82 THE LION. 



with a roar, and thus their purpose is gained. A 

 distinguished field-officer, of my acquaintance, in 

 the British service, who has had great experience 

 with lions, assures me that in this manner he has 

 more than once succeeded in discovering the 

 animal's retreat. 



When the natives are about to attack the beast, 

 and whilst brandishing their weapons in his face, 

 they will taunt and abuse him in the most unmea- 

 sured terms. The like is the case when they wish 

 to drive the lion from his prey ! On one occasion, 

 indeed, as will be hereafter related, I myself was an 

 eye-witness to their thus possessing themselves 

 of his spoils. 



Whether or not the human eye and the human 

 voice have the effect on the lion commonly attributed 

 to them, I am unable from my own experiences, 

 either to confirm or contradict ; what, however, I 

 can testify to is this, that the natives of South Africa 

 universally assert that the beast, from fear of 

 being circumvented in some wav or other, is often 



o ** 



seized with a sudden panic, and retreats hastily. 



Delegorgue when speaking on this subject says : 

 " They have assured me that so long as a man re- 

 mains in an upright position, the lion little fears 

 him, but if ho suddenly scats himself, or throws 

 himself flat on the ground in the long grass (here 

 some three feet high) and is consequently altogether 

 lost to view, the beast, owing to his dreading a 

 ruse of some kind, or that the enemy is about get- 

 ting into his rear, immediately takes the alarm and 

 hurriedly moves off'. Of this fact the Bushmen arc 



