THE LAND OF FOOTPRINTS 



tenacity unequalled by any other living beast. My 

 own experience is of course nothing as compared to 

 that of these men. Yet I saw in my nine months 

 afield seventy-one lions. None of these offered to 

 attack when unwounded or not annoyed. On the 

 other hand, only one turned tail once the battle was 

 on, and she proved to be a three quarters grown lion- 

 ess, sick and out of condition. 



It is of course indubitable that where lions have 

 been much shot they become warier in the matter of 

 keeping out of trouble. They retire to cover earlier 

 in the morning, and they keep more than a per- 

 functory outlook for the casual human being. 

 When hunters first began to go into the Sotik the 

 lions there would stand imperturbably, staring at 

 the intruder with curiosity or indifference. Now 

 they have learned that such performances are not 

 healthy — and they have probably satisfied their 

 curiosity. But neither in the Sotik, nor even in the 

 plains around Nairobi itself, does the lion refuse the 

 challenge once it has been put up to him squarely. 

 Nor does he need to be cornered. He charges in 

 quite blithely from the open plain, once convinced 

 that you are really an annoyance. 



As to habits! The only sure thing about a lion 

 is his originality. He has more exceptions to his 

 rules than the German language. Men who have 



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