120 
THE LION. 
unnoticed even by the zebra-sentinel. The Lions crept on, until they reached the sheltering 
thicket, when the sentinel took the alarm. It was too late — with a single bound, the leading 
Lion sprang over the reeds, felled one of the zebras, and set the others scampering in all direc- 
tions so as to fall an easy prey to his companions. 
It has happened that such alliances have come to a tragical end for the assailant as well 
as the victim. 
“Early one morning,” says Mr. Anderson, in his “Lake htgami,” “one of our herdsmen 
came running up to us in a great fright, and announced that a Lion was devouring a Lioness. 
We thought at first that the man must be mistaken, but his story was perfectly true, and only 
her skull, the larger bones, and the skin were left. On examining the ground more closely, the 
fresh remains of a young springbok were also discovered. We therefore conjectured that the 
Lion and Lioness, being very hungry, and the antelope not proving a sufficient meal for both, had 
quarrelled ; and he, after killing his wife, had coolly eaten her also.” 
The same writer relates a curious instance of a wounded Lion 
being tom in pieces by a troop of his fellows. 
In the attack of large animals, the Lion seldom attempts an 
unaided assault, but joins in the pursuit with several companions. 
Thus it seems to be that the stately giraffe is slain by the Lion, 
five of which have been seen engaged in the chase of one giraffe, 
two actually pulling down their prey, while the other three were 
waiting close at hand. The Lions were driven off, and the neck of 
the giraffe was found to be bitten through by the cruel teeth of the 
assailants. 
When the Lion kills an eland, and does not happen to be very 
ravenously hungry, he feeds daintily on the heart and other viscera, 
not often touching the remainder of the flesh. In so doing, he rips 
open the abdomen with his powerful claws, and tearing out his 
favorite morsels, devours them. Sometimes, after satisfying his 
hunger, he will leave the eland lying on the ground apparently unin- 
° ’ , . .. , , ; . x , 1 n ! root AND NERVES OP LION'S 
jured, the only visible wound being that which he has made by whisker hair. 
tearing the animal open. 
Owing to the uniform tawny color of the Lion’s coat, he is hardly distinguishable from 
surrounding objects even in broad daylight, and by night he walks secure. Even the practised 
eyes of an accomplished hunter have been unable to detect the bodies of Lions which were 
lapping water at some twenty yards’ distance, betraying their vicinity by the sound, but so 
blended in form with the landscape, that they afforded no mark for the rifle even at that short 
distance. 
Under such circumstances, their glowing eyes afford the only means by which they can 
be discovered, and even with such assistance the position of the body cannot be made out. 
The felidse tread so silently that no footfall gives notice of their whereabouts ; and aided by 
the beautiful mechanism of the “whiskers,” they appear to be enabled to thread their 
stealthy way, almost without the aid of eyes. 
Each whisker hair is, in fact, an organ endued with an exquisite sense of touch, and in 
connection with a set of large nerves that convey to the brain the least touch. In the engraving 
is given a magnified representation of a single hair-bulb of one of the whiskers, together with 
the nerves by means of which the hair is converted into a tactile organ. It will be seen, on 
reference to the figure, that if the extremity of the hair is touched, a pressure will instantly 
be made on the nerves at its root. By means of these delicate feelers, the animals are able to 
guide themselves through the thickets, and to escape the risk of alarming their intended prey 
by too rude a contact with the branches. 
Among the more inland settlers of Southern Africa, adventures with the Lion are of com- 
mon occurrence. As may by expected, many of these rencontres are of a deeply tragic nature, 
while others are imbued with a decidedly comic element. A great number of original anec- 
dotes of this nature have been most kindly placed at my disposal by Captain Drayson, who 
