808 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 6, 1890. 



THE LION OF FANCY AND OF FACT. 



[Continued from Page «S7.1 



LET us now see how the lion appears in literature, and 

 in what manner his disposition and habits are de- 

 scribed by those who were acquainted with him in his 

 natural state. 



Probably no better way could be chosen for showing 

 how vague and discordant are the opinions prevailing 

 upon this subject than to take Buffon 's description of 

 the temper and habitudes of the lion (Histoire Naturelle) 

 and offer the accounts given of him by great hunters in 

 the way of comment. 



The lion, says the French naturalist, owes all the pecu- 

 liarities he exhibits to climate. Of all speeies of animals 

 "each is the child of the land where it dwells." He is ex- 

 clusively an inhabitant of tropical countries. Among 

 the ferse of warm regions he is "Ze plus fort, le plusfier, 

 le plus terrible de tous." On the Atlas, ' where snow 

 sometimes falls, lions have neither the strength, courage, 

 nor ferocity of those of the plains, and for the same rea- 

 son the lion of America, if he deserves the name, is but 

 an inferior animal. Man has greatly circumscribed 

 the lion's former geographical distribution, and his im- 

 proved arms have altered his character. Formerly he 

 was bolder than at present, but still on the desert of Zaara 

 and in the great torrid tracts of Asia and Africa, "unseul 

 de ses lions du desert aitaque souvent une earavane en- 

 tiere." Lions are susceptible of education, and in ancient 

 times were trained both for hunting and for war. Brave 

 and magnanimous in his disposition — unlike the tiger, 

 wolf and fox, he is not cruel, and only kills to obtain 

 food. Certain moral qualities belong to species, and the 

 lion, to the nobility of the race, adds his own individual 

 virtues. Buffon accepts iElian's and Appian's differentia- 

 tion of species on the basis of size, thinks that an average 

 lion is from 12 to 13ft. long from nose to end of tail, 

 states that he is less keen of sight and scent than other 

 beasts of prey, and therefore uses the jackal as a scout, 

 and remarks that his game being found upon the surface 

 of the earth, he i3 not in the habit of climbing trees like 

 the tiger or puma — ' HI ne grimpepas sur les arbres comw,e 

 le tigre ou lepuma." Lions spring upon their prey from 

 a distance of 12 or 15ft. and strike it down, the teeth 

 being used to devour game after it has been killed. 



Although these statements include most of the points 

 which are still at issue among the hunter naturalists, 

 many of them may be dismissed with a simple statement 

 of the facts in the case. It is, for example, almost need- 

 less to say that the range of the lion is not limited to the 

 tropics, that he inhabits temperate climates where, as on 

 the elevated plateaux of South Africa, the temperature 

 falls very low. With respect to the lion of the Atlas, 

 Gerard ("Journal des Chasseurs"), Gen. Daumas ("Les 

 Chevaux du Sahara") and Major Leveson ("Hunting 

 Grounds of the Old World") both state that his average size 

 is greater than that of his southern congener, and that he 

 is more daring, as a rule, does not admit of doubt. So 

 far as size is concerned, the lion is a smaller animal than 

 the tiger, and twelve and thirteen-feet tigers are now ban- 

 ished from domain of the credible. The attack of a 

 caravan by a single lion, or even by a troup of lions, is 

 of course pure fiction, and the story which Buffon repeats 

 probably originated in the beleaguering of camps by lions 

 at night who were after the cattle, in the manner de- 

 scribed by Le Vaillant, Oswell, Harris, Cumming, Ander- 

 son, etc. Both the sight and scent of the lion are excel- 

 lent, although like the tiger, he is somewhat dazzled by 

 the full light of the sun; and as for using the jackal to 

 find his food, the case is the other way; it is the jackal 

 who uses the lion. His climbing powers need not be 

 discussed, since there is nothing to show that the lion 

 ever makes use of the means which he certainly possesses 

 for this purpose. 



These questions being disposed of, it yet remains to in- 

 quire how the lion behaves toward man and other animals, 

 and what is the impression which his appearance, voice 

 and behavior has produced. Is he brave, magnanimous, 

 intelligent and daring? Do traditionary ideas concerning 

 his character conform with facts as observed, and is it 

 possible to get any satisfactory accounts of his traits of 

 temper out of the books which purport to display them? 



How does the lion procure his food, and of what nature 

 are his family associations? In the first place the evi- 

 dence is conclusive against that purely sentimental view, 

 according to which the lion only eats game which he has 

 killed himself. Derogatory as it may be to the dignity of 

 "the king of beasts," there is no doubt that his appetite is 

 somewhat indiscriminate, and that he is often a foul feeder. 

