328 OFF FOR THE SOTIK DISTRICT. 



Making due allowance for the " personal error," as astronomers 

 would term the difference of idiosyncrasy in the narrators, we may 

 safely conjecture that the truth lies somewhere between the two 

 extremes, and that the lion is not always so fierce an animal as is 

 said to be the case by some, nor always so cowardly as it is said to 

 be by others. 



Even the same individual may be at one time ferocious and 

 truculent, attacking a party of armed men, in spite of their fire- 

 rampart, and carrying off one of their number from among them ; 

 or at another time it may be timid and cowardly, skulking out of 

 sight if discovered, and flying in terror before the shouts and cries 

 of a few savages. 



Hunger seems to be the great cause of a lion's defiance of 

 danger ; and it but seldom happens that a lion which has had plenty 

 to eat troubles itself to attack man or beast. 



CONSIDERABLE INDOLENCE IN THE LION. 



There seems to be a considerable spice of indolence in the lion, 

 which indeed is the case in most of the members of the cat tribe. It 

 is capable of very great muscular efforts, and for a time will exert 

 the most wary vigilance. But as soon as the existing cause is 

 removed, the creature seems overcome with lethargy, and, seeking 

 the cover of its lair, yields itself to repose. 



Even when aroused by the calls of hunger, the lion will not take 

 more trouble than is necessary for the attainment of its end, and 

 if it can strike dowai an antelope or jaguar with a blow of its paw, 

 will be c[uite satisfied with its success, and v/ill not trouble itself 

 about such difficult game as a buft'alo or a giraffe. 



It is supposed by those who have had much experience of the 

 leonine character, that the terrible " man-eating " lions owe their 

 propensity for human flesh to the indolence of their character or 

 the infirmity of their frame, and not to their superior activity or 

 courage. Unwilling, or unable, to expend strength and patience in 

 the pursuit of the swift-footed antelope or powerful buffalo, the lion 

 prowls about the villages, thinking to find an easy prey in the man, 

 woman, or child that may happen to stray from the protecting 



