38 ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



afterwards that he never touched the ground at all, 

 as the lion seemed to catch him in mid-air, the first 

 thing he realized being that it was trotting off with 

 him down the path. He was held firmly by the right 

 shoulder, and, lying on his back, his face was on a level 

 with the brute's neck, while his legs were dragging along 

 under its body. 



It was a desperate predicament, and, so soon as he was 

 able to collect his thoughts a little, his mind kept dwelling 

 on whether he would be killed outright or tortured first. 

 He saw no hope of escape. The pain he describes as acute, 

 which is contrary to the related experiences of Livingstone 

 and others. However, being a very cool and experienced 

 man, and full of "grit," he presently began to cast 

 about for some method of saving himself. The mind 

 works quickly in such cases, and suddenly he remembered 

 his sheath knife, an ordinary six-inch blade which was 

 carried in an open leather case on the back of his belt. 

 Reaching underneath himself with his left hand, he 

 discovered that the knife had fortunately not been lost 

 during the fall and the subsequent dragging, so, pulling 

 it out, he concentrated every energy on holding tight 

 on to it, and awaited a favourable opportunity. 



Fortune favours the brave, and his chance came when 

 the lion, after going with him about 150 yards, laid him 

 down under a small tree, either for the purpose of shifting 

 its grip, or of commencing operations. Feeling very 

 carefully behind the left shoulder for what he judged 

 to be a vital spot, Wolhuter then struck a couple of 

 back-handed blows with all his force, using, of course, 

 his left hand. It turned out subsequently that each 

 of these strokes reached the heart. The lion remained 

 stock still for a second, and Wolhuter then plunged 

 the knife upwards into the throat. At this the animal, 



