308 After Big Game in Central Africa 



prudent to avoid measuring your strength against these 

 animals. 



A lion will often try to intimidate you. It will take a 

 few steps towards you, growling and showing its teeth, and 

 then will stop ; if it sees that you do not move it will very 

 probably retire. But when it makes this feint it will look 

 you full in the face, and you will see neither its tail raised 

 nor its head lowered. 



I have already described the intense impression made 

 by a roaring lion when you hear it near at hand for the 

 first time ; I have also described its method of capturing 

 animals. Let me add that it generally roars at night-time 

 or very early in the morning, sometimes until eight or nine 

 o'clock ; but that is exceptional. It only becomes so noisy 

 when satiated. One night I heard a struggle between a 

 lion and a buffalo quite near to my camp. The bellowing 

 of rage, the heavy breathing of the buffalo, the stamping of 

 hoofs, and the blows with its horns against trees made a 

 striking contrast to the silence of its terrible adversary. 

 The struggle, most of the phases of which we divined by 

 the noise, must have been formidable. Finally the buffalo 

 bellowed plaintively and there was perfect silence. The 

 lion announced its triumph in the dead of night and the 

 conclusion of his feast by formidable roars, and upon hearing 

 the cracking of bones we knew that it had given place to 

 the hyenas. Both the buffalo and the lion were enormous. 

 What magnificent combats there are daily in the African 

 bush ! As I have said, the lion has a deadly enemy 

 in the African wolf. Similarly, everything which resembles 

 a snake, near or far off, inspires in it a very decided terror. 

 One day two natives, who had taken refuge in a tree, got 

 rid of a rather troublesome lion by throwing at it a wavy 

 and climbing liana called pe$a, which more or less resembles 

 a snake. Thorns are disagreeable to it, and it carefully 

 avoids them. Several times have I found wounds caused 

 by them in its paws, and these prevent it hunting. 



