Felid^e.- 



-MAJIMALU.- 



-Felid/e. 



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stop only, as if he had a miud to steal o£f ; but as soon 

 as ho got to a greater distance, he began to bound 

 away at a great rate." Here, at all events, our lion 

 did not exhibit much courage or bravery ; and, as 

 another instance of cowardice on the part of this so- 

 called noble animal, we quote the statements of Captain 

 Harris, who remarks that, early one rainy morning, 

 when lie and his companions were peeping out of their 

 canvas-covered waggon, in order to ascertain if tljcre 

 was any prospect of its clearing up, they " perceived 

 three lions squatted within a hundred yards, in the 

 open plain, attentively watching the oxen. Our rifles," 

 he adds, "were hastily seized, but the dampness of 

 the atmosiihere prevented their explosion. One after 

 another, too, the Hottentots sprang out of the pack 

 waggon, and snapped their guns at the unwelcome 

 intruders as they ti'otted sulkily away, and took up 

 their position on a stony eminence at no great distance. 

 Fresh caps and priming were applied, and a broadside 

 was followed by the instantaneous demise of the largest, 

 whose cranium was perforated by two bullets at the 

 same instant. Swinging their tails over their backs, 

 the survivors took warning by the fate of their com- 

 panion, and dashed into the thicket with a roar. In 

 another half hour the voice oi Leo was again heard at 

 the foot of the mountains, about a quarter of a mile 

 from the camp ; and from the waggon-top we could 

 perceive a savage monster rampant, with his tail hoisted 

 and whirling in a circle, charging furiously along the 

 base of the range, and in desperate wrath making 

 towards John April, who was tending the sheep. Every 

 one instinctively grasped his weapon and rushed to 

 the rescue, calling louiUy to warn the expected victim 

 of his danger. Without taking the smallest notice of 

 him, however, the infuriated monster dashed past, 

 roaring and lashing his sides, until concealed in the 

 mist." So much for the lion's courage. Another false 

 appellation by which he is known, is that of the dignified 

 title of " monarch of the forest ; " but, as Mr. Burchell 

 remarks, this name is not very applicable, seeing that 

 be is seldom seen except amongst low thickets and 

 brushwood, or in the open plains. Captain Harris, 

 who employs the misnomer without comment, is very 

 careful to tell us, that the fine specimens seen in our 

 menageries are, as it were, "but the shadow of that 

 animal which clears the desert with his rolling eye." 

 No doubt our semi-domesticated exampiles lose some- 

 thing of that lustre of the eye, and breadth of limb, 

 which characterize the wild and unfettered beast; 

 nevertheless, our conceptions of a lion's strength are 

 perhaps as accurately realized by an examination and 

 dissection of such examples as are brought over, or even 

 bred in this country, as by the description and poetical 

 language above adopted. In the sad story given by 

 Mr. Gordon Gumming, of the seizure and death of a 

 Hottentot named Hendrick, the lion's attack was of 

 the most cowardly character. " It appeared that when 

 the unfortunate Hendrick rose to drive in the ox, the 

 lion had watched him to his fireside; and he had 

 scarcely lain down when the brute sprang upon him 

 and Ruyter (for both lay under one blanket) with his 

 appalling murderous roar, and, roaring as he lay, 

 grappled him with his fearful claws, and kept biting 

 Vol. I. 



him on the breast and shoulder, all tlie while feeling 

 for his neck; having got hold of which, he at once 

 dragged him away backwards round the bush into the 

 dense shade. As the lion lay on the unfortunate man, 

 he faintly cried — 'Help me, help me, God! men, 

 help me !' after which the fearful beast got hold of his 

 neck, and then all was still, except that his comrades 

 heard the bones of his neck cracking between the teeth 

 of the lion." With regard to the death-dealing strength 

 of the lion's paw, Mr. Burchell relates the following 

 incident : — While he and his friends were out hunting, 

 they sprung a lion and honess. The latter soon dis- 

 appeared, but the former made a slight advance, as if 

 to show fight. " At this instant the dogs boldly flew 

 in between us and the lion, and, surrounding him, kept 

 him at bay by their violent and resolute barking. The 

 courage of those fahhful animals was rnost admirable. 

 They advanced up to the side of the huge beast, and 

 stood making the greatest clamour in his face, without 

 the least appearance of fear. The lion, conscious of 

 his strength, remained unmoved at their noisy attempts, 

 and kept his head turned towards us. At one moment 

 the dogs, perceiving his eye thus engaged, had advanced 

 close to his feet, and seemed as if they would actually 

 seize hold of him ; but they paid dearly for their 

 imprudence : for, without discomposing the majestic 

 and steadj' attitude in which he stood fixed, he merely 

 moved his paw, and at the next instant I beheld two 

 lying dead. In doing this he made so little exertion, 

 that it was scarcely perceptible by what means they 

 had been killed. Of the time which we gained by the 

 interference of the dogs, not a moment was lost. AVo 

 fired upon him ; one of the balls went through his side, 

 just between the short ribs, and the blood began to 

 flow ; but the animal still remained standing in the 

 same position. We had now no doubt that he would 

 spring upon us. Kvery gun was instantly reloaded; 

 but haiipiily we were mistaken, and were not sorry to 

 see him move quietly away, though I had hoped in a 

 few minutes to have been enabled to take hold of his 

 paw without danger." 



As to the destructive habits of the lion, Mr. Anders- 

 son tells us of one powerful beast slain by Messrs. 

 Galton and Bam, which only a short time previous had 

 killed upwards of fifty oxen, cows, and horses ! In its 

 stomach, when shot, was a small dog bitten into five 

 pieces, the little animal having incautiously approached 

 the lion during the hunt. Many other interesting 

 details regarding the habits of the lion are given by this 

 most successful hunter. On one occasion Mr. Anders- 

 sou had a marvellously lucky escape. When eating 

 his dinner, a number of native damaras and mamaques 

 came to tell him that an ongeama, as they call it, had 

 destroyed one of their goats, and that they hoped he 

 would help them to kill it. He consented. The lion 

 had taken refuge in a dense tamarisk brake, and Mr. 

 Andersson says : — " I had proceeded for some time, 

 when suddenly, and within a few paces of where I 

 stood, I heard a low, angry growl, which caused the 

 dogs, with hair erect in the manner of hogs' bristle, 

 and with their tails between their legs, to slink behind 

 my heels. Immediately afterwards a tremendous shout 

 of "ongeama! ongeama!" was raised by the natives 



