The Difcover)-, Settlement, and Commerce 
Book 1 
It is positively infilled bn, both by AMjloile and Pliny % 
that the Bones of the Lion are much firmer, and more folid 
than thofeof any other Bead ; which fome Moderns have 
denied : But fuch as have had the bed Opportunities of in- 
quiring into, and being fatisfied as to the Matter of Faft, 
allure us, that the Antients are in the right ; and that the 
Cavity in the Leg-bones of a Lion is not larger than thofe 
of a Tobacco-pipe •, fo that when they are differed to lie 
and dry in the Sun, that Cavity is intire ly filled up ; and 
they become fo fmooth, fo drong, and perfeftly united, 
that they will drike Fire like Flints. When he falls upon 
his Prey, he fird brings it to the Ground, and then beats 
its Breath out with his Paw, before he tears or eats it •, 
and generally accompanies this Death-droke with aloud 
Roar 
Their Strength is prodigious, and much beyond their 
Size •, which is the Reafon, that other Beads fly at the Sight 
of them. We are told by Pliny , that they never prey 
upon Men, till they become very old, and cannot provide 
themfelves with other Food; in which time of Didrefs, 
they watch about the Skirts of Villages, and even of great 
Towns, that they may catch and devour fuch as come out 
carelefly in a Morning, or are returning in an Evening. 
The Romans thought there was fomething ominous in 
the manner in which Lions were introduced into their Am- 
phitheatres. Sylla the Dictator exhibited one hundred 
Lions, which fought all at once. After him Pompey ex- 
pofed fix hundred ; and his Competitor, Julius Catfar , 
expofed four hundred. All which, the Romans obferved, 
happened in Times when their Liberty was declining. But 
what contributed to fpread this Notion the mod of all, was 
the Contrivance of Mark Antony , who, after the Defeat of 
Brutus and Cajfms , caufed himfelf to be drawn through 
Rome in a Chariot, to which two Lions were yoked, at 
the fame time that there fat with him one Cytheris an 
Aft refs, his favourite Midrefs, before he became acquaint- 
ed with Cleopatra. This, fays Pliny , feemed to prefage, 
that Men of high Spirit, and noble Courage, fhould be 
tamed, and brought into Subjeftion to fuch as were only 
remarkable for their Pride and Luxury : And for my Part, 
continues he, I confider the very Sight of fo mondrous a 
Speftacle, as none of the lead of the Calamities of thefe 
unhappy Times c . 
It was not at Rome Only, that fuch Notions prevailed *, 
the Carthaginians feem allb to have had the fame Senti- 
ments ; for when PI anno, who was one of their mod ex- 
cellent Citizens, and greated Generals, had found a^Vvay 
to tame a Lion, fo that he droked and handled him like a 
Dog, they took occafion from thence to drive him into 
Bamfhment, believing that the Liberties of a People could 
not be fafe, where that Man had any Power, who had Skill 
enough to alter the Nature of the fierced Bead, and make 
him tame and gentle as a Spaniel. 
It is very doubtful, whether there be any Truth in what 
is reported of the Lionefs bringing forth but five times 
in her Life, and having at fird five Whelps, then four, 
and the lad time but one : Neither is there much Credit 
due to what is faid, of their living to a great Age ; fince 
we know, by Experience, that they are not a very long- 
lived Animal But with refpeft to its Magnanimity, and 
difdaining to eat fuch as approach in an humble and fup- 
piiant manner, it is affirmed as well by modern l ravellers, 
as the Writers of Antiquity: And it is on all hands 
agreed, that if this Bead does not lafh himfelf with his 
Tail, or fet up his Mane, a Man may fafely go by him. 
There are a kind of Lions that have no Manes, but are 
fmOoth like the Lionefs : Thefe are faid to be a mongrel 
Breed between the Leopard and the Lionefs. As to the 
Antipathy between the Lion and the Cock, and the for- 
mer’s flying, if he hear the latter crow, it is no. better than 
a Fable ; of which there are more related of this, -than ai- 
med any other Animal. And, in Truth, one cannot but 
wonder, how fo grave a Writer as Pliny could bring him- 
felf to fet down fo many improbable Stories as he did, upon 
thisSubjeft ; which, as they could only ferve to tire, with- 
out indrufting the Reader, I think it bed to omit. The 
a Pliny, lib. viii. cap. 1 6. Anftot. ubifup. b dElian. lib. iu.ct 
Nat. Hip. lib . vi. c. 20. lib. v I c. 1 8. Oppian. lib. I. Bochart. Hier 
Tigre. t Voyage au hides par J. le Maire. 
