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CARNIVORES. 



when sixteen lions had fallen to his rifle, considers the lion a far more dangerous 

 animal to encounter than any other creature in South Africa. It is true, indeed, that 

 a much greater number of casualties occur from buffalo-shooting than in lion-hunting, 

 but then, as Mr. Selous is careful to observe, for every lion that has of late years 

 been " bagged " in the interior of South Africa, at least fifty buffaloes have been laid 

 low. As a general rule, according to the same authority, the danger is reduced to a 

 minimum when hunting with dogs, as the lion's attention is generally concentrated 

 on his canine foes ; but even then it sometimes happens that he will dash straight 

 through them to attack the hunter. A mounted hunter, except when the movements 

 of his horse are impeded by thick forest or by yielding sand, can generally escape 

 when pursued, as, in the opinion of Mr. Selous, the pace of the average lion is not 

 sufficient to enable him to overtake the average horse. " If, however, on foot," adds 

 Mr. Selous, " and without dogs, though there is little danger in attacking lions in 

 the first instance, yet to follow up a wounded one is very ticklish work, especially 

 in long grass or thick cover, for there is probably no animal of its size in the world 

 that can conceal itself behind so slight a screen, or rush upon its pursuer with such 

 lightning-like rapidity." 



Still more impressive are the words of Mr. Drummond, who says that " it 

 should always be recollected, before meddling with lions, that if you do come to 

 close quarters with them, death is the probable result. There are cases within my 

 own knowledge," continues this writer, " where, single-handed and armed only with 

 a spear, a native has succeeded in killing one that has sprung upon him, without 

 receiving in return anything but trifling injuries ; but these are only exceptions 

 that prove the rule that when they strike they kill. ... It is a grand sight to see 

 one charge a native regiment sent out after it, as they sometimes are, springing 

 over the heads of the first line right into the centre, flying about, knocking men 

 down with every blow, until, a complete sieve of assegai wounds, it dies fighting." 



Sir Samuel Baker follows suit in contrasting the dangers of the solitary hunter 

 on foot engaged in lion-shooting in Africa, with tiger-shooting in India, either from 

 elephants, or with a number of guns posted in secure positions. 



Writing of his experiences in Somaliland, Mr. J. D. Inverarity observes that the 

 lion tries to avoid man until wounded, and it is only in exceptional cases of there 

 being young ones to guard, or from astonishment at seeing the hunter so close to 

 them, that they charge when being tracked. They charge with the same coughing 

 roar that a tiger does, and come at great speed close to the ground, not bounding 

 in the air as they are represented in pictures. Their ears are pressed close to the 

 head, giving them the comical appearance of being without ears. " So large an 

 animal coming at full speed against you of course knocks you off your legs. The 

 claws and teeth entering the flesh do not hurt so much as you would think. The 

 only really painful part of the business is the squeeze given by the jaws on the 

 bone. I felt none of the dreamy stupor Livingstone describes, but, on the contrary, 

 felt as usual. I adopted the course of lying quite still, which, I believe, is the best 

 thing one can do, as you are quite helpless with a heavy animal on you, and they 

 are inclined to make grabs at everything that moves, and the fewer bites you can 

 get off with the better." Stories of lion-hunting are legion, and if collected would 

 form at least one goodly volume ; we shall, however, refrain from quoting any, and 



