AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
59 
their volley upon him, instantly turned, and fled helter- 
skelter, leaving him to do his pleasure upon the defence- 
less Scots — who, with empty guns, were tumbling over 
each other, in their hurry to escape the clutch of the 
rampant savage. In a twinkling he was upon them, and, 
with one stroke of his paw, dashed the nearest to the 
ground. The scene was terrific! There stood the Lion, 
with his foot upon his prostrate foe, looking round in con- 
scious power and pride upon the bands of his assailants — 
and with a port the most noble and imposing that can be 
conceived. It was the most magnificent thing I ever 
witnessed. The danger of our friends, however, rendered 
it at the moment too terrible to enjoy either the grand or 
the ludicrous part of the picture. We expected to see 
one or more of them torn in pieces; nor, though the rest 
of the party were standing within fifty paces, with 
their guns cocked and levelled, durst we fire for their as- 
sistance. One was lying under the Lion’s paw, and 
the others scrambling towards us in such a way as to 
intercept our aim at him. All this passed far more rapidly 
than I have described it. But luckily the Lion, after 
steadily surveying us for a few seconds, seemed willing 
to be quits with us on fair terms; and with a fortunate 
forbearance, (for which he met but an ungrateful recom- 
pense,) turned calmly away, and driving the snarling dogs 
like rats from among his heels, bounded over the adjoining 
thicket like a cat over a footstool, clearing brakes and 
bushes twelve or fifteen feet high as readily as if they had 
been tufts of grass, and, abandoning the jungle, retreated 
towards the mountains. 
“ After ascertaining the state of our rescued comrade, 
(who fortunately had sustained no other injury than a 
slight scratch on the back, and a severe bruise in the ribs, 
from the force with which the animal had dashed him to 
the ground,) we renewed the chase with Hottentots and 
hounds in full cry. In a short time we again came up 
with the enemy, and found him standing at bay under an 
old mimosa tree, by the side of a mountain-stream, which 
we had distinguished by the name of Douglas Water. The 
dogs were barking round, but afraid to approach him, for 
he was now beginning to growl fiercely, and to brandish 
his tail in a manner that showed he was meditating mis- 
chief. The Hottentots, by taking a circuit between him 
and the mountain, crossed the stream, and took a position 
on the top of a precipice overlooking the spot where 
he stood. Another party of us occupied a position on 
the other side of the glen; and placing the poor fellow 
between two fires, which confused his attention, and pre- 
vented his retreat, we kept battering away at him, till he 
fell, unable again to grapple with us, pierced with many 
wounds. 
“ He proved to be a full grown Lion, of the yellow 
variety, about five or six years of age. He measured 
nearly twelve feet from the nose to the tip of the tail. 
His fore leg, below the knee, was so thick that I could not 
span it with both hands; and his neck, breast, and limbs, 
appeared, when the skin was taken off, a complete conge- 
ries of sinews.” 
The Lion, as well as all of the cat tribe, takes his prey 
at night; and it is necessary, therefore, that he should 
have peculiar organs of vision. In all those animals which 
seek their food in the dark, the eye is usually of a large 
size, to admit a great number of rays; and that part which is 
called the choroides reflects, instead of absorbing the light. 
The power of seeing in the dark, which the cat tribe pos- 
sesses, has always appeared a subject of mystery; and it 
is natural that it should be so, for man himself sees with 
more difficulty in the dark than any other animal: he has a 
compensation in his ability to produce artificial light. 
There were formerly two opinions on the subject of the 
cat’s eye: the one, that the external light only is reflected; 
the other, that light was generated in the eye itself. Pro- 
fessor Bohn, of Leipsic, made experiments, however, 
which proved that, when the external light is wholly 
excluded, none can be seen in the cat’s eye; and it is now 
established that the illumination is wholly produced by the 
external rays of light, which, after being concentrated by 
those pai’ts which are called the cornea, and the crystal- 
line lens, are reflected in a brilliant concave mirror at the 
bottom of the eye, called the tapetum. This effect may 
be constantly seen in the domestic cat. In the strong 
light of day, the iris is contracted, so that a very small 
quantity of light is admitted to this mirror; but in the 
twilight the iris opens, and then the mirror being com- 
pletely exposed, the e3 r e glares in the manner with which 
we are all familiar. The construction, therefore, of the 
eye of the cat tribe enables them to collect in one focus 
whatever rays of light there may be: and few places are so 
dark but that some light may be found — as we know, when 
we have gone into a cellar, where the darkness at first 
appears impenetrable, but where, even with our differently 
constructed organ of vision, we soon distinguish objects 
without difficulty. This peculiar eye, therefore, is neces- 
sary to the Lion to perceive his prey; and he creeps to- 
wards it with a certainty which nothing but this distinct 
nocturnal vision could give. 
Every one must have observed what are usually called 
the whiskers, on a cat’s upper lip. The use of these in a 
state of nature is very important. They are organs of 
touch. They are attached to a bed of close glands under 
the skin; and each of these long and stiff hairs is connected 
with the nerves of the lip. The slightest contact of these 
