WONDERFUL POWERS. 
81 
telling us that in the event of the beast charging 
the best plan is to sacrifice the horse, he goes on to 
say, ee If the hunter afterwards wishes to approach 
the furious carnivora, the proper time for the pur¬ 
pose is when it is upon the body of its victim, be¬ 
cause during the efforts the lion makes to slay it 
the muscles of the jaws act in a most powerful man¬ 
ner, while the neighbouring organs remain passive, 
as if their co-operation were useless. Thus the 
beast’s eyes are closed, and he, indulging in 
vengeance, sees no more than if he was stone- 
blind.” 
Notwithstanding the great strength and prowess 
of the lion, it still not unfrequently happens that 
after having seized his intended victim (especially if 
it be the giraffe, or other of the larger denizens of 
the wilds) it escapes from his murderous grasp, 
though in most instances cruelly lacerated. 
Delegorgue, for instance, when speaking of the 
prowess of the lion, says :— “All I can certify to 
from ocular demonstration is, that I have seen on 
the back of an old bull-buffalo (Bos Gaffir) killed by 
myself, four fearful furrows, four centimetres in 
depth, reaching from the shoulder to the insertion of 
the tail, caused by the claws of the beast in question.” 
Sir Samuel Baker also mentions an instance 
showing the vronderful powers possessed by the 
lion. After telling us that Florian, a former hunting 
associate of his, had been struck dead by a fearful 
blow on the head from the paw of one of these beasts 
which he had previously wounded, he goes on to say : 
—“ Great difficulty was experienced in extracting 
