30 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, 



Photo by Kermit Roosevelt. Copyright by Charles Scribner's Sons 

 WOUNDED WILDEBEEST SHOT BY MR. ROOSEVELT 



Several of us went out with them on 

 horseback to round up a lion for them. 

 We traveled three or four hours — half a 

 dozen horsemen and 30 or 40 stalwart 

 naked savages with ox-hide shields and 

 spears. Then we roused a big lion with 

 a fine mane, and, after running a mile or 

 two, rounded him up under a bush, and 

 the spearmen came trotting up. It was 

 as fine a sight as I ever saw. The first 

 spearman that came up halted about 60 

 yards from the lion. (We were watching 

 him with our rifles to see that he did not 

 attack the first spearman.) Then this 

 man knelt down with his ox-hide shield 

 in front of him, looking over the shield 

 at the lion ; and, as man after man came 

 up, they formed a ring around the lion, 

 all kneeling. The lion stood under the 

 bush. As they closed in on him he began 

 to grow more and more angry, roaring, 

 and looking first to one side and then to 



the other and lashing his tail furiously. 

 It was a fine sight to see these men make 

 the ring, with their spears and their 

 eager, intent faces, and the great, mur- 

 derous, man-eating beast in the middle, 

 ever growing more and more angry. As 

 soon as the ring was completed they all 

 got up and started to close in. The lion 

 charged straight for the weakest part of 

 the ring. The man in front braced him- 

 self ; we could see his muscles all stand 

 out as if he were a bronze statue. There 

 were five or six men who took part in 

 the fight. From each side the two or 

 three nearest men sprang in to see if 

 they could not get the lion as he came 

 straight on toward the man in his im- 

 mediate front. When he was about not 

 more than six feet from him the man 

 lobbed the spear ; that is, he did not take 

 his arm back and throw it, but simply 

 cast it loose with a little motion of the 



