vii MAN-EATING LIONS 75 



might into the brute's shoulder, while another bullet 

 from my rifle finished him. 



On examining the carcase, we found that he was 

 an old and mangy lion, and, as I have mentioned 

 before, it is usually at this period of his existence 

 that the King of Beasts takes to man-eating. 



The villagers were overjoyed at the news of the 

 lion's death, and to commemorate the occasion, 

 indulged in a prodigious beer-drink, and fashioned 

 amulets from the animal's bones. 



II 



The tragic incidents which follow happened in 

 1902, on the eastern shores of Lake Nyassa, where 

 some natives, having left their old homes with the 

 intention of settling down anew, had erected tempo- 

 rary grass huts and were tilling their shambas for 

 the coming rains. Arriving on the day following 

 the unhappy affair, I gathered an account of it 

 from some askaris or native police, who had par- 

 ticipated in the occurrence. 



On the night in question, five of these askaris 

 were sleeping in one hut when, about three o'clock 

 in the morning, one of them was awakened by a 

 low growl and the noise of a sudden crash, which he 

 felt betokened the presence of a man-eating lion. 

 He immediately roused his comrades, who, picking 



