THRILLING ADVENTURES IN AFRICA. 
187 
robed him, he is perfectly invisible in the dark; and although I have 
often heard them loudly lapping the water under my very nose, not 
twenty yards from me, I could not possibly make out so much as 
the outlines of their forms. When a thirsty lion comes to water he 
stretches out his massive arms, lies down on his breast to drink, and 
makes a loud lapping noise in drinking not to be mistaken. He con¬ 
tinues lapping up the water for a long while, and four or five times 
during the proceeding he pauses for half a minute as if to take 
breath. 
EYES THAT GLISTEN LIKE BALLS OF FIRE. 
One thing conspicuous about them is their eyes, which, in a 
dark night, glow like two balls of fire. The female is more fierce 
and active than the male, as a general rule. Lionesses which have 
never had young are much more dangerous than those which have. 
At no time is the lion so much to be dreaded as when his partner 
has got small young ones. At that season he knows no fear, and, 
in the coolest and most intrepid manner, he will face a thousand 
men. A remarkable instance of this kind came under my own obser¬ 
vation, which confirmed the reports I had before heard from the 
natives. 
One day, when out elephant-hunting in the territory of the 
Baseleka, accompanied by two hundred and fifty men, I was aston¬ 
ished suddenly to behold a majestic lion slowly and steadily advanc¬ 
ing towards us with a dignified step and undaunted bearing, the 
most noble and imposing that can be conceived. Lashing his tail 
from side to side, and growling haughtily, his terribly expressive 
eye resolutely fixed upon us, and displaying a show of ivory well 
calculated to inspire terror among the timid Bechuanas, he 
approached. 
A headlong flight of the two hundred and fifty men was the 
immediate result; and, in the confusion of the moment, four couples 
of my dogs which they had been leading, were allowed to escape 
in their couples. These instantly faced the lion, who, finding that 
by his bold bearing he had succeeded in putting his enemies to 
flight, now became solicitous for the safety of his little family, with 
