THE MAGAZINE 



OF 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



JANUARY, 1834. 



ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



Art. I. Facts suggesting to Man his fittest Mode of de-fending him- 

 self from Attacks of Animals of the Feline and Canine Tribes, 

 By Charles Waterton, Esq. 



A man, at some period or other of his life, may have the 

 misfortune to come in contact with the larger individuals 

 of these two desperate and sanguinary races of quadrupeds. 

 Perhaps a few hints, of a precautionary nature, in case of col- 

 lision, may not be altogether unacceptable to Mr. Loudon's 

 readers. 



The dog and the lion are both most formidable foes to an 

 unarmed man ; and it is singular enough that the very resist- 

 ance which he would be forced to make, in order to escape 

 being worried by the former, would inevitably expose him to 

 certain destruction from the claws and teeth of the latter. 



All animals of the dog tribe must be combated with might 

 and main, and with unceasing exertion, in their attacks upon 

 man : for, from the moment they obtain the mastery, they 

 worry and tear their victim, as long as life remains in it. On 

 the contrary, animals of the cat tribe having once overcome 

 their prey, they cease, for a certain time, to inflict further 

 injury on it. Thus, during the momentous interval from the 

 stroke which has laid a man beneath a lion, to the time when 

 the lion shall begin to devour him, the man mai/ have it in his 

 power to rise again, either by his own exertions, or by the 

 fortuitous intervention of an armed friend. But then, all 

 depends upon quiet, extreme quiet, On the part of the man, 

 until he plunges his dagger into the heart of the animal: for, 

 if he tries to resist, he is sure to feel the force of his adver- 



VoL. VII.— No.37. B 



