86 THE LION OP SOUTH AFRICA. 



his hat and his mantle on the end of his stick, raised 

 it above his head and above the rock, and waited. 



He had not long to wait. During these preparations 

 the lion had stealthily crept up. He saw the man- 

 nikin, and, supposing it to be the Hottentot, he 

 sprang, and fell head foremost down the precipice. 

 Then the poor fellow shouted, " T'katsi! t'katsi/"n,iL 

 interjection which combines within itself a thousand 

 curses. 



"We saw two large lions," says Sparrman; "the 

 one had a mane, and was therefore a male. They were 

 at a distance of from two to three hundred yards from 

 us, in a 'little valley ; and the moment they perceived 

 us they took to flight. They used in running a kind 

 of sidelong motion, like certain dogs, interrupted 

 by occasional light springs ; with their necks slightly 

 elevated, they seemed to be looking at us sideways. I 

 was very curious to study them more closely ; and 

 we followed on horseback, shouting after them, and 

 tempting them to stop. 



" These cries caused them to redouble their speed ; 

 and when they reached the river, which we had to 

 cross, they plunged into the neighbouring thicket, and 

 we lost sight of them." 



A rich peasant, Jacob Kok, of Zee-Koe-rivier, was one 

 day walking in his fields, with a loaded gun, when he 

 saw a lion at a short distance from him. He took aim, 



