XVI THE LION 



205 



true there are conditions in wliicli the lion appears 

 to behave like a coward, and may he shot almost as 

 easily and with as little danger as a buck, but when 

 angry and wounded he is a formidable beast to encounter. 

 Many agree with Kirby's opinion of the lion : " He is 

 neither cur nor fiend and is only magnanimous when 

 his stomach is full." The colour of the lion makes 

 concealment an easy matter in the long dry grass : his 

 agility, strength, and ferocity render it dangerous to 

 meddle with him even when the hunter is a man of 

 experience, coolness, skill, and courage armed with a 

 perfect rifie. 



An angry or wounded lion when "charging" rer|uires 

 some courage on the part of the assailant, for in this 

 condition he rushes through the long grass with the tail 

 stift' and erect, lips retracted, exposing the teeth and jaws, 

 and uttering a hoarse, grunting roar. He may be 

 described as ferocity personified, for " he is resolved on 

 vengeance, or resolved on death," and not unfrecjuently 

 the lion is the winner. It is true that a charging lion 

 will sometimes turn aside when hit, but it is ef|ually true 

 that after receiving a mortal wound his vitality is such 

 that he has retained sufficient strength to kill, or liadly 

 maul, the hunter before dying. 



On one occasion a hunter detected a lioness in some 

 long dry grass. He carefully approached, and fired at her 

 head. She fell apparently dead. Before venturing near 

 the lioness he looked carefully around to satisfy himself 

 that none other was about, when his ))oy noticed a lioness 

 stealthily coming towards them. When the animal was 

 within fifteen yards he fired and killed it. His surprise 

 may be imagined on finding that it was the lioness he 

 had previously shot : she had recovered from the shock 

 and was coming for him. The two bullets had entered 

 the skull accurately between the eyes about an inch 

 from each other. 



A hungry lion on a dark night is a daring and 

 dangerous beast, and there are so many authentic 



