THE LAST FRONTIER 



he takes the offensive, intends to get his antagonist. 

 Having made up his mind to that, he charges home, 

 generally at great speed. The realization that it is 

 the man's life or the beast's is disconcerting. Also 

 the charging lion is a spectacle much more awe- 

 inspiring in reality than the most vivid imagination 

 can predict. He looks very large, very determined, 

 and has uttered certain rumbling, blood-curdling 

 threats as to what he is going to do about it. It 

 suddenly seems most undesirable to allow that lion 

 to come any closer, not even an inch! A hasty, ner- 

 vous shot misses 



An unwounded lion charging from a distance is 

 said to start rather slowly, and to increase his pace 

 only as he closes. Personally I have never been 

 charged by an unwounded beast, but I can testify 

 that the wounded animal comes very fast. Cun- 

 inghame puts the rate at about seven seconds to the 

 hundred yards. Certainly I should say that a man 

 charged from fifty yards or so would have little 

 chance for a second shot, provided he missed the 

 first. A hit seemed, in my experience, to check 

 the animal, by sheer force of impact, long enough 

 to permit me to throw in another cartridge. A 

 lioness thus took four frontal bullets starting at 

 about sixty yards. An initial miss would probably 

 have permitted her to close. 



138 



