w the sport with hounds. But having killed one or two
by that method, quit. Do not go on and clean up the country. You can do
it. Poison and hounds are the SURE methods of finding any lion there may
be about; and AFTER THE FIRST FEW, one is about as justifiable as the
other. If you want the undoubtedly great joy of cross country pursuit,
send your hounds in after less noble game.

The third safe method of killing a lion is nocturnal. You lay out a kill
beneath a tree, and climb the tree. Or better, you hitch out a pig or
donkey as live bait. When the lion comes to this free lunch, you try to
see him; and, if you succeed in that, you try to shoot him. It is not
easy to shoot at night; nor is it easy to see in the dark. Furthermore,
lions only occasionally bother to come to bait. You may roost up that
tree many nights before you get a chance. Once up, you have to stay up;
for it is most decidedly not safe to go home after dark. The tropical
night in the highlands is quite chilly. Branches seem to be quite as
cramping and abrasive under the equator as in the temperate zones.
Still, it is one method.

Another is to lay out a kill and visit it in the early morning. There is
more to this, for you are afoot, must generally search out your beast
in nearby cover, and can easily find any amount of excitement in the
process.

The fourth way is to ride the lion. The hunter sees his quarry returning
home across the plains, perhaps; or jumps it from some small bushy
ravine. At once he spurs his horse in pursuit. The lion will run but a
short distance before coming to a stop, for he is not particularly long
either of wind or of patience. From this stand he almost invariably
charges. The astute hunter, still mounted, turns and flees. When the
lion gets tired of chasing, which he does in a very short time, the
hunter faces about. At last the lion sits down in the grass, waiting for
the game to develop. This is the time for the hunter to dismount and to
take his shot. Quite likely he must now stand a charge afoot, and drop
his beast before it gets to him.

This is real fun. It has many elements of safety, and many of danger.

To begin with, the hunter at this game generally has companions to back
him: often he employs mounted Somalis to round the lion up and get it
to stand. The charging lion is quite apt to make for the conspicuous
mounted men-who can easily escape-ignoring the hunter afoot. As the game
is largely played in the ope