The Land of the Lion
The Land of the Lion BY W. S. RAINSFORD Illustrated from Photographs New York Doubleday, Page & Company 1909 HUNTING IN AFRICA 107 I remember a friend of mine, who had spent three months in Rhodesia, showing me the result of his trip with pride. I was ignorant then of African game, and so was duly impressed. I know, now, there was scarcely one head in the lot worth keeping. He, however, only brought back what he had shot himself, for he was a good sportsman; but the truth is, very many of the bags reported are not made by the men returning them. The professional hunter does much of the shooting, and not seldom skins, tusks, and horns, are bought. It is not hard to forget (at least, some seem to find it easy) what you yourself have or have not shot. But is that sort of thing sport ? I am not speaking from haphazard hearsay, but from things that I know. I have often seen a would-be salmon fisher on our own rivers, sit reading a novel hour after hour, day after day, in his canoe, while his expert Indian threw a good fly over his shoulder. When the fish was hooked then the sportsman played it, and landed or lost it as the case might be. It takes more than money to make a sportsman. Enough said perhaps on an unpleasant subject. In the second place, game is not at all as plentiful as it was even in Africa. You cannot expect to stroll out of camp about eight o'clock, after a late and heavy breakfast and run across what you came out to get.
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