A DAI; INC SHUT. GO 



Lord, fired my piece. The ball passed directly 

 over my boy's head, and lodged in the forehead 

 of the lion immediately above his eyes, which shot 

 forth, as it were, sparks of fire, and stretched him 

 on the ground, so that he never stirred more. 

 Had [ failed in my aim," Van "Wyk went on to say, 

 " mother and children were all inevitably lost. 

 Had the boy moved he would have been struck, 

 the least turn in the lion and the shot had not been 

 mortal. To have taken an aim from without was 

 impossible, as the shadow of anyone advancing in 

 the bright sun would have betrayed him, and in 

 addition to all these chances against me, the head 

 of the creature was in some sort protected by the 

 door-post." 



Freeman tells a somewhat similar story. 



" A native was fearful," says he, " that ere long 

 he himself would be the victim of a lion that haunted 

 the neighbourhood, and had already preyed on 

 more than one of his family, unless he succeeded 

 in getting him killed. He therefore placed a kid 

 near to the door of his house to attract the beast, 

 intending to shoot him while he was attacking the 

 animal. The lion, however, leaped over the kid, 

 as if of no value, or not sufficiently dainty to satisfy 

 his wishes, and then walked deliberately into the 

 house. The man, however, had taken higher 

 views ; ho had climbed up outside, and was wait- 

 ing with his loaded gun on the roof, and on the 

 beast walking out of the house lie aimed his gun 

 well and shot him dead on the spot, thankful, no 

 doubt, at having saved himself and his kid." 



