THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 95 



comes the turn of the second, and in case of need of 

 the third; and then, if this is not enough, the two 

 first, who have by this time reloaded their guns, again 

 enter the lists ; and so they continue until the lion is 

 at last obliged to acknowledge himself vanquished. 



It is said that there has been no instance of a 

 colonist paying the price of his life for the pleasures 

 of this sport. 



It is, however, not merely a pleasure ; it is an abso- 

 lute necessity for those who live in the remote parts of 

 the colony, as they have to defend their cattle against 

 the attacks of this insatiable marauder. " They are 

 always eager for the chase," says Sparrman : " the 

 peasants with whom I was hunting seemed only to 

 long for an encounter, quite regardless of any possible 

 danger likely to happen to them from which, indeed, 

 they felt themselves quite secure." 



Le Yaillant tells of a widow who kept house by 

 herself, and who, when wild beasts came to alarm her 

 flocks, would mount on horseback, pursue them vigor- 

 ously, and never give in until she had either killed 

 them or driven them away from her canton. 



We have seen the part which dogs bear in this sport 



- sometimes, indeed, they really do all the work. 



Twelve or fifteen of the dogs bred by the Cape farmers 



will perform wonders. When the lion sees them 



approach, his pride prevents him from going away ; ho 



