g is done before dawn, after which the lion enjoys stretching
out in the open until the sun is well up, and then retiring to the
nearest available cover. Still, at the risk of seeming to be perpetually
qualifying, I must instance finding three lions actually on the stale
carcass of a waterbuck at eleven o'clock in the morning of a piping
hot day! In an undisturbed country, or one not much hunted, the early
morning hours up to say nine o'clock are quite likely to show you lions
sauntering leisurely across the open plains toward their lairs. They
go a little, stop a little, yawn, sit down a while, and gradually work
their way home. At those times you come upon them unexpectedly face to
face, or, seeing them from afar, ride them down in a glorious gallop.
Where the country has been much hunted, however, the lion learns to
abandon his kill and seek shelter before daylight, and is almost never
seen abroad. Then one must depend on happening upon him in his cover.

In the actual hunting of his game the lion is apparently very clever.
He understands the value of cooperation. Two or more will manoeuvre
very skilfully to give a third the chance to make an effective spring;
whereupon the three will share the kill. In a rough country, or
one otherwise favourable to the method, a pack of lions will often
deliberately drive game into narrow ravines or cul de sacs where the
killers are waiting.

At such times the man favoured by the chance of an encampment within
five miles or so can hear a lion's roar.

Otherwise I doubt if he is apt often to get the full-voiced, genuine
article. The peculiar questioning cough of early evening is resonant and
deep in vibration, but it is a call rather than a roar. No lion is fool
enough to make a noise when he is stalking. Then afterward, when full
fed, individuals may open up a few times, but only a few times, in
sheer satisfaction, apparently, at being well fed. The menagerie row at
feeding time, formidable as it sounds within the echoing walls, is only
a mild and gentle hint. But when seven or eight lions roar merely to
see how much noise they can make, as when driving game, or trying to
stampede your oxen on a wagon trip, the effect is something tremendous.
The very substance of the ground vibrates; the air shakes. I can only
compare it to the effect of a very large deep organ in a very small
church. There is something genuinely awe-inspiring about it; and when
the repeated volleys rumble into