178 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



same expression of bulk and massive strength as the wild animal. 

 It would be difficult to compare the relative power of a lion with 

 that of a tiger, as the animals differ in form and muscular develop- 

 ment. I have never weighed a lion, but I feel convinced that a 

 fine specimen would be heavier than an equally well-selected 

 example of a tiger, as the former is immensely massive, especially 

 about the chest and shoulders. The head and neck are larger, 

 although, when boiled and cleaned, the skull does not exceed in 

 size that of an ordinary tiger. It may l>e safely stated that a lion 

 which measures 1) ft. 8 inches in length would weigh heavier than 

 a tiger of the same dimensions. I have already described that 

 the tiger when springing to the attack does not strike a crushing 

 blow, but merely seizes with its claws. A lion, on the contrary, 

 strikes with terrible strength, at the same time that it fixes its 

 claws upon its victim. The force of this blow is terrific, and 

 many a man has been killed outright as though struck with a 

 sledge-hammer. An instance of this fatal onset deprived me of a 

 most intelligent and excellent German, with whom I was associated 

 during a hunting season in the Soudan. 



Florian was a Bavarian who came to Khartoum in the service 

 of the Austrian Mission, employed as a mason. This man had a 

 natural aptitude for mechanical contrivances, and quickly abandon- 

 ing the Jesuit Mission, after the completion of the extensive con- 

 vent at the junction of the two Niles, he and a carpenter of the 

 same nation formed a partnership of hunters and traders, establish- 

 ing themselves at Sofi on the frontier of Abyssinia. They built a 

 couple of circular huts of neatly squared stones, and not only shot 

 hippopotami in the Atbara river, but manufactured extremely good 

 whips from their skins. These were very superior in finish to the 

 ordinary " courbatch " of the Arabs, and they met with a ready 

 sale. Florian excelled as a carpenter, although a mason by profes- 

 sion ; he made exquisite camel saddles for the Arab sheiks ; these 

 (moffhaloufa) were cut from the heart of a tough wood which 

 never warped (Khamnus Lotus), and were highly prized by the 

 experienced Arabs ot the desert. The rainy season was industri- 

 ously employed in such useful manufactures, and when the dry 

 months arrived, these two excellent men started upon hunting 

 expeditions, and combined business with pleasure. 



Although Florian was clever with both head and hands, he was 

 a bad shot ; his guns were of a common and dangerous descrip- 

 tion, one of which burst, and blew his left thumb and forefinger 

 off. After his recovery from this accident he still excelled in 

 work, but he was exceedingly clumsy with his weapons, which 