 "Many instances have come to my knowledge," remarks 

 Anderson ("The Lion and the Elephant"), "which show 

 that when half-famished he will not only greedily devour 

 the leavings of other beasts of prey, but even condescend to 

 carrion." In another work, however ("Lake N'gami") 

 this author, like Gordon Cumming ("A Hunter's Life in 

 Africa"), has spoken of this propensity in the lion to eat 

 carrion whether he was "half -famished" or not. Sir 

 Samuel Baker ("Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia") was con- 

 tinually annoyed by the depredations of lions upon his 

 dead game. Gerard ("Journal des Chasseurs") nearly 

 lost his life by a lioness who came to devour the putrid 

 carcass of a horse. Maj. Leveson ("Sport in Many Lands") 

 who has the highest opinion of the lion, admits"that he is 

 "by no means too proud to eat game killed by other 

 people. Drummond ("The Large Game of Southern 



is unnecessary to refer to, "confirm the fact. So that while 

 this peculiarity fully accords with the extreme Inziness 

 Gerard attributes to the lion, the fastidiousness which his 

 admirers have credited him with possessing must be dis- 

 allowed. "The most prominent traits of character in the 

 lion;' remarks Gerard, "are his laziness, his assurance 

 and his boldness." Moffatt, however, who "knew more 

 about lions and theirhabits,"in Anderson's opinion, "than 

 any one else," adds gluttony to these characteristics. His 

 teats m the way of gormandizing were so astounding that 

 Moffatt ("Missionary Labors and Scenes in Southern 

 Africa ) was "taken aback." A full-grown cow at a 

 single sitting, so to speak, is rather an inordinate quantity 

 of rood for an animal of the size of a lion, it must be ad- 

 mitted, even when the commissariat is irregularly sup- 

 plied, as must nearly always be the case with beasts of prev 

 Drummond mitigates this charge of gluttony somewhat 

 by reporting that he has known his majesty to be satisfied 

 with the haunch ot a zebra stallion, and, it is also true 



that the lions of the London Zoological Garden, who are 

 as large and, in general, more luxuriantly maned than 

 their brethren of the desert, only receive an allowance of 

 eleven pounds of meat per diem. 



It would too greatly enlarge this paper to give reference 

 for every statement, and in regard to the act of hunting 

 it may be simply stated that the testimony of eye wit- 

 nesses has placed it beyond doubt that game is ambushed, 

 stalked, run down and regularly beaten for by the lion. 

 A point, though one of minor importance, may be 

 noticed in this connection. Gerard, influenced perhaps 

 by the domestic virtues the lion really possesses, repre- 

 sents him as practicing the courtesies of a French gentle- 

 man toward his spouse at feeding time. Drummond, 

 however, enjoyed the rare opportunity of seeing a zebra 

 killed by the father of a family, whose consort with 

 several cubs were present. This lion ate, like the savage 

 he is, first and alone. Then the lioness came to the 

 repast, and while she was devouring the remainder of 

 the meat the whelps got what they could. 



The behavior of lions to other lions, and to animals 

 which they, for the most part, prey upon, has been vari- 

 ously described. 



It may be granted that the lion, unlike most of the 

 feline Carnivora, the fox, and all the weasel tribes, is not 

 ferocious and bloodthirsty, and does not wantonly take 

 life, or kill for the pleasure of killing. Young lions and 

 tigers, according to all accounts, slaughter more than 

 they can consume, but this is done in the way of practice. 

 "The mature lion," says Major Leveson, "kills only for 

 food," but this trait has probably as little to do with 

 sentiments of generosity or magnanimity as it has with 

 economic views concerning waste of material. No gentle- 

 ness of nature restrains the lion from blood-guiltiness. 

 Temperament and disposition are, in the long run, indis- 

 severable, and with lions, as, for the most part, with 

 men, their temperaments are their fates. Necessarily, 

 this creature is subtle and fierce, since during the im- 

 memorial period in which his adjustment to his environ- 

 ment has continued, all the factors which contribute to 

 form character and determine conduct have cooperated 

 toward this end. "We have as yet," observes Wallace 

 ("Geographical Distribution of Animals"), "made little 

 approach toward discovering the epoch when the Felidte 

 originated, since the oldest forms yet discovered are 

 typical and highly specialized representatives of a group 

 which is itself the most specialized of the Carnivora." It 

 amounts to a certainty that, in this instance, the special- 

 ization is primarily expressive of destructive power, and 

 as it is necessity and not sentiment which is conspicuously 

 manifested in the history of oi - ganic nature, the presump- 

 tion is altogether adverse' to the conclusion that, upon 

 the part of the lion, structural development does not im- 

 ply corresponding mental characteristics. Without their 

 fitting respondents in temper and habit, such anomalies 

 as talon, and fang, and padded foot, are not to be found 

 in the animal kingdom, and every theoretical reason, as 

 well as the facts of common observation, justifies Prof. 

