OCyl, F E 
The lion will fometlmes faring on the back of the buffalo, 
and upon horfes, by which means they become an eafy 
prey : tire lion never quitting his hold till they fink down 
in the agonies of death. Dr. Sparfnan mentions, that on 
a plain to'the eaff of Kro'mme-ri ver, a lion had been gored 
and trampled to death by a herd of cattle ; having, urged 
probably by hunger, ventured to attack them in broad 
day-light. This the reader will not fo much wonder at, 
when he is told, that in the day-time, and upon an open 
plain, twelve or fixteen dogs will eafily get the better of 
a lion. Nor is there any necefiity, Dr. Sparman fays, for 
the dogs with which the lion is to be hunted, to be very 
large, and trained up to the fport, as M. de BufFbn thinks 
they fhould be ; t.he bufinefs being perfectly well accom- 
yliihed with common farm-houfe dogs. When thefe have 
got pretty near the lion, the latter, from an appearance 
of confcious dignity, does not offer to fly, but fits liitn- 
fielf down. The hounds then furround him, and, ruffling 
on him all at"once, are thus, with their united (Length, 
able to tear in pieces, aim off in an inftunt, the ftrongeft 
of all wild beads. It is faid, that he lias feldom time to 
give more than two or three flight ffrokes with his paws 
(each of which ffrokes is inffant death) to an equal mini* 
ber of his affaijants. M. de Buffon alferts too, that the 
lion may be hunted on horfeback, but that the horfes as 
well as the dogs muff be trained to it. Dr. Sparman, 
however, allures us, that the colonifts hunt the lion with 
any common horfes. The chace of the lion is carried on 
in the neighbourhood of the Cape, in the following man¬ 
ner : “ It is only on the plains that the hunters venture 
to go out on horfeback in this cbace. If the lion keeps 
in feme coppice or wood, on a riling ground, they endea¬ 
vour to teize it with dogs till it comes out; they likewife 
prefer going together three or more in number, in order 
to be able to refeue each other, in cafe the firft ffiot fhould 
not take place. When the lion perceives the hunters at 
a diftance, lie generally takes to his heels, in order to get 
out of their fight; but, if they chance to difeover him 
very near, he is then faid to walk off in a furiy manner, 
but without putting himfelf in the leaf! hurry, as though 
hr was above the fenfation of fear. He is alfo reported, 
when lie finds himfelf purfued with vigour, to be foon 
provoked to refiftance, or at lead he difdains any longer 
to fly. He flackens his pace, and goes off ffep by ftep, 
aii the while eying his purfuers afkaunt; till finally mak¬ 
ing a full flop, he turns upon them, and at the fame time 
giving himfelf a ffiake, roars with a fliort vehement tone, 
to fliew his indignation. This is the precife time for the 
hunters to he upon the fpot; lie that is neareft, or is moll 
advantageoufly poffed, and has the belt mark of that part 
of the iion’s body which contains his. heart and lungs, 
muff be the firff to jump off his liorfe, and fee.itring the 
bridle by putting it round his arm, difeharge his piece ; 
then, in an inffant recovering his feat, muff ride obliquely 
athwart his companions; and, in fine, giving his horfe 
the reins, muff trufl entirely to his fpeed to convey him 
out of the reach of the fury of the lion, in cafe he has 
miffed, or only wounded him. In either cafe, a fair op¬ 
portunity now prefents itfelf for fome of the other hun¬ 
ters to jump off their horfes direftly, as they may then 
take their aim with, greater coolnefs and certainty. Should 
this fhot likewife mifs, (which, however, feldom hap¬ 
pens,) the third fportfman rides'after the lion, which at 
that inffant is in purfuit of the firft or the fecond, and, 
fpringing off his horfe, fires his piece, as foon as he lias 
got within a. proper diftance. If the lion now turns upon 
liim, the other hunters turn alfo, in order to come to his 
refeue. Few inffances are known of any misfortune hap¬ 
pening to the hunters in cbacing the lion on horfeback. 
