296 



ANIMALS OF 



always of the large breed ; and the horses 

 themselves, as Gesner assures us, must be of 

 that sort called charosst, or lion-eyed, all others 

 of this kind flying at the sight of the lion, and 

 endeavouring to throw their riders. When 

 the lion is roused, he recedes with a slow, 

 proud motion; he never goes off directly for- 

 ward, nor measures his paces equally, but 

 takes an oblique course, going from one side 

 to the other, and bounding rather than run- 

 ning. When the hunters approach him, they 

 either shoot or throw their javelins; and in 

 this manner disable him before he is attack- 

 ed by the dogs, many of whom he would other- 

 wise destroy. He is very vivacious, and is 

 never killed at once, but continues to fight 

 desperately even after he has received his 

 mortal blow. He is also taken by pit-falls ; 

 the natives digging a deep hole in the ground, 

 and covering it slightly over with sticks and 

 earth ; which, however, give way beneath his 

 weight, and he sinks to the bottom, from 

 whence he has no means of escape. But the 

 most usual manner of taking this animal is 

 while a cub, and incapable of resistance. The 

 place near the den of the lioness is generally 

 well known by the greatness of her depreda- 

 tions on that occasion ; the natives, therefore, 

 watch the time of her absence, and, aided by 

 a swift horse, carry off her cubs; which they 

 sell to strangers, or to the great men of their 

 country." 



The lion, while young and active, lives by 

 hunting in the forest at the greatest distance 

 from any human habitation; and seldom quits 

 this retreat while able to subsist by his natu- 

 ral industry; but when he becomes old and 

 unfit for the purposes of surprise, he boldly 

 comes down into places more frequented, 

 attacks the flocks and herds that take shelter 

 near the habitation of the shepherd or the 

 husbandman, and depends rather upon his 

 courage than his address for support. It is 

 remarkable, however, that when he makes one 

 of these desperate sallies, if he finds men and 

 quadrupeds in the same field, he only attacks 

 the latter, and never meddles with men, un- 

 less they provoke him to engage. It is observ- 

 ed that he prefers the flesh of camels to any 

 other food ; he is likewise said to be fond of 

 that of young elephants ; these he often at- 

 tacks before their trunk is yet grown; and, 



unless the old elephant comes to their assist- 

 ance, he makes them an easy prey. 



The lion is terrible upon all occasions, but 

 particularly at those seasons when he is in- 

 cited by desire, or when the female has 

 brought forth. It is then that the lioness is 

 seen followed by eight or ten males, who fight 

 most bloody battles among each other, till one 

 of them become victorious over all the rest. 

 She is said to bring forth in spring, and to 

 produce but once a year. " With respect to 

 the time of gestation, naturalists have been 

 divided, some asserting that the lioness went 

 with young six months, and others but two. 

 The time also of their growth and their age 

 have hitherto been left in obscurity ; some as- 

 serting that they acquired their full growth in 

 three years, and others that they required a 

 longer period to come to perfection; some 

 saying (and among this number is Mr. Buffon) 

 that they lived to but twenty, or twenty-two 

 years at most ; others making their lives even 

 of shorter duration. All these doubts are now 

 reduced to certainty; for we have had seve- 

 ral of these animals bred in the Tower; so 

 that the manner of their copulation, the time 

 of their gestation, the number they bring forth, 

 and the time they take to come to perfection, 

 are all pretty well known. Although the lion 

 emits his urine backwards, yet he couples in 

 the ordinary manner ; and, as was said before, 

 his internal structure in almost every respect 

 resembles that of a cat. The lioness, how- 

 ever, is upon these occasions particularly 

 tierce, and often wounds the lion in a terri- 

 ble manner. She goes with young, as I am 

 assured by her keeper, no more than five 

 months; the young ones, which are never more 

 than two in number when brought forth, are 

 about the size of a large pug-dog, harmless, 

 pretty, and playful; they continue the teat 

 for twelve months, and the animal is more 

 than five years in coming to perfection. As 

 to its age, from its imprisoned state, we can 

 have no certainty; since it is very probable, 

 that, being deprived of its natural climate, 

 food, and exercise, its life must be very much 

 abridged. However, naturalists have hitherto 

 been greatly mistaken as to the length of its 

 existence. The great he-lion, called Pompcy, 

 which died in the year 1760, was known to 

 have been in the Tower for above seventy 



