174 THE LAND OF THE LION 



upper plateau, or anywhere else, when the grass is short. 

 I visited scores of their little hunting lodges before the 

 rains began, in this very country, and found little meat and 

 very little fresh skin. What meat and skin they had was 

 evidently robbed from the lion, as they were constantly 

 hunting up "kills." They seemed very meat-hungry, and 

 lived, they assured us, on honey only, and I think they 

 spoke the truth. 



As it is with the wild man, so it is with the lions. They 

 kill, of course, on the high veldt, for a band of them can, 

 during the night time, surround a herd, and so thoroughly 

 stampede it that some unfortunate beast must be dragged 

 down. But they try again and again before success comes. 

 H. has seen them, vainly hunting, far into the morning 

 evidently only driven to this useless, proceeding, by dire 

 hunger. During daylight all the antelope simply play 

 with them, watching their stealthy approach in a half inter- 

 ested sort of way, and then easily distancing them. Two 

 months ago we had a most interesting view of five lions 

 trying to surround a zebra herd at nine in the morning. 

 So intent were the lions that he and his man got two of them, 

 but at no time were the zebra in any danger. 



Well, let me get back to my story, and try to tell as 

 well as I can of a ride the like of which will probably never 

 come to me again. There is simply nothing like riding a 

 lion in the world. There cannot be, and soon, very soon, 

 it will be a thing of the past. 



We started H. and I and my syce, as I said long 

 before sun up, soon, indeed, as there was light enough to see. 

 We had camped some six miles from the great swamp, so 

 that no noise from our sefari might spoil our chances. 

 Moreover, we had not fired a shot near camp the evening 

 before. Such precautions are often thought unnecessary, 

 but it is not so. Lion are timid in the extreme, so long 

 as they have a chance to get away; it is when retreat is cut 



