22 THE LION KILLER. 



mane which gives him the appearance of a spaniel, and 

 makes him an alien to his forest brother. 



There are in Algiers three species of lions : the black lion, 

 the red or tawny lion, and the grey lion, and they are 

 styled by the Arabs, el adrea, tl asfar, and el zarzouri. 



The black lion is a much rarer animal than the others, and 

 has a more powerful head,' neck, shoulders and legs. The 

 lower part of his body is clad in a robe of the color of a 

 dark bay horse, and the shoulders are covered by a long, 

 heavy black mane, that falls down on either side almost to 

 the ground, and gives to him an air not at all reassuring. 

 The breadth of his forehead is eighteen inches, the length 

 of his body, from the tip of his nose to the root of the tail, 

 measures five cubits,* or seven feet and a half, and his tail, 

 three feet. The weight of his body varies between six 

 hundred and six hundred and sixty pounds. 



The Arabs are more afraid of this lion than the two others, 

 and they have good reason to be. 



Instead of migrating from place to place, the black lion 

 takes up his residence in some favorite retreat, and remains 

 there sometimes thirty years. He rarely descends into the 

 plain to get his food in the Arab camps, but in revenge for 

 this forbearance, lies in wait for the herds as they descend 

 the mountain, and kills four or five beasts, merely for the 

 pleasure of drinking their blood. In the summer season 

 when the days are long, he goes out at the setting of the sun, 

 and crouches by some frequented path, where " the tinkling 



* The Arabs call a cubit the distance from the elbow to the end of the open hand. 



