ON SAFARI IN SOTIK WILDERNESS AND LAKE NAIVASHA 419 
His son Kermit was still more successful, his unerring rifle bringing 
down a very large tawny-maned lion, the largest of this variety 
obtained by the expedition. In addition his well aimed bullets reached 
two cheetahs. 
The cheetah is the animal described on page 233 as the hunting 
leopard. It is of about the size of the leopard but is much less fierce. 
While wild in Africa, it has long been domesticated in Persia and 
India, packs of cheetahs being kept by Indian princes for the purpose 
of hunting deer and antelopes. In the domestic state it resembles the 
dog in being very fond of attention and repaying kindness with affec¬ 
tion. When used in the hunting field the head of the cheetah is kept 
covered with a leather hood until it comes within two hundred yards 
of the game. When the hood is removed and the animal permitted 
to see the game, it creeps stealthily towards its prey, taking advan¬ 
tage of every bush or inequality in the ground. This goes on until the 
animals stalked show signs of alarm, when the alert creature is among 
them with a few bounds, strikes down its victim with a blow of its 
paw, and instantly tears open the throat and begins to suck the blood 
of the fallen deer or antelope. If unsuccessful it does not follow the 
herd by running, but comes creeping back to the hunters as if ashamed. 
In fact, it seems incapable of a burst of sustained speed and depends 
solely on a lurking approach and a sudden dash. 
There succeeded an adventure in which Colonel Rooosevelt ran 
one of the greatest risks in his hunting career, one of those ever¬ 
present perils to which the hunter in Africa is at all times exposed. 
On one of his hunting trips a large black-maned lion had been put up 
and had taken refuge, as is its wont, in a small clump of bushes. 
Roosevelt followed it with his usual daring enthusiasm, while the 
beaters sought to drive the lurking beast from its lair. 
Suddenly the infuriated creature, with a growl of rage, broke from 
the bush, its head erect, its tail waving. The hunter stood before it, 
not many paces away. Roaring defiance the great maned cat sprang 
forward, charging upon him with the speed of a catapult. It was a 
moment of deadly peril for the ex-President, one in which only his cool 
courage and skill as a marksman saved him from probable death. 
Rifle at shoulder, with quick but steady aim he let drive at the charging 
