69 
ch. hi] LIONS AND THEIR PREY 
worth their while to challenge such formidable quarry. 
Every “ kill ” I saw was a kongoni or a zebra; probably 
I came across fifty of each. One zebra kill, which was 
not more than eighteen hours old (after the lapse of 
that time the vultures and marabouts, not to speak 
of the hyenas and jackals, leave only the bare bones), 
showed just what had occurred. The bones were all in 
place, and the skin still on the lower legs and head 
The animal was lying on its belly, the legs spread out 
the neck vertebras crushed. Evidently the lion had 
sprung clean on it, bearing it down by his weight, while 
he bit through the back of the neck, and the zebra’s 
legs had spread out as the body yielded under the lion. 
One fresh kongoni kill showed no marks on the haunches, 
but a broken neck and claw-marks on the face and 
withers; in this case the lion’s hind-legs had remained 
on the ground, while with his fore-paws he grasped the 
kongoni’s head and shoulders, holding it until the teeth 
splintered the neck-bone. 
One or two of our efforts to get lions failed, of course ; 
the ravines we beat did not contain them, or we failed 
to make them leave some particularly difficult hill or 
swamp—for lions lie close. But Sir Alfred knew just 
the right place to go to, and was bound to get us lions— 
and he did. 
One day we started from the ranch-house in good 
season for an all-day lion hunt. Besides Kermit and 
myself, there was a fellow-guest, Medlicott, and not 
only our host, but our hostess and her daughter ; and 
we were joined by Percival at lunch, which w T e took 
under a great fig-tree, at the foot of a high, rocky hill. 
Percival had with him a little mongrel bulldog and a 
Masai 44 boy,” a fine, bold-looking savage, with a hand¬ 
some head-dress and the usual formidable spear. Master, 
