LION HUNTING IN AFRICA. 109 



after lions, and Judd was following Mr. Selous on a mule. Suddenly his 

 mule nearly stepped on a huge lion, and as the mule swerved Judd fired from 

 his hip with his rifle and almost simultaneously the mule bucked him off and 

 he landed almost touching the lion. 



He thought his last hour had come and prepared to make a fight for his 

 life, but to his surprise the lion did not move. Then he suddenly realized 

 that the lion was dead. He got up and inspected it, and found that his shot 

 had entered the eye and killed it instantly, without leaving a mark on the 

 skin. Mr. McMillan took the skin home to have it set up. 



At Mweru on the Nyeri road, man-eating lions have been playing havoc 

 with government safaris and traders" safaris, so that at last the government 

 was forced to close the road to the traffic. 



It is estimated that some hun'dred native men, women and children have 

 lost their lives to these man-eaters, and so if Colonel Roosevelt kills them 

 he will have done the community special service. 



The lion is not only one of the largest and most dangerous, but also one 

 of the most interesting of all the wild animals of x^frica. We therefore 

 will give our readers an account of its habits and history, accompanied by 

 illustrations showing the king of the forest and the jungle in his native haunts 

 and surrounded by his tropical environments. 



"As bold as a lion" is the phrase most commonly used to express the 

 highest order of courage, for by general consent the people of all countries 

 have bestowed upon the lion the title of "King of Beasts." Certainly no 

 other animal is so noble and majestic in appearance. Its massive head, upon 

 which, in the case of the male animal, there is usually a long, thick mane, the 

 King's Crown, as it were, its stout, thick legs and huge p^ws, together with the 

 graceful formation of its body and sweeping tail, make it the most imposing 

 and splendid looking animal known to natural history. 



Of late years one authority has disputed the lion's title of "King of 

 Beasts." Mr. F. C. Selous, the famous hunter, says that the lion does not 

 carry its head as high as it should, and that it is lacking in many traits that 

 we usually ascribe to a noble animal. Livingstone, the great explorer, declares 

 that the lion is more correctly described as cowardly and mean than brave 

 and noble, yet I know many instances where the lion has shown itself to^ be 

 the most courageous of animals. 



In common with the other large cats of the Old World, the lion has the 

 pupil of the eye circular; but it is at once distinguished from all the other 



