THE LION TURNED HERBIVORE. 25 



A countless herd, tended by one unskill'd 

 To cope with savage beasts in their defence, 

 Beside the foremost kine or with the last 

 He paces heedless, but the Lion, borne 

 Impetuous on the hindmost, one devours 

 And scatters all the rest.'' 



" But as the Lion on the mountains bred, 

 Glorious in strength, when he hath seized the best 

 And fairest of the herd, with savage fangs 

 First breaks her neck, then laps the bloody paunch 

 Torn wide. Meantime, around him, but remote, 

 Dogs stand and swains clamouring, yet by fear 

 Repress' d, annoy him not or dare approach." 



The Lion is said sometimes to develop the taste for " man-eating," which makes the Tiger so 

 terrible. This, however, is comparatively rare, except in old animals ; but, whether he eats men by 

 choice or not his depredations are fearfully extensive, especially when he has had a good deal of 

 experience, knows exactly when to attack a place, and has lost wholly or in part the fear of man, 

 which usually distinguishes him. Here is an account of the termination of the career of one of these 

 heroes, a perfect Dick Turpin among Lions, so great had become his skill in " lifting " : 



" We had not been many days at that place, when a magnificent Lion suddenly appeared 

 one night in the midst of a village. A small Dog that had incautiously approached the beast paid 

 the penalty of its life for its daring. The next day a grand chase was got up, but the Lion, 

 being on his guard, managed to elude his pursuers. The second day, however, he was killed by 

 Messrs. Galton and Bam ; and, on cutting him up, the poor Dog was found, still undigested, in his 

 stomach, bitten into five pieces. The natives highly rejoiced at the successful termination of the 

 hunt ; for this Lion had proved himself to be one of the most daring and destructive ever known, 

 having, in a short time, killed upwards of fifty Oxen, Cows, and Horses. When he had previously 

 been chased he had always escaped unscathed, and every successive attack made upon him only 

 served to increase his ferocity." 



That the Lion does not always " drink the blood of the slain," but adopts a mild and cooling diet 

 at times, is shown by a remarkable passage in Dr. Livingstone's work. He is speaking of the various 

 vegetable blessings in the desert : " But the most surprising plant of the desert is the ' Kengwe 

 or Kerne ' (Cucumis cajfer), the water melon. In years when more than the usual quantity of rain 

 falls, vast tracts of the country are literally covered with these melons. This was the case annually 

 when the fall of rain was greater than it is now, and the Bakwains sent trading parties every year to 

 the Lake. It happens commonly once every ten or eleven years. For the last three years its occurrence 

 has coincided with an extraordinarily wet season. Then animals of every sort and name, including 

 man, rejoice in the rich supply. The Elephant, true lord of the forest, revels in this fruit, and so do 

 the different species of Rhinoceros, although naturally so diverse in their choice of pasture. The 

 various kinds of Antelopes feed on them with equal avidity ; and Lions, Hyaenas, Jackals, and Mice, 

 all seem to know and appreciate the common blessing." 



This is a very curious circumstance when we consider how purely carnivorous the Lion, in 

 common with the other Felidce, is under ordinary circumstances. But Dr. Livingstone's is not the only 

 evidence to show that the bloodthirsty creature occasionally likes a " relish " of green-meat with its 

 flesh. We are informed by Dr. Huggins, F.R.S., that in the Zoological Gardens at Dublin a Lioness 

 had had several litters, but the young ones invariably languished and died after a short time, until 

 the expedient was hit upon of siipplying the Lioness with live Goats. This seems horrible enough, 

 but in fact it was not so. The Goat was put into the cage in the evening, and instead of manifesting 

 the extreme terror one would have expected, it seemed to feel no fear at all, but ate grass placed in 

 the den with perfect content, and, when night came, and it had eaten its fill, lay down by its terrible 

 companion, cuddling up close to her, chewing the cud, and seeming to enjoy the warmth, and to be 

 delighted with its new bedfellow. The Lioness showed no hostility to the confiding beast until 

 towards the morning, when she suddenly smashed its head with one blow of her paw, ripped it open, 

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