THE LIONS OF TANGANYIKA 97 



bite the other would slap him over the head or shoulder. 

 This kept up for a while, then they got into a real scrap, 

 during which one hon turned a complete somersault, 

 while the very ground shook with their blows and 

 roars. I was able to photograph this entire combat, 

 and as we were only eighteen feet away were afforded 

 a wonderful opportunity of watching the tremendous 

 muscles as they rippled and played along the shoulders 

 and forearms. The great strength of these animals is 

 almost beyond beHef. 



During the several hours we were in the boma, 

 Mr. White, Senior, first watched the proceedings from 

 a distance, and then Mike Cottar took him close to 

 several other hons with the truck. After we had 

 called it a day and all assembled again, our guests both 

 agreed that we had furnished them the most wonderful 

 and thrilUng experience they had ever had. 



The Hon has always seemed to me to typify Africa. 

 Serene, majestic, inscrutable, hke the soil from which 

 he springs, and, too, hke the vast continent he roams, he 

 knows no law save that of his own making. Kill is 

 the law of his being, even as it is of aU Africa, where 

 hfe swarms so abundantly that it would seem fecun- 

 dity exists only that it may furnish prey. Cruel the 

 hon is, but he is no brawler, no wanton killer, no foul 

 glutton hke the unspeakable hyena. He is brave and 

 fearless, as anyone who knows him will freely testify. 



I was greatly puzzled, therefore — and more amused 

 — at the unusual experience of a friend of mine on the 

 occasion of his first meeting with a Hon. He and 

 another Norwegian were having a short safari under 

 the guidance of an experienced white hunter. This 

 safari boss, however, had never before been in this 



