128 
THE LJOK 
When the dawn broke, the hnnter ventured from his place of concealment, and 
searched for the carcass of the Lion, which he found lying within fifty yards of the spot 
from whence the fatal shot had been fired. Even in that short space of time the hyenas 
and jackals had been busy over the body of their departed monarch, and had so torn his 
skin that it was entirely spoiled for any purpose except that of a memorial of a most 
fearful night. 
The hero of this adventure was C. J. Andersson, who has recorded his valuable African 
experiences in his visit to “ Lake Ngami.” 
The Same author relates a curious anecdote of a half -starved, and entirely bewildered 
Lion, which contrived to get into the church at Eichterfeldt. The unfortunate brute was so 
weakened by fasting, that the Damaras dragged him out of the edifice by his tail and ears, 
and speared him without trouble. 
In the leonine character is no small craft, which displays itself in various modes. Keen 
of scent in perceiving the approach of an enemy, the Lion appears to be well aware of the 
likelihood that his own approach might be manifested by the powerful odor that issues from 
his body. He therefore keeps well to leeward of the animal which he pursues, and employs 
the direction of the wind to conceal him from the olfactory senses of his game, and the position 
of the rocks, trees, or reeds, to hide his approach from their organs of vision. 
A curions property connected with the Lion’s tooth is worthy of notice. It has happened 
that, when a man has been bitten by a Lion, and escaped from its fangs, he has long felt the 
after effects of the injury, and this in a singular manner. Although the wound has healed 
kindly, and to all appearance has left no evil result except the honorable scar, yet that wound 
has broken out afresh on the anniversary of the time when it was inflicted. There is probably 
some poisonous influence upon the Lion’s tooth by which this effect is produced, for it has 
been recorded that two men have been attacked by the same Lion, one of whom, who was 
bitten upon his bare limb, suffered from the annual affliction, while the other, whose limb was 
protected by his coat, felt no after inconvenience of a similar nature from the bite of the same 
animal. 
A similar effect, lasting for several years, has been produced by the bite of a rabid dog, 
where the poisonous effects of the envenomed tooth were not sufficiently powerful to produce 
the fearful disease of hydrophobia. In an instance with which I am acquainted, the wound 
continued to re-open annually at least for the space of six years, and possibly for some years 
longer. The bite of a venomous snake has sometimes been known to produce the same phe- 
nomenon. 
The Lion is by no means so fastidious a feeder as is popularly supposed. It is true that 
he does very much like to strike down a living prey, and lap the hot blood as it wells from 
the lacerated victim. But he is very well satisfied with any dead animal that he may chance 
to find, and indeed is in no way particular whether it be tainted or otherwise. So thoroughly 
is this the case, that Lion-hunters are in the habit of decoying their mighty game by means of 
dead antelopes or oxen, which they lay near some water-spring, knowing well that the Lions 
are sure to seize so excellent an opportunity of satisfying at the same time the kindred appe- 
tites of thirst and hunger. 
In default of larger game, the Lion feels no hesitation in employing his mighty paw in the 
immolation of the small rodents, and frequently makes a meal on locusts, diversified with an 
occasional lizard or beetle. Led by implanted instinct, this animal will, when water is not to 
be found, quench its thirst by devouring the juicy water-melons that so marvellously store up 
the casual moistures of the desert, which would otherwise be exhaled in vapor before the fierce 
rays of the burning sun. Many other carnivorous animals, and one or two carnivorous birds, 
are known to possess the same ‘instinctive knowledge. The scientific name of this water-melon 
is a Cucumis Caffer,” and its native title “Kengwe,” or “ Kerne.” 
That a carnivorous animal should voluntarily take to vegetable food is a very curious fact, 
and seems to argue a high state of intellectual power. It is true that herbivorous animals, 
such as the rhinoceros and others, will resort to the same plant for the purpose of quenching 
their thirst ; but then it must be remembered that these latter creatures are but following their 
