34 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
satisfied to observe him in menageries; but we must follow 
with attention the narratives of those travellers who have 
seen him in his native haunts. From the Cape of Good 
Hope, for instance, an adventurous naturalist sets forth to 
explore the immense plains of the interior of Southern 
Africa. His journey is performed partly on foot, and 
partly in a wagon drawn by eight or ten oxen. His escort 
consists of a few sturdy Hottentots, accustomed to the 
country into which he desires to penetrate — excellent 
marksmen — and expert in following up the track of every 
wild or ferocious beast. Further and further he rolls on 
from the abodes of civilization, and soon finds himself sur- 
rounded by tribes of Bushmen, or Caffres, who live in a 
rude but contented manner, depending for subsistence upon 
their flocks and upon the chase, and knowing very few of 
those agricultural arts by which their arid plains might be 
partially redeemed from sterility. At length he reaches 
those parts where ferocious animals abound; and where the 
Lion, particularly, is an object of dread. Having passed the 
borders of European colonization, his fears are first excited 
by viewing the footmarks of the Lion. His Hottentot 
guides have their tales of terror ready for the traveller, 
who beholds, for the first time, the impress of those tre- 
mendous feet upon the sands of the plain which he is to 
cross; and they are ready to show their skill in tracking, 
if necessary, the prowling savage to his lair. So nice is 
this faculty in a Hottentot, of tracking footsteps, that Mr. 
Barrow tells us he will distinguish the wolf from the do- 
mestic dog, by the largeness of the ball of the foot, and the 
comparative smallness of the toes; and will single out, 
amongst a thousand, any of his companions’ feet. This is 
an effect of education — an ability produced by the constant 
exercise of a peculiar faculty, which has been acquired by 
early training. It is the same ability by which a skilful 
shepherd is enabled to know every individual sheep belong- 
ing to his flock; and its exercise, in each case, proceeds 
from that habit of attention which enables the human mind 
to attain excellence in every pursuit. But even a Hotten- 
tot does not discover the footsteps of a Lion without fear. 
Mr. Burchell, with his man Gert, was in search of a party 
who had killed a hippopotamus. They were hurrying on 
through a willow-grove, when the Hottentot suddenly 
stopped, and cried out, with some emotion, “Look here, 
sir!” Mr. Burchell continues : — “ I turned my eyes 
downwards, and saw the recent footmarks of a Lipn, which 
had been to drink at the river, apparently not more than 
an hour before. This gave a check to our dialogue on the 
hippopotamus; and, in a lower and graver tone of voice, 
he talked now only of Lions, and the danger of being 
alone in a place so covered with wood.” That immediate 
danger passed away, but new fears of the same nature were 
constantly presenting themselves. Mr. Barrow says:— 
“ It seems to be a fact well established, that the Lion pre- 
fers the flesh of a Hottentot to any other creature;” and 
the same writer states, in another place, that this powerful 
and treacherous animal seldom makes an open attack, but, 
like the rest of the feline genus, lies in ambush, till it can 
conveniently spring upon its prey. The best security 
which man and beast have against the attacks of the Lion, 
is found in his indolence; he requires the strong excite- 
ment of hunger to be roused to a pursuit; but when he is 
roused, his vaunted magnanimity is no protection, even for 
a sleeping foe, as the poets have pretended. 
We must, however, follow our African traveller a little 
further in his career of observation. A lowering evening 
comes on; thunder clouds collect in every quarter; and the 
night becomes extremely dark. The most vivid flashes of 
lightning are intermingled with the heaviest torrents of 
rain. The cattle are restless; and the Hottentots are pre- 
vented making their evening fire for the cookery of their 
supper, and for defence against the beasts of prey. On 
such nights as these the Lion is particularly active. The 
fury of the elements appears to rouse him from his ordi- 
nary torpidity. He advances upon his prey with much 
less than his usual caution ; and he is not at once driven off 
by the barking of dogs and the sound of muskets. The 
oxen of the caravan, who appear to scent the distant ap- 
proach of their terrible enemy, struggle to break loose from 
their wagons to escape their danger by instant flight — an 
escape which would prove their destruction. It is only by 
keeping with man that they are safe. The repeated dis- 
charge of fire-arms has the remarkable effect not only of 
keeping off the Lion, but of abating the restlessness of 
the cattle. They appear to feel that their enemy will 
retreat when he hears this demonstration of the powers of 
the only creature that is enabled, by superior reason, to 
cope with him. Nights of such harassing watchfulness are 
frequently experienced by the African traveller. 
It is no uncommon thing in the plains of Southern 
Africa, to encounter innumerable herds of wild animals, 
quietly grazing like tame cattle. Wherever the quagga, 
(a species of wild ass,) the sprinkbok, and the hartebeest, 
(the Dutch names for two varieties of the antelope,) are 
found, there will be Lions, numerous in proportion, for 
the destruction of their prey. Of course, those formidable 
beasts can only exist where the means of their support are 
to be procured. They are destined to live on animal food; 
and, therefore, where there are flocks and herds, whether 
in a wild or a domestic state, there they will be also. Mr. 
Campbell states that the quagga migrates in winter from 
the tropics to the vicinity of the Malaleveen river; which, 
though farther to the south, is reported to be considerably 
