78 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



IV. 



THE Hottentots hold that a lion never kills a man 

 at once, when he has struck him down, unless he is 

 irritated by resistance. This would appear to be true 

 in general, for there is nothing absolute in natural 

 history. 



A father and his two sons were pursuing a lion, when 

 the animal turned upon them, and springing upon one 

 who fell underneath him, the others, without losing 

 an instant, fired and killed the lion, whilst the young 

 man was found to have sustained no injury. 



A farmer of the name of Botta, who was also a 

 captain of militia, was seen in the same position as this 

 young man. For a long time the lion crouched over 

 him. The man at length extricated himself, with only 

 a few bruises and a bite in the arm deep, certainly, 

 but not such as to put his life in danger. 



We have also the testimony of Livingstone. He 

 had wounded a lion, and was in the act of reloading 

 his gun, when the lion sprang upon him. "I was 

 upon a little height; he caught my shoulder as he 

 sprang, and we both came to the ground below to- 

 gether. Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook 

 me as a terrier dog does a rat. The shock produced 

 a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a 

 mouse, after the first shake of the cat. It caused a 



