242 THE LAND OF THE LION 
wounded in a band of ten, and at last got one of them. 
On both these occasions I was alone (saving my gun bearers). 
But to my mind riding lion is the sport above all others. 
It is unquestionably a dangerous sport. So dangerous 
that, unless the country is open and the galloping good, 
it should not be attempted. Even then if a man persists 
in it, it is only a question of time till his luck turns and he 
comes to grief. If he allows himself to be carried away by 
excitement and ride blindly as he must at top speed amid 
high grass and bush, then let him at least know what he is 
doing, and what he is inducing or allowing others with him 
to do. He is simply courting death. 
Comparatively few lions have yet been ridden in this 
country, and already several men have been mauled and two 
at least have died. I am not guilty of exaggeration in say- 
ing so much. Under reasonable conditions let a fair rider 
and shot do it by all means. Under other conditions than 
these let him determinedly set his face against it. The 
unwounded lion is seldom dangerous to anyone on foot. 
At times unwounded lions will attack, as will lions that 
have lain down after a hearty meal and resent being dis- 
turbed. ‘The unwounded lioness sometimes is dangerous, 
especially if her cubs are young. But the lion or lioness, 
once ridden, is a quite different beast. He does not come to 
bay until he is thoroughly tired, and quite convinced that 
his retreat is cut off. Once he is bayed, the last thing he 
thinks of is getting away. He wants to get his enemy down. 
He runs from nothing but man, and it is as though, resenting 
the indignity man has placed on him, he rushes in to kill. 
There is no turning, no swerving about him then, unless 
he has received a death shot. Be it remembered too, that 
though, broadside on, he offers an ideal mark; head on 
charging, he is a most unsatisfactory target. “The bones 
of the forehead which protect the very small brain are 
massive and slope sharply back. A well-aimed bullet 
