80 
THE STORY OF THE LION. 
lions that prove the rule that when they strike they kill. * * * It is a grand 
sight to see one charge a native regiment sent out after it, as they sometimes 
are, springing over the heads of the first line right into the center, flying about, 
knocking men down with every blow, until, a complete sieve of assegai wounds, 
it dies fighting. 
The lion tries to avoid man until wounded, and it is only in exceptional 
cases of ther^ being young ones to guard, or from astonishment at seeing the 
hunter so close to them, that they charge when being tracked. They charge 
with the same coughing roar that a tiger does, and come at great speed close 
to the ground, not bounding in the air as they are represented in pictures. 
Their ears are pressed close to the head, giving them the comical appearance 
of being without ears. So large an animal coming at full speed against you 
of course knocks you off your legs. The claws and teeth entering the flesh 
\ do not hurt so much as you would think. The only really painful part of the 
business is the squeeze given by the jaws on the bone. I felt none of the 
dreamy stupor Livingstone describes, but, on the contrary, felt as usual. I 
adopted the course of lying quite still, which, I believe, is the best thing one 
can do, as you are quite helpless with a heavy animal on you, and they are 
inclined to make grabs at everything that moves, and the fewer bites you can 
get off with the better. 
Twice in my life I have escaped death by the ruse of feigning death when 
in the power of a lion, but I know of no other situation in which a man can 
be placed which requires as much nerve and control of the muscles. Imagine 
a great brute nosing and sniffing every part of your body from your head to 
feet; imagine feeling its hot breath or the saliva from its dripping jaws upon 
your face, while you know that to stir or give any sign of life means instant 
death, and you will have some idea how a hunter feels when at the mercy of 
the king of beasts. 
