SOUTHERN AFRICA. 393 
days before our arrival at the foot of the mountain, a Hon had 
occafioned fome little ftir in the country, which had not yet 
entirely fubfided. A Hottentot belonging to one of the farmers 
had endeavoured for fome time, in vain, to drive his mafler's 
cattle into a pool of water enclofed between two ridges of rock, 
when at length he efpied a huge lion couching in the midft of the 
pool ; terrified at the unexpected fight of fuch a bead, that 
feemed to have its eyes fixed upon him, he inflantly took to his 
heels, leaving the cattle to fliift for themfelves. In doing this he 
had prefence of mind enough to run through the herd, con- 
cluding that if the lion iliould purfue, he might take up with 
the firft beaft that prefented itfelf. In this, however, he was 
miftaken. The lion broke through the herd, making directly 
after the Hottentot, who, on turning round, and perceiving 
that the monfter had fmgled him out for a meal, breathlefs and 
half dead with terror, fcrambled up one of the tree Aloes, in the 
trunk of which had luckily been cut out a few fteps, the more 
readily to come at fome birds' neflis that the branches contained. 
At the fame moment the lion made a fpring at him, but, miffing 
his aim, fell upon the ground. In furly filence he walked round 
the tree, calling every now and then a dreadful look towards the 
poor Hottentot, who had crept behind fome finches' nefts that 
happened to have been built in the tree. 
There is in this part of Africa a fmall bird of the Loxia 
genus, that lives in a ftate of fociety with the reft of its fpecies, 
in the fame manner as the locuft-eating thrudi mentioned in the 
account of a former journey. Like this bird too, they conftrudl 
a whole republic of nefls in one clump and under one cover. 
3 E Each 
