Mr Leslie 07i Lion-hunting in South Africa, ^Q5 



shun you. He seats himself on some ridge, which he will never 

 leave, and from thence growls inimitable defiance till loss of blood 

 or some well-aimed bullet lays him prostrate on the earth. 

 Often have I seen him roll, when wounded, from the ridge 

 where he was seated, but on his recovery, his sole object ap- 

 peared to be to regain it, as if it alone was the object of the 

 contest, and he would only yield it with his life. 



The method by which the boors pursue the lion, will be 

 shewn by describing the last hunt at which I was present. In 

 every instance it was the same, and in three successful, without 

 injury to any individual of the parties. The north-east bank 

 of Orange River, opposite our encampment, was totally unin- 

 habited save by a few wandering Bushmen. Vast numbers of 

 antelopes and quaggas grazed upon the plains ; and in the 

 rugged and bare hills which intersect them, the lion dwelt 

 during the day, and at night descended after considerable in- 

 tervals in search of food. I have seldom seen him in the plain 

 during the day, save when, in the extreme heat of the summer, he 

 might be found on the wooded banks of the river; but often during 

 the night, when we bivouacked in the open plain, and the terror 

 of the cattle and horses bore evidence of his approach ; at dawn 

 he would be seen winding slowly his way to the loftier summit 

 of some neighbouring mountain. One might hear the thunder 

 of his voice at miles' distance, while every animal shook with 

 fear. A lion of huge dimensions passed the river, which at that 

 season was low, and carried off a horse, the property of a neigh- 

 bouring boor. For some nights previous he had been heard in 

 a hill close to the banks of the river, to which it was supposed 

 he had again retreated on destroying his prey. The boors 

 assert that the flesh of the horse is highly prized by the palate 

 of the lion, but perhaps it is because that animal is their own 

 most valuable property. It was proposed to cross the river the 

 following morning and trace him to his den, with the few boors 

 we could collect, and a party of our men. We mounted imme- 

 diately after sunrise, and with a large number of dogs, proceed- 

 ed to the mountain, every crevice and ravine of which we ex- 

 amined without finding him. Gorged with his late meal, he 

 had, perhaps, we thought, remained in the thick cover on the 

 steep banks of the river, to which we then returned, and m 



VOL. XV. NO. XXIX. JULY 1833. E 



