112 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIMALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



the sliort rihs, and the hlcHul immediately bcgnn to fluw ; hut tlie nnimal 

 still remained standing in the same position. We had now no doul)tthat 

 he would spring upon us ; every gun was instantly reloaded ; liut happily 

 we were mistaken, and were not sorry to see him move quietly away, 

 though I had hoped in a i'cw minutes to have been enabled to take h(.ild of 

 his paw without danger. 



"Tiiis was considered by our party to bo a lion of the largest .size, and 

 .seemed, as I measured him by comparison with the dogs, to Ijc, though less 

 bulky, as heavy as an ox. He was certainly as long in body, though lower 

 in stature ; and his copious nianc gave him ,i truly formidable appearance. 

 lie was of that variety uhieh the Hottentots and boors distinguish bv the 

 name of the /'/cr/,- /iuii, on account of the blacker color of the mane, and 

 ■which is said to be larger and more dangerous than the other, which they 

 call the jiiilr linn. (_)f the courage of a lion I ha\e no very high opinion, 

 but of his m;ijc-tic air and mo\cmcnts, as exhibited by this animal while 

 at lilicrtv in his native plains, I can bear testimony. Notwithstanding the 

 pain of a wound, of which he must soon afterwards have died, he moved 

 slowlv awnv, with a stately and measured step." 



It has been well remarked that, in the actions of , all animals, the influence 

 of hunger has a very powerful effect, and the attributes of cruelty which 

 ha\c gcnci-allv been gi\en to this race, have been called forth by their search 

 after Tiatural sustenance. In like manner are they cn(h)wed with cunning 

 and daring ; and we accordingly find animals of such size and bidk as the 

 lion and tiger endowed with powers sufficient to overcome crcatiuTs both 

 great and strong. A\ hen not pressed by the severe calls of hunger, the 

 lion i'eeds chiefly at dawn and twilight, and is easily disturbed ; he is, nev- 

 ertheless, abroad diu-ing the whole night, and, prowling round the herds of 

 animals, or near the flocks of the settlers, or caravans of tra\ellers. watches 

 an opportunity, and seizing upon some straggler, carries it to his place 

 of repose, and devours it at leisure. But impelled by the cravings of 

 hunger, which the scarcity of wild animals and the care of the colonists 

 sometimes force him to endure, he becomes a very different animal ; his 

 cunning becomes daring — no barrier will withstand him; he rushes with 

 resistless fury upon the object of his attack ; a bullock is torn from the team, 

 or a horse from the shafts ; and e\en man dragged from the watch-fires, 

 surrounded by his companions and powcrfid fire-arms. 



Perseverance in watching, and in retaining his prey when seized, is an- 

 other characteristic of the lion. An instance of the latter is related in the 

 Journal of the Landdrost Jah. Stcrneberg, kept in his journey to the Na- 

 maqua Hottentots. AA'e have taken it from Phillijis's '' Kescarches in South 

 Africa." "The wagons and cattle had been put up for the night, when, 



