ii2 FLESH-EATERS OF THE LAND 



officer alone, early in the last century, bagging no fewer 

 than eighty Lions within three years. 



In Africa the Lion still ranges from Algeria to the Orange 

 River. It largely ignores climatic conditions, frequenting 

 coastlands, the hot sultry valleys, desert regions, as well as 

 plateaus six thousand feet above the sea, where the winter 

 nights are cold and frosty. Moffat in British Bechuanaland 

 in one day saw nine troops of Lions, but naturally the animal 

 is now scarce in the South, owing to the spread of civili- 

 sation and the diminution and retreat of the vast herds of 

 antelopes. Nevertheless, within the last ten years a Lion 

 has been killed not more than twelve miles from Johannes- 

 burg. 



In 1890, when Mashonaland was opened up by the British 

 South Africa Company, the Lions were remarkably daring 

 and offensive, and many narrow escapes were recorded by 

 the pioneers : 



'One of our fellows spent a very pleasant Christmas 

 evening. About two or three miles after he had left our 

 camp with the mails, two Lions attacked the horses. One 

 creature sprang upon the back of the horse he was riding ; 

 he was leading the other with the mails strapped on it in 

 sacks. He managed to swing himself out of the saddle 

 into a tree. The Lions left the horses and came and walked 

 about under the tree for seven hours, when one of our 

 wagons came up and the beasts were frightened away. The 

 horse he was riding went straight to the next post station, 

 dreadfully torn ; and the one with the mails was brought in 

 by natives three days afterwards.' 



When the Uganda railway was under construction the 

 Lions at times created quite a panic. Two ferocious 

 animals stationed themselves on the Tsavo river, and in 

 quite a short time they killed twenty-eight Indian coolies 

 and a still larger number of native workmen. The work of 

 the section was brought to a standstill until the 'man- 

 eaters ' were destroyed. At another point on the line, when 

 a train was in a siding a Lion actually pulled a passenger 

 out of a sleeping compartment and devoured him. 



Yet most travellers and hunters agree that the Lion is not 

 nearly so formidable an animal, at least in daytime, as is 



