170 THE LION. 



If, however, what , tells us be gospel, 



thus to shoot the lion from the ' melbicla ' must be a 

 somewhat perilous affair, for when speaking of that 

 in use with the Bedouin Arabs, which, from the 

 description, would seem to be very similar to the 

 Algerian one he says, " Sometimes, however, after 

 the beast has been wounded, he throws himself 

 upon the ' melbida,' and breaks with his huge claws 

 the planks that cover it, and devours the hunter 

 whom he finds hidden behind them." 



The lion is also destroyed in Southern Africa by 

 means of the spring-gun, but the manner in which 

 this is set differs somewhat. According to Hans, 

 an old follower of mine in the desert, and whose 

 long experience with wild animals entitles him to be 

 looked upon as an authority the best manner of 

 proceeding is as follows : 



" A circular piece of ground of some extent is 

 in the first instance fenced in with thorn-bushes, 

 leaving one or more narrow openings for the admis- 

 sion of the lion. The bait in preference the animal 

 he himself has killed is laid in the middle of the 

 little enclosure in question. At the side of each of 

 the openings in the fence a gun is placed cross- 

 wise. The striiipr attached to the trigger . after 



OO ' 



having been passed across the opening, and fastened 

 to a tree or bush on the opposite side, should be 

 somewhat slack. The best way of ascertaining its 



I O 



proper tension is to put it back with the hand until 

 both ends are opposite the elbow. With regard to 

 the height of the gun above the ground, measure 

 the distance that your thumb and middle finger 



