THE LION. 127 



accompanied by a fearful roar. When the Lion is pinched with hunger, he shakes his mane 

 and lashes his sides with his tail. When he is thus agitated it is almost certain death to come 

 in his way, and as he generally lurks for his prey behind the bushes, travellers sometimes do 

 not discover the motion of his tail till it is too late ; but if a Lion shakes not his mane, nor 

 lashes himself with his tail, a traveller may pass safely by him. 



"If we could drive a bargain with the Felis Leo that he should always thus signal to 

 travellers, we might pass through the African wilderness with less risk than at the present 

 time. But from the experience gained by more modern hunters, it appears that the lion 

 will frequently attack horses, oxen, etc., without any intimation from mane or tail. 



"The most formidable attacks are those which take place during a dark night, when it 

 would be impossible to be prepared in consequence of not observing the shaking and lashing 

 above referred to." 



It has already been mentioned, that several naturalists accept the Lion of Western Africa 

 as a species distinct from the Lion of Southern Africa, and have therefore given to the animal a 

 different specific name, which is derived from the country in which it is found. Whatever may 

 be said of the distinction between the Asiatic and African Lion, there seem to be scarcely suffi- 

 cient grounds for considering the very slight differences which are found in Lions of Africa to 

 be a sufficient warrant for constituting separate species. They may be permanent varieties, and 

 even in that case are not nearly so different from each other as the mastiff from the spaniel. 



From all accounts, however, it seems that the habits of all Lions are very similar, and that 

 a Lion acts like a Lion, whether he resides in Africa or Asia. 



We all are familiar with the self-gratulatory half -threatening mixture between a purr and 

 a growl, which is emitted by the domestic cat when she has laid her paws on a mouse or a 

 bird, and is divided in mind between the complacent consciousness of having won a prize by 

 her own efforts, and the ever present fear that it should escape or be taken away. If we 

 substitute a Lion for a cat, and suppose ourselves to be in the position of the victim, we may 

 partly realize the feeling which must have filled the mind of a recent traveller and hunter in 

 Southern Africa. 



He had built for himself a "skarm," or slight rifle-pit, composed of stones, logs, and other 

 convenient substances, and had watched during the night in hopes of finding game worthy the 

 sacrifice of time and sleep. Nothing, however, had come within range of the concealed hunter 

 excepting a white rhinoceros, which was shot, and fell dead on the spot. Wearied out 

 with the prolonged vigil, the hunter dropped asleep, and lay for some time wrapped in 

 unconsciousness. 



But the active desert life requires that its votary should be ever prepared for any emer- 

 gency, and even during sleep should be capable of instantaneous awaking ready for action. 

 So it happened, that although the deep sleep of wearied nature had wrapped the hunter's 

 senses in oblivion, a part of his being remained awake, ready to give the alarm to that portion 

 which slept. Suddenly a sense of danger crept over the sleeper, and he awoke to a feeling 

 that a monotonous rumbling sound, which reverberated in his ears, was in some way connected 

 with imminent peril. A moment's reflection told him that none but a Lion could produce 

 such sounds, and that one of those fearful animals was actually stooping over him, its breath 

 playing on his face. 



Taught by practical experience of the danger of alarming the Lion, the hunter quietly felt 

 for his gun, which was lying ready loaded and cocked in front of him, and raised himself in 

 order to get a glimpse at the foe. Slight as the movement was, it sufficed to alarm the Lion, 

 which uttered a sharp, menacing growl, speaking in a language well known to the intended 

 victim. Knowing that not a moment could be lost, he pointed his weapon towards an indistinct 

 mass, which loomed darkly through the mists of night, and fired. 



The report of the gun was instantly mingled with the fierce roarings of the infuriated 

 Lion, maddened with the pain of its wound, seeking to wreak its vengeance on its foe, and 

 tearing up the ground in its fury, within a very few paces of the skarm. By degrees the 

 fierce roars subsided into angry growls, and the growls into heavy moans, until the terrible 

 voice was hushed, and silence reigned during the remainder of the night. 



