HKC II NATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 



in itd puw.T nnal honitaten long enough before 



taking his hi,, to allow any hunter in tlm neighbourhood to 

 make a diversion in hi* fuwmr. It -.-Mum attack* man 



from intuiiHu hunger. At the sight of 



bin in daylight it will halt for a second or two to stare at him ; 

 it then slowly turns round and 1,-isuivly moves on a few steps ; 

 : riH to trot, and finally , when it thinks itself unobserved, it 



l.i. :in, IH off like a hare. For these roaxoiiH the lion has been 

 i of as far loss courageous than it was formerly thought 

 to be. Hut it appears to us that the lion's hesitation in 

 attacking man, unless pressed by hungor or other circumstances, 

 detracts in no wise from the estimate that has been formed of 

 it as a bold animal, but rather tends to show that it possesses 

 sagacity in addition to its other qualities. The following 

 in.'i.lcnt, narrated by Burchell, appears to prove its courage and 

 coolness under extreme danger aud pain, and likewise its dis- 

 crimination in refusing to fight where the odds against it are 



trongth, remained unwove 1 by their noisy 

 attempts, and kept hU head turned toward* ut. At one 

 moment, the dogs perceiving bin eye* thus engaged, had ad- 

 vanced close to hU feet, and teemed as if thy would actually 

 seizo hold of him ; bat they paid dearly for their iinpudrace, 

 for without discomposing the majestic and steady attitude in 

 whirh ho stood fixed, he merely moved hi* paw, and at the next 

 I beheld two lying dead. In doing this h made to 

 little exertion that it was scarcely perceptible by what nmnt 

 they had been killed. Of the time which we bad gained by the 

 interference of the dogs, not a moment was lott ; we fired upou. 

 him ; one of the bails went through hit tide just between the- 

 short ribs, and the blood immediately began to flow ; but the 

 animal still remained standing in the tame position. We had 

 now no doubt that be would spring upon us ; every gun wa 

 instantly reloaded ; but happily we were mistaken, and were not 

 sorry to see him move quietly away. . . . .\ -.I withstanding. 



THE COMMON WILD CAT. 



finch as to mean certain death. Burchell and his companions 

 were travelling through a bush-covered country in S.outh Africa, 

 when suddenly they camo upon a lion and lioness. The latter 

 withdrew, but the lion stood his ground. The situation was a 

 dangerous one, as the animal seemed to be preparing to spring 

 upon the travellers. Burchell thus describes the affair : 



" We were standing on the bank at only the distance of a few 

 yards from him, most of us being on foot and unarmed, without 

 any possibility of escaping. I had given up my horse, and was 

 on foot myself ; but there was no time for fear, and it was use- 

 less to attempt avoiding him. Poor Tring, a Hottentot woman, 

 was in great alarm ; she clasped her infant to her bosom, and 

 screamed out, as if she thought her destruction inevitable, 

 calling anxiously to those who were nearest the animal, ' Take 

 care ! take care ! ' In great fear for my safety, she half insisted 

 upon my moving further off. I. however, stood well upon my 

 guard, holding my pistol in my hand, with my finger upon the 

 trigger ; and those who had muskets kept themselves prepared 

 in the same manner. But at this instant the dogs boldly flew 

 in between us and the lion, and surrounding him, kept him at 

 bay by their violent and resolute barking. The courage of these 

 faithful animals was most admirable ; they advanced up to the 

 side of the huge beast, and stood making the greatest clamour 

 in 'aid face, without the least appearance of fear. The lion, 



the pain of a wound of which he must soon afterwards hare- 

 died, ho moved slowly away with a stately and measured step. 



There are many varieties of the lion, which differ in size, 

 colour, and development of mane. It is by slight differences of 

 this sort that the breeds of Barbary, Senegal, the Cape, Bengal. 

 and Persia or Arabia are distinguished. Some attain to a length 

 of ten feet from the muzzle to the root of the toil, but as a rule- 

 they do not exceed six to seven feet. The lioness is generally 

 about one-fourth less than the male, and is maneless. 



Perhaps the next most important member of the cat family is 

 the tiger, which closely resembles the domestic cat in form and 

 actions. It is of about the same height as the lion, but lougei 

 in the body. It has a handsome yellowish fawn-coloured coat, 

 striped with brown bands irregularly on the body, bnt with 

 remarkable regularity on the face, where, as a rule, the striping 

 is quite symmetrical. Like a great many other animals, it- 

 has the ventral portion of its coat white. Its toil is ringed 

 with black. 



The tiger is peculiar to Asia and the larger islands of the 

 Asiatic Archipelago, where its fatal attacks both on man and 

 l)i-:ist make it very much feared. A tiger has been known tc* 

 carry off soldiers from the middle of their encampment, and to 

 spring on a Hindoo amidst all the bustle of an Eastern fair. 

 Its audacity is unbounded, and so often are its feats attende L 



