Semi-weekly herald., 1913-10-02

close by in the pitchy darkness. On
rare occasions lioness deprived OF
her cubs or one of pair of lions
whose mate has been shot will roar
savagely after nightfall, perhaps in
the neighborhood where the loss oc-
Cured, perhaps while travelling about.
Old males may roar again and again
in answer to one another as If chal-
longing; and if one party begins to
roar it will often bring an answer
from any lion within hearing. At
bay lion utters continuous growl-
ing, broken by muttered roars; and
he grunts loudly as he charges.
Lions do not go into heavy for
ests, although they make their day
lairs along the edges. They like to
lie up for the day in patches Of
jungle which border on open plains,
in bushes in open scrub, in clumps
of reeds, in any thick bit Of cover In
the open thorn forests which are 10
plentiful in much of the game coun-
try; and perhaps especially in a strip
of cover along river or one Of the
dense masses of brush and trees, Of
small extent, which are found along
the water courses. They also lie In
tall grass. OCCASIONALLY they lie thru
out the day right out in the open, on
mound or the side OF an ant-hill or
under low brush tree that does
not shield them from sight. II the
grass is very tall they find it easy
to get close to their prey and to evads
human observation; and where the
brush is thick or the open forest
fairly continuous it is almost .
chance If one comes on them. II much
molested they become strictly noct-
urnal; otherwise, under more nstur-
al conditions. although they spend
most Of the day sleeping, they may
sometimes be seen leisurely strolling
in the open, and they often return
to their resting places after sunrise
and leave them before sunset-aI-
though even under such circumstances
1t is only exceptionally that they hunt
except under cover of darkness. Once
we came on a big male lion In mid
afternoon walking back across the
open plain to zebra he had killed
on the previous night; and once, At
the same time of day, we came on
lioness leading her cubs back to the
carcass of wildebeest, also slain
over night. On another afternoon We
came across a lion and lioness gazing
intently at an old bull wildebeest
which was returning their stare, very
much on the alert, at distance Of
sixty yards.
Except when resting, and in the
breeding season, the whole career Of
lion may be summed up In the
single word, rapine. For all the
creatures Of the wilderness save the
full-grown elephant, rhinoceros and
hippopotamus he is the terror that
stalks by night. His prowess is ex-
traordinary. His tactics are stealth,
surprise, and sudden overwhelming
fury Of attack. Occasionally he hunts
by day, but in the great majority Of
cases by night, and the darker the
night the bolder he is and the more
10 be feared.
"Fhe chase Of the lion, II fairly
followed, is an enthralling but GER
tainly dangerous pastime. OF course
few lions may be killed under such
circumstances that the. hunter is
practically in do danger whatever,
and in certain forms of hunting lions,
such as sitting in tree or . high
thorn zariba, and waiting for them
to approach carcass or q tethered
domestic animal, the element Of dan
ger is eliminated. Moreover, the ex-
perience Of Paul Rainey, who, in COM
pany with Mr.. Heller took to Africa
pack of American bear hounds and
fighting dogs, and by their aid kill
ed about go lions, shows that with
thoroughly trained dogs of the right
temper lions and leopards can be pur-
sued by good hunters with the min
imum of risk and almost the certainty
Of success. But the man who on
foot or on horseback, without dogs.
follows hunting as a steady pur-
suit, will not kill many of them with
out being viciously and resolutely
charged. and If he persists long
enough his life will be put in jsop-
ardy."
When an old bachelor decides to get