202 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
XVI 
The name of lion is so linked with our language that 
o O 
we speak of lion-hearted kings, squires, and warriors. 
The animal is emblazoned on shields and banners ; it is 
the emblem of one evangelist and many saints. It 
appears in the arms of the King of England and is the 
symbol for British pluck. 
To-day in British East iVfrica, the naked Masai 
armed only with spears and shields kill this ferocious 
brute, and with pardonable pride a brave warrior wears 
the mane as an adornment for his head on festive 
occasions and in war. 
Formerly lions flourished throughout Africa, south¬ 
eastern Europe, Asia Minor, Persia, and India. Civilisa¬ 
tion has driven them from Europe, and in Asia they are 
found in restricted districts. Lions must have been 
easily accessible to the Romans, if the • statements 
made by historians are true concerning the great 
numbers of these animals exhibited and destroyed in 
the amphitheatres Some of them were obtained in 
Mauretania, a country comprising the north-west 
corner of Africa, now represented by Algeria and a 
part of Morocco. 
Those who desire to see the lion in a natural state 
generally attempt to visit him in East Africa or in 
Somaliland. No one can live in or visit these countries 
without having his attention very forcibly directed to 
these brutes. 
It is a great shock to learn that the lion, which from 
our childhood ranks in our minds as the King of 
Beasts, is in a British colony classed as vermin, and no 
licence is required to kill him. 
The lion has no great use for human beings as food. 
It is true when old age affects the lion’s joints and his 
teeth are worn he takes to man-eating : killing such 
strong mammals as the zebra, buffalo, ox, and donkey, 
his favourite food, requires agility as well as strength, 
whereas it is a simple process to haunt the neighbour¬ 
hood of villages and secure defenceless naen and women. 
