erbert, N. VY.
IURING recent years lions,
leopards, and jackals have been
much more numerous in the
vicinity of some of our Central
African missions than for many
years before. In fact, in places
where it was thought they were
practically extinct they have appeared
again, and in many cases manifested un-
usual boldness. Even quite near large
towns like Bulawayo and Elizabethville
they have been found in unusually large
numbers.
Thus during the latter part of 1924
the Musofu Mission, situated in North-
ern Rhodesia on the border of the
Belgian Congo, was frequently visited
at night by lions, and the few cattle
owned by the mission were often dis-
turbed by them, though none of them
were slaughtered. Missionary C. E.
Wheeler made repeated efforts to trap
the visitors, sometimes setting a huge
steel trap for them; and at other times
a loaded rifie so arranged that an
animal touching a string that was tied
to the trigger would thereby commit
PAGE TWENTY-SIX
Open for a good meal
LIONS ALL ABOUT
Thrilling Missionary Experiences in the Realm of the King of Beasts.
‘By William H. Branson
suicide. However, all efforts to catch or
destroy the beasts were fruitless; and
when the day arrived for Mr. Wheeler
and his family to leave for the sea coast
on their furlough, it was with many
misgivings that the mission was handed
over to the head native teacher, Mat-
thew, who would have the sole responsi-
bility of carrying on the work of the
station, as well as protecting the mission
property during the four months of their
absence.
It was perhaps a month after the
Wheeler family had gone that the
lions revisited the mission. On this
occasion, although the cattle were
securely fastened in the kraal (an in-
closure made of nine-foot poles planted
in the ground) one of the beasts suc-
ceeded in leaping over the kraal fence,
killed a cow, and actually dragged her
over the fence and into the bush.
‘The next morning Matthew and his
companions found little difficulty in
following the tracks, and a few hundred
yards from the kraal found the carcass
of the cow only partly eaten. Knowing
the nature of the king of beasts, Matthew
felt certain that the lion or lions would
return to Lhe carcass the following night
for another feed, and feeling a great
responsibility for the mission herd, he
determined to do everything in his
power to bring about the destruction
of the intruders.
Apparently he had no poison at hand,
but there was an old rifle in the mission
house and a steel lion trap in the shop;
and having seen Mr. Wheeler set these,
he decided to try his luck with them.
Accordingly he built a high brush fence
around the dead animal, leaving only
one opening through which the lion
must pass should he desire to complete
his repast. Across this gateway a small
cord was stretched, the end of which
was fastened to the trigger of the rifle,
which had been secured to the fence
and was pointed toward the opening.
Then, to make assurance doubly sure,
the steel trap was also set near the car-
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