Chap. VII. 
THE LION. 
137 
dread of the Bushmen and Bakalahari, as soon as either disease or 
old age overtakes him, he begins to catch mice and other small 
rodents, and even to eat grass; the natives, observing undigested 
vegetable matter in liis droppings, follow up his trail in the cer¬ 
tainty of finding him scarcely able to move under some tree, and 
despatch him without difficulty. The grass may have been eaten 
as medicine, as is observed in dogs. 
That the fear of man often remains excessively strong in the 
carnivora is proved firom well-authenticated cases in wliich the 
lioness, in the vicinity of towns where the large game had been 
unexpectedly driven away by fire-arms, has been known to assuage 
the paroxysm of hunger by devouring her own young. It must 
be added, that, though the effluvium wliich is left by the footsteps 
of man is in general sufficient to induce Kons to avoid a village, 
there are exceptions; so many came about our half-deserted 
houses at Chonuane wlnle we were in the act of removing to 
Kolobeng, that the natives who remained with Mrs. Livingstone 
were terrified to stir out-of-doors in the evenings. Bitches also 
have been known to be guilty of the horridly unnatural act of 
eating their own young, probably from the great desne for animal 
food, which is experienced by the inhabitants as well. 
When a Hon is met in the daytime, a circumstance by no 
means unfrequent to travellers in these parts, if preconceived 
notions do not lead them to expect sometliing very “ noble,” or 
majestic,” they will see merely an animal somewhat larger than 
the biggest dog they ever saw, and partaking very strongly of the 
canine features; the face is not much like the usual drawings of 
a Hon, the nose being prolonged Hke a dog’s; not exactly such as 
our painters make it, though they might learn better at the 
Zoological Gardens; their ideas of majesty being usually shown 
by making their Hons’ faces like old women in nightcaps. When 
encountered in the daytime, the Hon stands a second or two 
gazing, then turns slowly round, and walks as slowly away for a 
dozen paces, looking over his shoulder; then begins to trot, and, 
when he tlnnks himself out of sight, bounds off Hke a greyhound. 
By day there is not, as a rule, the smaUest danger of Hons which 
are not molested attacking man, nor even on a clear moonHght 
night, except when they possess the breeding aroqy^ (natural 
affection) ; tliis makes them brave almost any danger; and if a 
