ADVENTURES WITH LIONS AND A RHINO 



were finally killed ofiF. At first it seemed impos- 

 sible to decrease their number, and rewards were 

 offered for every lion killed. On one occasion they 

 had been so persistent in their endeavours to have 

 a dinner ofi* brown man every night, that terror 

 seized the hearts of the workers on the railway, and 

 they struck work. I believe it was three weeks or 

 more before those in authority could induce the 

 men to return to their duties, and then, not until 

 some of the lions had been killed. 



In 1900 there still remained many lions near 

 the line, among them a man-eater who had given a 

 great deal of trouble ; and had successfully carried 

 ofi" several men connected with the railway. One 

 man tried to lie in wait for him in a large iron 

 water-tank, but the beast managed to upset the 

 tank, and then spent some time trying to get at the 

 poor fellow, with its strong paw thrust through the 

 aperture by which the man had got in. 



As may be imagined the position was most un- 

 pleasant for the poor man, who could only squeeze 

 himself into a corner and hope for the best. Luckily 

 there was just room for him to be out of reach of 

 the lion ; except for some scratches, as the animal 

 succeeded in touching him, he escaped unhurt, and 

 at last managed to frighten the lion away — reports 

 differ as to how, some saying he managed to fire 

 his rifle and so frighten the animal ; others that 

 Ihaving a box of matches in his pocket he kept 



207 



