242 THE LAND OF THE LION 



wounded in a band of ten, and at last got one of them. 

 On both these occasions I was alone (saving my gun bearers). 



But to my mind riding lion is the sport above all others. 

 It is unquestionably a dangerous sport. So dangerous 

 that, unless the country is open and the galloping good, 

 it should not be attempted. Even then if a man persists 

 in it, it is only a question of time till his luck turns and he 

 comes to grief. If he allows himself to be carried away by 

 excitement and ride blindly as he must at top speed amid 

 high grass and bush, then let him at least know what he is 

 doing, and what he is inducing or allowing others with him 

 to do. He is simply courting death. 



Comparatively few lions have yet been ridden in this 

 country, and already several men have been mauled and two 

 at least have died. I am not guilty of exaggeration in say- 

 ing so much. Under reasonable conditions let a fair rider 

 and shot do it by all means. Under other conditions than 

 these let him determinedly set his face against it. The 

 unwounded lion is seldom dangerous to anyone on foot. 

 At times unwounded lions will attack, as will lions that 

 have lain down after a hearty meal and resent being dis- 

 turbed. The unwounded lioness sometimes is dangerous, 

 especially if her cubs are young. But the lion or lioness, 

 once ridden, is a quite different beast. He does not come to 

 bay until he is thoroughly tired, and quite convinced that 

 his retreat is cut off. Once he is bayed, the last thing he 

 thinks of is getting away. He wants to get his enemy down. 

 He runs from nothing but man, and it is as though, resenting 

 the indignity man has placed on him, he rushes in to kill. 

 There is no turning, no swerving about him then, unless 

 he has received a death shot. Be it remembered too, that 

 though, broadside on, he offers an ideal mark; head on 

 charging, he is a most unsatisfactory target. The bones 

 of the forehead which protect the very small brain are 

 massive and slope sharply back. A well-aimed bullet 



