IX 
THE LION 
339 
yards I distinguished the back of the head and neck 
of the lioness. She was looking in the opposite 
direction ; this gave me a fatal opportunity, and a 
shot in the nape of the neck settled the affair, after a 
well-contested struggle. 
It was impossible to carry this animal, we there¬ 
fore skinned it, and upon opening the stomach we 
found the sections of a fawn antelope; these when 
placed in position showed the entire animal, which 
she must have eaten a few hours previously. This 
was so fresh that my natives immediately made a 
fire and roasted the meat, which they ate with great 
enjoyment as a feast of victory.^ 
I shall say no more concerning lions, but I shall 
always admire the calm dignity of appearance, the 
massive strength, the quiet determination of ex¬ 
pression, and the noli me tangere decision, that 
represent the character of the nation which has 
selected this noble animal for its emblem. 
I do not venture upon the extensive variety of 
smaller species of the genus Felis ; but there is one 
in India which I have only observed upon two 
occasions ; this is the colour of a puma, rather long 
in the leg, with pointed tufts of black hair at the tips 
of the ears, giving it the appearance of a lynx. I have 
a skin in my possession which I shot in the Central 
Provinces of India in 1888. The whole of the genus 
Felis, from the lion to the ordinary cat, have the same 
number of teeth—six cutting teeth, six front teeth, 
^ We measured this lioness carefully with a piece of string; she 
was 9 feet 6 inches from nose to tip of tail. 
