828 
OFF FOR THE SOTIK DISTRICT. 
Making due allowance for the personal error,” as astronomers 
would term the difference of idiosyncrasy in the narrators, we may 
safely conjecture that the truth lies somewhere between the two 
extremes, and that the lion is not always so fierce an animal as is 
said to be the case by some, nor always so cowardly as it is said to 
be by others. 
Even the same individual may be at one time ferocious and 
truculent, attacking a party of armed men, in spite of their fire- 
rampart, and carrying off one of their number from among them; 
or at another time it may be timid and cowardly, skulking out of 
sight if discovered, and flying in terror before the shouts and cries 
of a few savages. 
Hunger seems to be the great cause of a lion’s defiance of 
danger; and it but seldom happens that a lion which has had plenty 
to eat troubles itself to attack man or beast. 
CONSIDERABLE INDOLENCE IN THE LION. 
There seems to be a considerable spice of indolence in the lion, 
which indeed is the case in most of the members of the cat tribe. It 
is capable of very great muscular efforts, and for a time will exert 
the most wary vigilance. But as soon as the existing cause is 
removed, the creature seems overcome with lethargy, and, seeking 
the cover of its lair, yields itself to repose. 
Even when aroused by the calls of hunger, the lion will not take 
more trouble than is necessary for the attainment of its end, and 
if it can strike down an antelope or jaguar with a blow of its paw, 
will be quite satisfied with its success, and will not trouble itself 
about such difficult game as a buffalo or a giraffe. 
It is supposed by those who have had much experience of the 
leonine character, that the terrible '' man-eating ” lions owe their 
propensity for human flesh to the indolence of their character or 
the infirmity of their frame, and not to their superior activity or 
courage. Unwilling, or unable, to expend strength and patience in 
the pursuit of the swift-footed antelope or powerful buffalo, the lion 
prowls about the villages, thinking to find an easy prey in the man, 
woman, or child that may happen to stray from the protecting 