Fifth of this Animal is often eaten, is not at all unpleafant, 
and is not known to prove unwholfome ; but, whether 
any Part of this Creature be of any Ufe in Phyfick, I am 
not able to fay. 
8 2; The Tyger is judly reported by the Antients one * 
of the fierced, fwifted, and dronged of all wild Beads. 
Other Animals, of which we have hitherto fpoken, are 
found in feveral Countries befides the Indies ; but the true 
Tyger is, in a manner, peculiar to that Part of the World : 
They differ from the Leopard in Size, and in Spots ; for 
the Tyger is much bigger, having yellow Spots that are 
very round, with black Hair about them ; whereas the 
Leopard is fpotted with black, almod in the Shape of 
Horle-fhoes. The Female, which is called the Tygrefs, 
is even fiercer than the Male, as appears from what Pliny 
tells us of the Manner in which the Huntfm'en caught her 
young ones in thofe Times. They provided themfelves, 
fays he, with a very lwift Horfe, on which one of the 
bolded went in Search of the Tyger’s Den, while the red 
remained with their Boat by the River-fife. Wheh he 
who was on Horfeback had an Opportunity, by the Ab- 
fence of their Dam, he carried away the Whelps, and rode 
as hard as he was able to join his Companions ; but the 
Tygrefs, miffing her Young, frequently came up with the 
Huntfman before he reached the River-fide, who, as foon 
as he found himfelf in Danger, dropped one of the Whelps, 
which the Tygrefs taking up, and carrying back to her 
Den, gave him Time to efcape with the red to his Com- 
panions, who immediately quitted the Place with the ut- 
mod Expedition. This Story fhews the quick Scent, and 
prodigious Speed, of this Creature ; of which, however, 
Ptiny does not give us any particular Defcription d . . 
By comparing, however, the feveral Accounts we have 
of this Creature in modem Travels, it appears, that their 
Eyes are wonderful bright and fhining, their Necks fiiort 
and drong, their Teeth and Claws prodigioufly fharp, 
their tabby Skins of a beautiful Colour, and their Hair 
fiiort and gloffy. The Kingdom of Malabar is, of all 
others, the mod famous for thefe Animals, of which they 
didinguifh thefe three Sorts : The fird is fomewhat bigger 
than a wild Cat, makes a frightful Noife, not unlike the 
Lowing of a Cow, and does a great deal of Mifchief. The 
fecond Sort, which is mod common, is of the Size of a 
{mail Calf, wonderfully brifk and aftive, and, withal, ex- ; 
ceffively cruel. The third is called the Tyger Royal, and 
is very near as big as a Horfe, for the Skin of one of :j 
them will ferve for a Coverlid for a Bed fix Foot long ; , 
and for this they are much ufed in the Indies. The Furs 11 
of all the Species of this Creature are very valuable, both ij 
in the Indies , and in Europe. They are ufed there chiefly j 
for Beds and Palankins ; and here for Horfe-furniture, and ti 
for lining Cloaths in the Winter, efpecially in the North c . 
As the Lion never eats any Creature till it is dead, fo > 
the Tyger tears his Prey to Pieces while it is living ; and ti 
if he meets by chance with a dead Sheep, or Horfe, he a 
will not touch them : But if, at any time, they fall in i 
with an Herd or Flock, where they have Plenty of f 
Cattle at their Mercy, they feldom eat them at all, but l| 
content themfelves with lucking their Blood ; by which it ti 
is incredible what Havock they make. A Tyger, Ty- - 
grefs, and two of their young ones, have been known to d 
dedroy upwards of an hundred Sheep in a Night’s-time, . 
in this manner : They generally hide themfelves behind : 
Bufhes or Hedges, in an inclofed Country, from whence t 
they leap at once, with almod incredible Force, upon ti 
whatever paffes by : Neither are they at all afraid ol Men; 
but, whenever they have an Opportunity, feize them ge- | 
nerally in the Middle, carry them into the Woods, and J 
there tear them to-pieces, and devour them. The Fifth I: 
of this Creature is remarkably white and tender : Such as i. 
have eat it affirm, that it is as delicate as any kind or i 
Veal, and much better taded : And the Fifth of young | 
Tygers is faid to be as tender and fweet as that of Fowls . J 
The Antients report, that Tygers often mingle withr 
Dogs ; which, having been obferved by the Indians , they 1 
were wont to carry a certain Number of Bitches into thei. 
z >. . lib. vii. cap. 96. e Rift. Hat. lib. viii. cap. 16 d ?hn ft 
' Po 1. lib. iii. c. 7 eft 5 8. 4 Didiionaire de Commerce, As tic., 
Woods 
4 
