82 
THE LION. 
with a roar, and thus their purpose is gained. A 
distinguished field-officer, of my acquaintance, in 
the British service, who has had great experience 
with lions, assures me that in this manner he has 
more than once succeeded in discovering the 
animal’s retreat. 
When the natives are about to attack the beast, 
and whilst brandishing their weapons in his face, 
they will taunt and abuse him in the most unmea¬ 
sured terms. The like is the case when they wish 
to drive the lion from his prey ! On one occasion, 
indeed, as will be hereafter related, I myself was an 
eye-witness to their thus possessing themselves 
of his spoils. 
Whether or not the human eye and the human 
voice have the effect on the lion commonly attributed 
to them, I am unable from my own experiences, 
either to confirm or contradict; what, however, I 
can testify to is this, that the natives of South Africa 
universally assert that the beast, from fear of 
being circumvented in some way or other, is often 
seized with a sudden panic, and retreats hastily. 
Delegorgue when speaking on this subject says : 
u They have assured me that so long as a man re¬ 
mains in an upright position, the lion little fears 
him, but if he suddenly seats himself, or throws 
himself flat on the ground in the long grass (here 
some three feet high) and is consequently altogether 
lost to view, the beast, owing to his dreading a 
ruse of some kind, or that the enemy is about get¬ 
ting into his rear, immediately takes the alarm and 
hurriedly moves off. Of this fact the Bushmen are 
