

 in spite of all that has been lately written about 

 their insignificance and cowardice. I fancy Dr. 



