THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA 319 



of night has come on, lions become bold and fearless, and 

 often, when urged on by hunger, incredibly reckless and daring. 

 It is by no means unusual for oxen to be seized at the yokes or 

 horses to be killed inside a stable, or when tied to the wheel of 

 a waggon ; whilst in Mashonaland alone four men were carried 

 off and eaten by lions during the first two years of the occupa- 

 tion of that country. One of these unfortunates was a young 

 ' man who was about to start a market-garden in the neighbour- 

 hood of Umtali settlement. He had gone away with a cart and 

 four oxen to buy some native meal at one of the Kafir kraals, 

 and had outspanned for the night at a spot about six miles dis- 

 tant from the little township. The oxen were tied up to the 

 yokes, and Mr. Teale was lying asleep under the cart, alongside 

 of a native, when a lion walked up, and, seizing him by the 

 shoulder, carried him off and killed and ate him. This lion, be 

 it noted, showed a refined taste in disregarding the oxen and 

 the Kafir, and seizing the European. It is supposed that a 

 lion and a lioness took part in the feast. The lioness was sub- 

 sequently shot, and the head and one of the feet of the unfor- 

 tunate market-gardener recovered, but the lion escaped. 



As an example of much greater boldness, let me relate the 

 following anecdote. In August 1892, Captain Graham, the 

 resident magistrate of Umtali, visited Marauka's kraal with a 

 patrol of twelve mounted white men and a small native con- 

 tingent. A large camp was formed at the foot of the hill on 

 which Marauka's village was situated, the horses were tied on 

 a picket-line, and several large fires were lighted in different 

 parts of the camp. In the middle of the night a lioness walked 

 right past the outside fires, passed close by two white men 

 who were covered by their blankets, and seized a native who 

 was lying alongside of a fire in the centre of the camp. She 

 caught him by the shoulder, dragged him past the outside fires, 

 and then dropping him, gave him some terrible bites about the 

 head and arm. The man had, of course, shouted out when he 

 was seized, and he retained his presence of mind in a marvel- 

 lous manner, for when some of the white men approached 



