20 
THE LION. 
apparently rather slow, yet, from tlie great length 
of his body, he is able to get over a good deal 
of ground in a short time. Indeed, he has been 
known, in the course of the night, to cross a 
plain which, at that particular point, was, as the 
crow flies, forty-five miles in width. 
Occasionally he trots, when his speed is not 
inconsiderable. 
His gallop—or rather succession of bounds—is, for 
a short distance, very fast; nearly or quite equal 
to that of a horse. Indeed, unless the sfceed has 
somewhat the start when the beast charges, it will 
be puzzled to escape. Many instances are on 
record of horsemen who have incautiously ap¬ 
proached too near to the lion, prior to firing, who 
have been pulled down by him before they could 
get out of harm’s way. Happily, however, the 
beast soon tires of the exertion of galloping, and 
unless his first rush succeeds, he, for the most part, 
soon halts and beats a retreat. 
