CHAPTER III 
LION-HUNTING ON THE KAPITI PLAINS 
The dangerous game of Africa are the lion, buffalo, 
elephant, rhinoceros, and leopard. The hunter who 
follows any of these animals always does so at a certain 
risk to life or limb—a risk which it is his business to 
minimize by coolness, caution, good judgment, and 
straight shooting. The leopard is in point of pluck and 
ferocity more than the equal of the other four; but his 
small size always renders it likely that he will merely 
maul, and not kill, a man. My friend Carl Akely, of 
Chicago, actually killed bare-handed a leopard which 
sprang on him. He had already wounded the beast 
twice, crippling it in one front and one hind paw ; 
whereupon it charged, followed him as he tried to 
dodge the charge, and struck him full just as he turned. 
It bit him in one arm, biting again and again as it 
worked up the arm from the wrist to the elbow; but 
Akely threw it, holding its throat with the other hand, 
and flinging its body to one side. It luckily fell on its 
side, with its two wounded legs uppermost, so that it 
could not tear him. He fell forward with it and 
crushed in its chest with his knees, until he distinctly felt 
one of its ribs crack ; this, said Akely, was the first 
moment when he felt he might conquer. Redoubling 
his efforts, with knees and hand, he actually choked 
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