silence, one can imagine the veldt
crouched in a rigid terror that shall endure.

XI. LIONS AGAIN

As to the dangers of lion hunting it is also difficult to write. There
is no question that a cool man, using good judgment as to just what
he can or cannot do, should be able to cope with lion situations. The
modern rifle is capable of stopping the beast, provided the bullet goes
to the right spot. The right spot is large enough to be easy to hit, if
the shooter keeps cool. Our definition of a cool man must comprise the
elements of steady nerves under super-excitement, the ability to think
quickly and clearly, and the mildly strategic quality of being able to
make the best use of awkward circumstances. Such a man, barring sheer
accidents, should be able to hunt lions with absolute certainty for
just as long as he does not get careless, slipshod or over-confident.
Accidents-real accidents, not merely unexpected happenings-are hardly to
be counted. They can occur in your own house.

But to the man not temperamentally qualified, lion shooting is dangerous
enough. The lion, when he takes the offensive, intends to get his
antagonist. Having made up his mind to that, he charges home, generally
at great speed. The realization that it is the man's life or the beast's
is disconcerting. Also the charging lion is a spectacle much more
awe-inspiring in reality than the most vivid imagination can predict.
He looks very large, very determined, and has uttered certain rumbling,
blood-curdling threats as to what he is going to do about it. It
suddenly seems most undesirable to allow that lion to come any closer,
not even an inch! A hasty, nervous shot misses--

An unwounded lion charging from a distance is said to start rather
slowly, and to increase his pace only as he closes. Personally I have
never been charged by an unwounded beast, but I can testify that the
wounded animal comes very fast. Cuninghame puts the rate at about seven
seconds to the hundred yards. Certainly I should say that a man charged
from fifty yards or so would have little chance for a second shot,
provided he missed the first. A hit seemed, in my experience, to the
animal, by sheer force of impact, long enough to permit me to throw in
another cartridge. A lioness thus took four frontal bullets starting at
about sixty yards. An initial miss would probably have permitted her to
close.

Here, as can be seen, is a great source of danger to a flurried or
ne