178 THE LION 



of course, success attends the bait of an animal's 

 carcass shot and planted for the purpose ; but it 

 is obvious that the chances are greatly in favour 

 of his coming to the feast of which he is already 

 aware rather than to one provided for him without 

 his knowledge. Opinion is divided as to the rela- 

 tive merits of a pit or a platform, but personally 

 I think there can be no question on this point. 

 The pit involves preparation which must present 

 to the returning lion the appearance of something 

 new and strange. In my experience, at any rate, 

 the disturbance of the smallest of the objects 

 surrounding a kill is enough to fill the lion with 

 misgiving, and cause him to forsake it even in 

 the complete absence of suspicion of another kind. 

 A platform or machan, as it is called, constructed 

 some 10 or 15 feet from the ground, not only 

 leaves things exactly as they were, but enables 

 the hunter's scent to pass over the lion as he 

 approaches or lies up to the kill. In the old days 

 blue lights were usually provided for night shoot- 

 ing of this kind, but a contrivance shown to me 

 by Major Statham, who I believe elaborated it, 

 entirely outclassed the old-fashioned devices. It 

 consisted of a small electric lamp fitted with an 

 extremely powerful reflector secured to the front 

 of the hat-band by a hook or safety-pin. This was 

 connected by wires passing over the back of the 

 brim to a dry battery carried in the outside coat 

 pocket, and operated by a switch attached to a 

 convenient button-hole. This lamp throws a 

 powerful ray of brilliant white light above the 

 level of the eyes, which are thus in no way dazzled, 



