CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. C All NI VOR A. 257 



and, attacking Mebalwe, bit Lis thigh. Another man, whose life I had saved before, after he had 

 been tossed by a buffalo, attempted to spear the lion while he was biting Meb&lwe. He left 

 Mebalwe and caught this man by the shoulder, but at that moment the bullets he had received 

 took effect, and he fell down dead. The whole was the work of a few moments, and must have 

 been his paroxysms of dying rage. In order to take out the charm from him, the Bakatla on 

 the following day made a huge bonfire over the carcass, which was declared to be that of the 

 largest lion they had ever seen. Besides crunching the bone into splinters, he left eleven teeth 

 wounds on the upper part of my arm." 



The following curious facts are furnished by the same writer: 



" The same feeling which has induced the modern painter to caricature the lion, has led the 

 sentimentalist to consider the lion's roar the most terrific of all earthly sounds. We hear of the 

 ' majestic roar of the king of beasts.' It is, indeed, well calculated to inspire fear if you hear it 

 in combination with the tremendously loud thunder of that countrv, on a night so pitchy dark 

 that every flash of the intensely vivid lightning leaves you with the impression of stone-blindness, 

 while the rain pours down so fast that your fire goes out, leaving you without the protection of 

 even a tree, or the chance of your gun going off. But when you are in a comfortable house or 

 wagon, the case is very different, and you hear the roar of the lion without any awe or alarm. 

 The silly ostrich makes a noise as loud, yet he never was feared by man. To talk of the 

 majestic roar of the lion is mere majestic twaddle. On my mentioning this fact some years ago, 

 the assertion was doubted, so I have been careful ever since to inquire the opinions of Europeans, 

 who have heard both, if they could detect any difference between the roar of a lion and that of 

 an ostrich ; the invariable answer was, that they could not when the animal was at any distance. 

 The natives assert that they can detect a variation between the commencement of the noise of each. 

 There is, it must be admitted, considerable difference between the singing noise of a lion when 

 full, and his deep, gruff growl when hungry. In general, the lion's voice seems to come deeper 

 from the chest than that of the ostrich, but to this day I can distinguish between them with 

 certainty only by knowing that the ostrich roars by day and the lion by night." 



It is well known that Africa has ever been the principal home of the lion. It is still found in 

 nearly all parts of that continent in three varieties — the Black Lion, the Red Lion, and the Gray 

 Lion. The lions of Asia are known under three names, but whether they are distinct species or 

 mere varieties, is not established. The Bengal Lion is said to be of a darker color, more graceful 

 form, and a less extensive mane than the African lion. The Persian or Arabian Lion is distin- 

 guished by the pale isabella color of its hair. The Ouzerat or Maneless Lion, instead of a flow- 

 ing mane, has only long hairs standing up along the neck and shoulders. 



The habits of the Asiatic lions do not differ much from those of Africa, excepting that the 

 former, from the state of the country, frequent jungles. In India the elephant is generally 

 employed in the chase, which is conducted with more pomp and circumstance than in any other 

 country. The grand Asiatic huntings of former times, those of Genghis Khan for instance, will 

 occur to many of our readers. The accounts of most modern sportsmen give a very coura- 

 geous bearing to the Asiatic lions in these encounters. One of them states that the lions in India 

 instead of running away when pursued through a jungle, seldom take to cover as a refuge at all. 

 On the approach of their enemies, they spring out to meet them open-mouthed in the plain. 

 They are thus easily shot ; but if they are missed or only slightly wounded, they are most 

 formidable adversaries. They are even said to have sprung on the heads of the largest elephants, 

 and to have fairly pulled them to the ground, riders and all. 



The lion is onlv found in certain districts of Asia : he is nowhere numerous. Here as well as 

 in Africa, his numbers are being daily diminished. Not only the human inhabitants attack him, 

 and with improved and improving weapons and modes of destruction, but other animals some- 

 times dispute, and with effect, his proud title of King of the Beasts. ■ This, is especially the case 

 1 in Africa. The oryx has been known to plunge its long straight horns thrqugh his body, leaving 

 him dead on the spot ; and the cow-buffalo, in defense of her calf, sometimes rushes upon him and 

 gores him to death with her horns. The history of the lion, as far as we can trace it, is that of 

 the most powerful, but still a constantly diminishing species. Their strength, their ferocity, their 



Vol. I. — 33 



