88 
THE LION. 
At times, however, it is asserted that, prior to so 
doing, he carefully, step by step, measures the 
ground, so that he may not again miscalculate the 
distance; and certainly the following incidents, re¬ 
lated by Moffatt, give, it must be confessed, some 
countenance to the extraordinary statement. 
“ Passing along a vale,” says the reverend gen¬ 
tleman, “ we came to a spot where the lion appeared 
to have been exercising himself in the way of leap¬ 
ing. As the natives are very expert in tracing the 
manoeuvres of animals by their foot-marks, it was 
soon discovered that a large lion had crept towards 
a short black stump, very like the human form, and, 
when within about a dozen yards, had bounded towards 
its supposed prey, but, to its mortification, fell short 
of it by a foot or two. According to the testimony 
of a native who had been watching the beast’s pro¬ 
ceedings, and who joined us soon afterwards, the 
lion, after this failure, lay for some time steadfastly 
eyeing the stump in question. He then arose, smelt 
the object, and returned to the spot from which he 
commenced his first leap, and leaped four successive 
times, till at last he placed his paw on what, in the 
first instance, he had imagined to be his prize.” 
“ On another occasion,” Moffatt goes on to say, 
“ when Africaner, a famous native chieftain, and an 
attendant, were travelling near a hill, from the foot 
of which jutted out an isolated and precipitous rock 
of some ten or twelve feet in height, they observed 
a number of zebras following a track that passed 
around the foot of the rock in question. A lion 
was at the same time observed creeping towards'the 
zebras, and knowing that if he could at one leap 
