VII 
MAN-EATING LIONS 
75 
might into the brute’s shoulder, while another bullet 
from my rifle finished him. 
On examining the carcase, we found that he was 
an old and mangy lion, and, as I have mentioned 
before, it is usually at this period of his existence 
that the King of Beasts takes to man-eating. 
The villagers were overjoyed at the news of the 
lion’s death, and to commemorate the occasion, 
indulged in a prodigious beer-drink, and fashioned 
amulets from the animal’s bones. 
II 
The tragic incidents which follow happened in 
1902, on the eastern shores of Lake Nyassa, where 
some natives, having left their old homes with the 
intention of settling down anew, had erected tempo¬ 
rary grass huts and were tilling their shambas for 
the coming rains. Arriving on the day following 
the unhappy affair, I gathered an account of it 
from some askaris or native police, who had par¬ 
ticipated in the occurrence. 
On the night in question, five of these askaris 
were sleeping in one hut when, about three o’clock 
in the morning, one of them was awakened by a 
low growl and the noise of a sudden crash, which he 
felt betokened the presence of a man-eating lion. 
He immediately roused his comrades, who, picking 
