CHAPTER VII 



MAN-EATING LIONS 



PEOPLE living in the perfect safety of their homes 

 in a civilized country have no conception of the 

 insecurity that is felt by natives in their kraals in the 

 interior of Africa. The cause of this feeling of in- 

 security is chiefly the man-eating lion, and no other 

 animal of the forest inspires such terror into the black 

 man's heart. Naturally, there is a reason for this. 

 In those villages, far in the heart of the pori, where 

 the white man is never seen, not hundreds but thou- 

 sands of natives are annually killed by these 

 monsters. 



In nearly all cases, the man-eater is an animal well 

 on in years. He has lost his youthful strength and 

 agility and the capture of wild game for food has 

 become' for him a difficult task. He, therefore, 

 adds man to his diet, because the latter is easier to 

 procure ; and he appears to be well aware that the 

 natives fear him and are comparatively helpless 



