CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDERS. CARNIVORA. 
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and, attacking Mebalwe, bit liis thigli. Another man, whose life I had saved before, after he had 
been tossed by a buffalo, attempted to spear the lion while he was biting Mebalwe. He left 
Mebalwe and caught this man by the shoulder, but at that moment the bullets he had received 
took effect, and he fell down dead. The whole was the work of a few moments, and must have 
been his paroxysms of dying rage. In order to take out the charm from him, the Bakatla on 
the following day made a huge bonfire over the carcass, which was declared to be that of the 
largest lion they had ever seen. Besides crunching the bone into splinters, he left eleven teeth 
Avounds on the upper part of my arm." 
The following curious facts are furnished by the same writer : 
" The same feeling which has induced the modern painter to caricature the lion, has led the 
sentimentalist to consider the lion's roar the most terrific of all earthly sounds. We hear of the 
' majestic roar of the king of beasts.' It is, indeed, well calculated to inspire fear if you hear it 
in combination with the tremendously loud thunder of that country, on a night so pitchy dark 
that every flash of the intensely vivid lightning leaves you with the impression of stone-blindness, 
while the rain pours down so fast that your fire goes out, leaving you without the protection of 
even a tree, or the chance of your gun going off. But when you are in a comfortable house or 
wagon, the case is very different, and you hear the roar of the lion without any awe or alarm. 
The silly ostrich makes a noise as loud, yet he never was feared by man. To talk of the 
majestic roar of the lion is mere majestic twaddle. On my mentioning this fact some years ago, 
the assertion was doubted, so I have been careful ever since to inquire the opinions of Europeans, 
who have heard both, if they could detect any difference between the roar of a lion and that of 
an ostrich ; the invariable answer was, that they could not when the animal was at any distance. 
The natives assert that they can detect a variation between the commencement of the noise of each. 
There is, it must be admitted, considerable difference between the singing noise of a lion when 
fall, and his deep, gruff growl when hungry. In general, the lion's voice seems to come deeper 
from the chest than that of the ostrich, but to this day I can distinguish between them with 
certainty only by knowing that the ostrich roars by day and the lion by night." 
It is well known that Africa has ever been the principal home of the lion. It is still found in 
nearly all parts of that continent in three varieties — the Blade Lion, the Bed Lion, and the Gray 
Lion. The lions of Asia are known under three names, but whether they are distinct species or 
mere varieties, is not established. The Bengal Lion is said to be of a darker color, more graceful 
form, and a less extensive mane than the African lion. The Persian or Arabian Lion is distin- 
guished by the pale Isabella color of its hair. The Guzerat or Maneless Lion, instead of a flow- 
ing mane, has only long hairs standing up along the neck and shoulders. 
The habits of the Asiatic lions do not differ much from those of Africa, excepting that the 
former, from the state of the country, frequent jungles. In India the elephant is generally 
employed in the chase, which is conducted with more pomp and circumstance than in any other 
country. The grand Asiatic huntings of former times, those of Genghis Khan for instance, will 
occur to many of our readers. The accounts of most modern sportsmen give a very coura- 
geous bearing to the Asiatic lions in these encounters. One of them states that the lions in India, 
instead of running away when pursued through a jungle, seldom take to cover as a refuge at all. 
On the approach of their enemies, they spring out to meet them open-mouthed in the plain. 
They are thus easily shot ; but if they are missed or only slightly wounded, they are most 
formidable adversaries. They are even said to have sprung on the heads of the largest elephants, 
and to have fairly pulled them to the ground, riders and all. 
The lion is only found in certain districts of Asia ; he is nowhere numerous. Here as well as 
in Africa, his numbers are being daily diminished. Not only the human inhabitants attack him, 
and with improved and improving weapons and modes of destruction, but other animals some- 
times dispute, and with effect, his proud title of King of the Beasts. This is especially the case 
in Africa. The oryx has been known to plunge its long straight horns through his body, leaving 
him dead on the spot ; and the cow-buffalo, in defense of her calf, sometimes rushes upon him and 
gores him to death with her horns. The history of the lion, as far as we can trace it, is that of 
the most powerful, but still a constantly diminishing species. Their strength, their ferocity, their 
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