Book Reviews, 



83 



chapters Mr. Roosevelt has described a thrilling battle with a lion 

 and some native spearmen. These spearmen belong to a warlike 

 pastoral tribe called Nandi. They have long been accustomed to 

 kill lions with spears, and one of these hunts was arranged for the 

 benefit of Mr. Roosevelt. Nothing seems better fitted to give 

 an idea of the adventures narrated by the author than the follow- 

 ing description of the Nandis' battle with a lion : — 



"One by one the spearmen came up, at a run, and gradually 

 began to form a ring round him. Each, when he came near 

 enough, crouched behind his shield, his spear in his right hand, 

 his fierce, eager face peering over the shield rim. As man fol- 

 lowed man, the lion rose to his feet. His mane bristled, his tail 

 lashed, he held his head low, the upper lip now drooping, now 

 drawn up so as to show the gleam of the long fangs. He faced 

 first one way and then another, and never ceased to utter his 

 murderous grunting roars. It was a wild sight; the ring of 

 spearmen, intent, silent, bent on blood, and in the center the great 

 man-killing beast, his thunderous wrath growing ever more 

 dangerous. 



"At last the tense ring was complete, and the spearman rose and 

 closed in. The Hon looked quickly from side to side, saw where 

 the line was thinnest, and charged at his topmost speed. The 

 crowded moment began. With shields held steady and quivering 

 spears held poised, the men in front braced themselves for the 

 rush and the shock; and from either hand the warriors sprang 

 forward to take their foe in flank. Bounding ahead of his fellows, 

 the leader reached throwing distance ; the long spear flickered and 

 plunged. As the lion felt the wound he half turned, and then 

 flung himself on the man in front. The warrior then threw his 

 spear; it drove deep into the life, for, entering at one shoulder, 

 it came out of the opposite flank near the thigh, a yard of steel 

 through the big body. Rearing, the lion struck the man, bearing 

 down the shield, his back arched; and for a moment he slaked 

 his fury with fang and talon. But in the instant I saw another 

 spear driven clear through his body from side to side ; and as the 

 Hon turned again the bright spear blades darting toward him 

 were flashes of white flame. The end had come. He seized an- 

 other man, who stabbed him, and wrenched loose. As he fell he 

 gripped a spear head in his jaws with such tremendous force 

 that he bent it double. Then the warriors were round and over 

 him, stabbing and shouting, wild with furious exultation." 



Similar adventures are narrated in the chapter entitled "Ele- 

 phant Hunting on Mount Kenia." 



The book is profusely illustrated with excellent photographs 

 by Kermit Roosevelt and other members of the expedition. The 



