20 RAVAGES OP LION8. 



the importunities of friends, I meant to have kept in store 

 Vo tell my children when in my dotage. The Bakatla of 

 ihe village Mabotsa were much troubled by lions, which 

 leaped into the cattle-pens by night and destroyed their 

 cows. They even attacked the herds in open day. This 

 was so unusual an occurrence that the people believed that 

 they were bewitched, — "given," as they said, "into the 

 power of the lions by a neighboring tribe." They went 

 once to attack the animals; but, being rather a cowardly 

 people compared to Bechuanas in general on such occasions, 

 they returned without killing any. 



It is well known that if one of a troop of lions is killed, 

 the others take the hint and leave that part of the country. 

 So, the next time the herds were attacked, I went with the 

 people, in order to encourage them to rid themselves of the 

 annoyance by destroying one of the marauders. We found 

 the lions on a small hill about a quarter of a mile in length 

 and covered with trees. A circle of men was formed round 

 it, and they gradually closed up, ascending pretty near to 

 each other. Being down below on the plain with a native 

 schoolmaster, named Mebalwe, a most excellent man, I saw 

 one of the lions sitting on a piece of rock within the now 

 closed circle of men. Mebalwe fired at him before I could, 

 and the ball struck the rock on which the anjmal was 

 sitting. He bit at the spot struck, as a dog does at a stick 

 or stone thrown at him, then, leaping away, broke through 

 the opening circle and escaped unhurt. The men were 

 afraid to attack him, perhaps on account of their belief in 

 witchcraft. When the circle was reformed, we saw two 

 other lions in it; but we were afraid to fire, lest we should 

 strike the men, and they allowed the beasts to burst through 

 also. If the Bakatla had acted according to the custom 

 of the country, they would have speared the lions in their 

 attempt to get out. Seeing we could not get them to kill 

 one of the lions, we bent our footsteps toward the village : 

 in going round the end of the hill, however, I saw one of 

 the beasts sitting on a piece of rock as before, but. this time 



