XVI 
THE LION 
205 
true there are conditions in which the lion appears 
to behave like a coward, and may be shot almost as 
easily and with as little danger as a buck, but when 
angry and wounded he is a formidable beast to encounter. 
Many agree with Kirby’s opinion of the lion : “ He is 
neither cur nor fiend and is only magnanimous when 
his stomach is full.” The colour of the lion makes 
concealment an easy matter in the long dry grass : his 
agility, strength, and ferocity render it dangerous to 
meddle with him even when the hunter is a man of 
experience, coolness, skill, and courage armed with a 
perfect rifle. 
An angry or wounded lion when “charging” requires 
some courage on the part of the assailant, for in this 
condition he rushes through the long grass with the tail 
stiff and erect, lips retracted, exposing the teeth and jaws, 
and uttering a hoarse, grunting roar. He may be 
described as ferocity personified, for “ he is resolved on 
vengeance, or resolved on death,” and not unfrequently 
the lion is the winner. It is true that a charging lion 
will sometimes turn aside when hit, but it is equally true 
that after receiving a mortal wound his vitality is such 
that he has retained sufficient strength to kill, or badly 
maul, the hunter before dying. 
On one occasion a hunter detected a lioness in some 
long dry grass. He carefully approached, and fired at her 
head. She fell apparently dead. Before venturing near 
the lioness he looked carefully around to satisfy himself 
that none other was about, when his boy noticed a lioness 
stealthily coming towards them. When the animal was 
within fifteen yards he fired and killed it. His surprise 
may be imagined on finding that it was the lioness he 
had previously shot: she had recovered from the shock 
and was coming for him. The two bullets had entered 
the skull accurately between the eyes about an inch 
from each other. 
A hungry lion on a dark night is a daring and 
dangerous beast, and there are so many authentic 
