CATS— GREAT AND SMALL 139 



It can drag a Buffalo or Ox for a considerable distance, but cannot 

 lift its prey off the ground. It prefers, however, to eat it where 

 killed if undisturbed. 



It can spring and leap, gallop at a tremendous pace, and 

 overtake a horse going at its fastest speed. It does an enormous 

 amount of damage when found in the neighbourhood of Cattle and 

 Horses, but when far removed from these and haunting the silences 

 it has to content itself with such beasts as Gazelles, Antelopes, 

 Giraffes and Zebras, lying in ambush and waiting the close approach 

 of its prey. 



It may lie in wait near some meandering brook whither some 

 other wild beast comes to quench its thirst, and then, when the fatal 

 moment arrives, it dashes out and soon all is over. 



In India the range of this powerful beast is much restricted 

 to-day, for "the sport-loving Briton has made relentless war upon the 

 larger Carnivores, one cavalry officer alone, early in the last century, 

 bagging no fewer than eighty Lions within three years." 



Two Lions have been known to kill twenty-eight Indian coolies, 

 and as many, if not more, native workmen. The Lioness is the 

 most to be feared, and if she has her cubs near at hand will make a 

 formidable attack upon the intruder. One Lioness in Mashonaland 

 has been known to kill one hundred Pigs during a single night- 

 Whilst this powerful adventurer has been known to kill natives to 

 an alarming extent, as well as white men, for the last-named it 

 appears to have a distinct dread. One writer has said that "Man, 

 however, by his lofty bearing and especially by a sure and steady 

 look, inspires even the Lion with respect. With shy mien the ' King 

 of the Desert ' makes way for the ' Lord of the Earth.' On the other 

 hand, after he has once discovered man's real physical weakness, he 

 prefers human flesh to any other food ; in the words of the Kaffirs, 

 he becomes a ' man-eater.' " 



Much has been written from time to time of the experiences of 

 those who have been seized by wild beasts, and we may conclude this 

 account of the Lion by relating an incident in the life of Dr. Living- 

 stone. He says : "I saw the Lion just in the act of springing upon 

 me. Grunting horribly close to my ear, he shook me as a Terrier 

 does a Rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to that which 

 seems to be felt by a Mouse after the first shake of the Cat. It 

 caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of pain 

 or feeling of terror, though I was quite conscious of all that was 



