52 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



have reared itself up, probably resting its fore-paws 

 on the seat of the carriage, to have done so. Mr. 

 Ryall must have been killed by the first bite almost 

 instantaneously, as he never seems to have struggled 

 or made any noise but a low gurgling sound. 



The windows of the carriages on the Uganda 

 Railway are small, but after having killed Mr. Ryall, 

 this lion a big male succeeded in carrying off his 

 body through the comparatively small opening. It 

 probably never relaxed its hold on his throat until 

 it had got his dead body safely out of the carriage 

 and pulled it away to some distance. 



The half-eaten remains of the unfortunate man 

 were recovered the next day nearly a mile away 

 from the railway carriage in which he had met his 

 death ; but the lion was nowhere to be found, and 

 in spite of a large reward offered for its destruction, 

 it was some time before this bold and dangerous 

 beast was disposed of. At last, however, it was 

 caught alive in a big cage-trap made by a Mr. 

 Costello, who at that time was the station-master at 

 Makindu, on the Uganda Railway. After having 

 been photographed, this lion was shot. This 

 photograph was shown me by Mr. Costello himself, 

 who told me that the captured animal was old and 

 mangy, with very worn teeth and claws, and a 

 short, scrubby mane. He thought that there could 

 be no reasonable doubt that it was the lion that had 

 killed poor Mr. Ryall, but of course nobody can be 

 absolutely certain on this point. 



Natives living in very small communities, in 

 wild districts where game being still abundant, 

 lions also are consequently fairly numerous, are 

 often troubled at night by these animals. In such 

 cases a man-eating lion usually proves to be an old 

 and almost worn-out beast, which having grown too 

 weak to catch and kill its usual prey, has been 

 driven by hunger to approach the haunts of men. 



