THE LION. 129 



usual dietary system, while the Lion is acting in a manner directly opposed to his own flesh- 

 loving nature. 



The cautious habits which the Lion acquires when its domain has been invaded by man 

 are most singular, and exhibit a considerable degree of reasoning power. The Lion which has 

 never known man, knows no fear at the sight of man and his deadly weapons, attacking him 

 with as much freedom as it would attack an antelope. But after it has had some experience 

 of man and his wiles, it can only be induced by the calls of pressing hunger to venture upon 

 an open attack, or to approach any object that looks as if it might be a trap. 



Lions have been known to surround an escaped horse, and to prowl round it for two entire 

 days, not daring to attack so apparently defenceless a prey, simply because its bridle was 

 dangling from its neck, and made the creature suspicious, even though the rein had acci- 

 dentally been hitched over a stump. On another occasion, a Lion crept close to a haltered ox, 

 saw the halter, and did not like it, crept away again until he reached a little hillock about 

 three hundred yards away, and there stood and roared all night. 



The hunters take advantage of this extreme caution to preserve the game which they have 

 killed from any marauding Lion that may happen to pass in that direction. A simple white 

 streamer tied to a stick, and waving over the dead beast, is amply sufficient to prevent the 

 Lions from approaching so uncanny an object. Sometimes, when no streamer can be manu- 

 factured, a kind of clapper is substituted, which shakes in the wind, and by the unaccustomed 

 sound, very much alarms the Lion. It does truly seem absurd, that so terrible a beast as the 

 Lion should be frightened by the fluttering of a white handkerchief, or the clattering of two 

 sticks — devices which would be laughed to scorn by a tomtit of ordinary capacity. 



Nearly all the feline animals seize their prey by the back of the neck, but the Lion seems 

 to prefer the flank or shoulders as his point of attack. It seldom happens that the Lion 

 springs upon the back of his prey, as is the case with many of the felidge, for in the chase of 

 a large animal, he chooses rather to pull down the doomed creature by main strength, his 

 hinder feet resting on the earth, and his fore-paws and fangs tearing deeply into the neck and 

 shoulders of his victim. There are, of course, exceptional instances, but the general ride 

 seems to be that the Lion either strikes down his prey with a furious blow of his paw, or drags 

 it to the ground by hanging on its neck with teeth and claws. 



The young of the Lion are various in number, sometimes amounting to three or four at a 

 birth, thus entirely contraverting the well-known fable of the Lioness and Fox. For some 

 time, the young Lion cubs present a curious appearance, their fur being faintly brindled in a 

 manner very similar to that of the tiger, or, to give a more familiar illustration, resembling 

 the coat of a tabby cat, very indistinctly marked upon a light tawny ground. These faint 

 brindlings are retained for some months, when they gradually fade into the deeper brown 

 which tinges the tawny fur, and after awhile become wholly merged in the darker hue. I have 

 observed a similar absorption of the brindled markings in a kitten. In its earliest youth, it 

 was of a lightish brown, marked with tolerably defined stripes ; but as it grew older, the dark 

 streaks gradually became more faint, and, when the animal was about three months old, 

 vanished entirely. 



A cub-lion is just as playfxd an animal as a kitten, and is just as ready to romp with any 

 one who may encourage its little wanton humors. Only it is hardly so safe a playfellow, for 

 the very small Lion is as large as a very big cat, and sometimes becomes rather unpleasantly 

 rough in its gamesomeness. It has no idea of the power of its stroke, and if it should deal a 

 playful blow with its claws protruded, is apt to do damage which it never intended. 



The weight of a Lion-cub is extraordinary in comparison with its size. I have personally 

 tested the weight of several cubs, and was surprised at the massive build of the little creatures. 

 Their bones are very large, and the muscular system very solid, so that a cub which about 

 equals a large cat in actual measurement, far exceeds that animal in weight. 



The development of the young Lion is very slow, three or four years elapsing before he 

 can lay claim to the full honors of Lionhood, and shake his tawny mane in conscious strength. 



At the tip of the Lion's tail is sometimes found a curious appendage, which was once 

 thought to be a veritable claw, and to be used for the purpose of exciting the Lion to rage, 



