358 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



eerie adventure with a man-eating lion. He was camped 

 near Kilimakiu, and after nightfall the alarm was raised 

 that a lion was near by. He came out of his tent, more 

 wood was thrown on the fire, and he heard footsteps re- 

 treating, but could not make out whether they were those 

 of a lion or a hyena. Going back to his tent he lay down on 

 his bed with his face turned toward the tent wall. Just as 

 he was falling to sleep the canvas was pushed almost into 

 his face by the head of some creature outside; immediately 

 afterward he heard the sound of a heavy animal galloping, 

 and then the scream of one of his porters whom the lion 

 had seized and was dragging off into the darkness. Rush- 

 ing out with his rifle he fired toward the sounds, shooting 

 high; the lion let go his hold and made off, and the man 

 ultimately recovered. 



It has been said that lions are monogamous and that 

 they mate for life. If this were so they would almost 

 always be found in pairs, a lion and a lioness. They are 

 sometimes so found ; but it is much more common to come 

 across a lioness and her cubs, an old lion with several lion- 

 esses and their young (for they are often polygamous), 

 a single lion or lioness, or a couple of lions or lionesses, or 

 a small troop, either all lions or all lionesses, or of mixed 

 sexes. These facts are not compatible with the romantic 

 theory in question. 



We tried to get the Nandi to stay with us for a few days 

 and beat for lions; but this they refused to do, unless they 

 were also to kill them; and I did not care to assist as a 

 mere spectator at any more lion hunts, no matter how ex- 

 citing though to do so once was well worth while. So we 

 moved on by ourselves, camping in likely places. In the 