 Romane's strictures upon the cat mammalia at large 

 ("Animal Intelligence"). Namely, that "all wildcats 

 are fierce, unsociable and rapacious." The larger Felidae, 

 he continues, are of high intelligence, as their actions 

 while in the feral state, and then- susceptibility to in- 

 struction during captivity sufficiently show. But "the 

 conflict of nature with nurture renders even the best 

 trained specimens highly uncertain in their behavior. 

 * * * All cats, however domesticated they may be, 

 when circumstances require it, spontaneously throw off, 

 with the utmost ease, the whole mental clothing of their 

 artificial existence, and return in naked simplicity to the 

 habits of their ancestors." 



While not really killing purposelessly, though under 

 some circumstances he appears to do so, the lion often 

 tortures his prey before destroying it (Gerard): some- 

 times devours it alive (Moffatt) and has been more than 

 suspected of inflicting horrible mutilations— injuries not 

 intended to be immediately fatal— upon animals (the 

 hyena especially) who follow him while in pursuit of 

 game (Anderson). The restrictive influence of structure 

 and heredity upon animal character are always marked; 

 but while most of the errors to which general conclusions 

 on this subject are obnoxious, arising from their effects, 

 the scope of individual variation is so great and so indefi- 

 nite that it is nearly as impossible to preconceive the con- 

 duct of a beast as of a man. If everything by which it 

 was determined could be known beforehand, anticipatory 

 judgments would be possible, but as this is never the 

 case no one can anticipate their behavior in particulars. 

 The present writer reared a puma who made friends with 

 a horse; Gerard's lion Hubert may, in some vague man- 

 ner, have experienced the emotions his master describes 

 and, in outline, the panther's fondness depicted in Bal- 

 zac's famous story — "Une Passion du Desert"— might have 

 been approximately true. In general, however, it would 

 not be safe to assume that the lion's forbearance, as illus- 

 trated by a host of hunting stories, had other than the 

 most prosaic origin. No creature acts without a motive. 

 Sloth is as marked a characteristic of his as power of 

 offense, and both laziness and repletion probably com- 

 bined to render the animal harmless on those occasions 

 when he was not withheld from aggression by fear. 



Such sweeping assertions as the lion's panegyrists have 

 based upon special instances of peaceableness prove noth- 

 ing. As a rule, most of those whose experiences have 

 brought them into contact with the lion agree with Drum- 

 mond, that he "will seldom stand much bullying." 

 "When," says W. C. Kerr ("The Far Interior"), "he is 

 thoroughly hungry there is no limit to his audacity and 

 daring." Moffatt, Lichtenstein, Freeman, Rath. Galton, 

 have had their camps besieged and their trains followed 

 march after march by lions it seemed impossible to shake 

 off. Sanderson ("Thirteen Years Among the Wild Beasts 

 of India") looked upon the bison as more than a match 

 for the tiger, and in the duel by night, which Leveson 

 witnessed between these animals, both combatants were 

 killed; but the buffalo, quite as formidable a creature, is 

 the lion's habitual prey, and books of African travel 

 abound with instances in which the former, having fallen 

 to the rifle, showed by his scars that he had made a suc- 

 cessful resistance to the attack of the lion, who in very 

 many instances, no doubt, does not take his prey without 

 a combat. j, h. P. 



[TO BE CONTINUED. J 



A Buffalo Calf fob Washington. — A fine large 

 cow calf was born in Washington last Sundav. The 

 mother is a five-year-old buffalo donated to the National 

 Zoological Park by Mr. E. G. Blackford. 



>mm §ttg mid 



The full texts of the game laws of all the States, Terri- 

 tories and British Provinces are given in the Booh of the 

 Game Laws. 



THE QUAIL. 



Lines suggested by an interesting chapter in Lsffingwell's late 

 work on Shooting on Upland, Marsh and Stream," from the pen 

 of Amory ft. Starr. 



TT is October's festal time, 



A When fruits and flowers are in their prime, 



When woods are colored with all hues, 



The rainbow's glories that transfuse, 



Whenforchards flame in royal robes 



And apples swing their golden globes; 



When Nature wears her richest dress 



In pastoral vale and wilderness. 



Now in the stubble-spaces pass 

 The sportsmen thro' the faded grass, 

 Thro' tufted tussock, bushy swale. 

 Thro' coppices of lowly vale; 

 And o'er the level harvest plain 

 That late was opulent with grain, 

 They seek, with cautious footstep there, 

 The quail flock, springing into air. 



In upland slopes, at edge of wood, 

 The brown quail gathers in his brood, 

 Seeking not wilderness away, 

 Nor ravine in the mountain way, 

 But loving rather to abide 

 By farmer's homes, at valley side; 

 There in some rural paradise 

 He seeks the food the earth supplies— 

 The yellow grain, the garden seed, 

 The corn, sufficient for his need. 

 There all the day, O gentle bird, 

 Thy whistling operas are heard, 

 Heard till at evening sounds the trill 

 Of the secluded whippoorwill. 



Though numberless thy flocks frequent 



Each section of our continent, 



"lis said that year by year they fail, 



Diminishing in wood and vale, 



E'en as the mighty game of yore 



Became extinct by hill and shore— 



The bison of the boundless waste 



No more o'er prairies may be trae'd; 



The stately elk and moose have fled 



Before the hunter's wasteful tread; 



The deer hath vanish'd from the wood, 



The turkey from wild solitude, 



And e'en the wildfowl of the air, 



That once throng'd creek and thoroughfare, 



No longer swarm in multitudes 



By lonely lake and ocean floods. 



Of all field sports there's no delight 

 Like seeking bevies of Bob White; 

 Wild-fowlers have laborious toil 

 Beside the ocean's fierce turmoil, 

 The sniper plods thro' marsh and ooze, 

 Deer hunter fruitlessly pursues, 

 And he who seeks the grizzly bear, 

 Through caHon and morasB must fare, 

 But he who thirsts Bob White to slay. 

 Thro' field and farm may take his way. 



Isaac McLeia/An. 



ELK ON THE SNAKE RIVER. 



T N the fall of 1888 Chas. Elliott and myself made ar- 

 Jl rangements for a four weeks' hunt over the range 

 beyond Egeria Park. But the press of business and fall 

 work prevented us from consummating our plans until it 

 was too late to risk crossing the Snowy Range. One 

 Sunday morning, early in October in the following fall 

 of 1889, Charley and his wife drove into my yard for a 

 day's chat, and of course the principal topic of conversa- 

 tion was planning for another hunt. Maps were consulted, 

 and it was finally settled that we would start from my 

 house on Oct. 21, head for Coe's Ranch in North Park, 

 and go from there to the best hunting grounds suggested 

 by our friend Coe or the Cross boys, whose horse ranch 

 was next neighbor. The time for our preparation was 

 short and we had a great deal to do. On the evening of 

 Oct. 20 Charley drove into my place loaded down to the 

 guards with camp outfit, grub and horse feed. The latter 

 was something we would need a good supply of, for Ave 

 expected to go where the snow would be deep and pasture 

 poor; and in this we were not disappointed, as the perusal 

 of my trip will show. Ou my part I was not nearly ready, 

 as I had had business in the District Court that had occu- 

 pied my time for the past few days. So to-night we were 

 all busily employed until a late hour, making up and 

 packing my mess-box and loading my wagon. When 

 Charley drove in I had my new wall tent set up and stove- 

 pipe sticking out. Charley took a good laugh, and wanted 

 to know if there was any "deer or elk hancly." Just then 

 a lone coyote set up a howl out in the field, which made 

 a good prelude to our start. 



Early on the morning of Oct. 21 we were on the road to 

 Fort Collins, where we arrived at noon. We had a few 

 purchases to make, a new wagon sheet, lantern, oil, etc.; 

 and by night we were in camp on the banks of the Cache 

 La Poudrie River. I will now give my trip as taken from 

 my camp notes written each night on a cracker box by 

 the camp stove, or on a sack of oats during a snow storm. 



Oct. 22 — Were up and on the road early this morning 

 and went into camp on Dale Creek, about half a mile 

 from the old overland stage branch of Virginia Dale, 

 where the noted Slade once held full sway. On the 

 ground where our tent is pitched a settler's cabin was 

 washed away some four years ago by a waterspout. He 

 barely saved the lives of his family by escaping to a dug- 

 out across the road in the mountain side. 



Oct. 28. — To-day we made a big drive; went some forty 

 miles, about twenty-five of which lay across the south 

 end of Laramie Plains. About seven or eight mileB from 

 camp we crossed State line, and to-night are camped near 

 Pollack road ranch, in Wyoming, at the foot of the Med- 

 icine Bow Range. Just before reaching camp to-night 

 we met a party of hunters on their return trip; their 