The African colonifts are moftly good markfmen, and are 
far from wanting courage. The lion that lias the bold- 
nefs to feize on their cuttle, which are the mod valuable 
part of their property, fometimes at their very doors, is 
as,odious to them as he is dangerous and noxious. They 
confequently feek out thefe animals, and hunt them 
L I S* 
with the greatefr ardour, with a view to their externum 
nation.” 
Some writers have ferioufly denied that the lion is in¬ 
digenous to India, while others ftrongly contend for the 
contrary fa<£t. It is certain that in the neighbourhood of- 
Gwalior fort, and that of Rliotas Gur, numbers of lions’ 
are at this day found. Thofe who deny that thqfe ani¬ 
mals were natives of India, aftert, that here was-a royal 
menagery, and that the prelent breed was propagated- 
from the beafts which had efcaped. Bernier informs us, 
that Aurengzebe frequently took the diverfton of lion- 
hunting; but does not fay that this noble animal was ever 
turned out for the imperial diverfion. The Ayeen Ak- 
berry, ii. 29 6 , relates many inffances-of the valour of Ak. 
bar the Great, in his engagements with the-lion; but is 
filent whether they had or had not been aborigines of 
Hindooftan. Mr. Terry, in the vaft forefts near Mandoa, 
more than once faw lions, or heard them roaring ; they 
were alfo frequent about Malwah ; which muft have been 
their mod fouthernly haunts, as the trafl between Labor 
and Cachemere is the mod northerly, where they were 
the fport-of Aurenzebe, as related by Bernier. We have 
never heard of their exceeding the two limits above-men¬ 
tioned ; poflibly they might have been extirpated in other 
parts of Hindooftan : certain it is, that it had a Hindoo 
name, that of fmg, which is no fmall proof of its having 
been once fpread over the whole empire, at ieaft as far as 
climate would permit. 
The lion is a long-lived animal, although naturalifts 
have differed greatly as to the period of "its exiftence. 
Buffon limits it to twenty, or twenty.two years at molt. 
It is however certain, that it lives much beyond that time. 
The great lion, called Pompey, which died in tire Tower 
of London in 1760, was known to have lived there above 
feventy years ; and one, brought from the river Gambia, 
died in the fame place at the age of fixty-thrCe. Several 
of thefe animals have alfo been bred in the Tower; fo 
that the time of their geftation, the number they pro¬ 
duce, and the time of their• arriving at- perfection, are well 
afeertained. 
The flefh of the lion is faid to have a ftrong, difagree* 
able, flavour; yet it is frequently eaten by the negroes of 
Africa. Dr. Shaw, on the contrary, informs us that it 
refembles veal in tafte. The Ikin alfo, which was for¬ 
merly a robe of diftindtion for the greateft heroes, is now 
made ufe of by thofe people as a mantle or a bed. They 
alfo preferve the greafe, which is of a penetrating nature, 
and is ufed in medicine. 
2. Felis tigris, the tiger.—This animal is the mod ra¬ 
pacious and deftruclive of all the feline genus. Fierce 
without provocation, and cruel without necefiity, its third 
for blood is infatiable : though glutted with {laughter, it 
continues its carnage, nor ever gives up fo long as a fingle 
objeft remains in its light : flocks and herds fall indiferi- 
minate victims to its fury : it fears neither the fight nor 
the oppofzlion of man, whom it frequently makes-lts prey ; 
and it is even faid to prefer human flelh to that of any 
other animal. The tiger varies in fize, according to cli¬ 
mate and fpecies. In the Eaff Indies they are often found 
fifteen feet long, including the length of the tail, which, 
fuppofing it to be four feet, makes the body about eleven 
feet in length. This is called the royal tiger, and is of a 
mod tremendous bulk: Hyder Ali prefented one to the 
nabob of Arcot, which is faid to have meafured eighteen 
feet. Its head is large and roundilh; the ears flvort, and 
at a great diftance from each other. The (kin is of a dark- 
ifli yellow colour, ftriped with long black ftreaks ; the hair 
is fliort, excepting on the fides of the head, where it is 
about four inches long. The point of the tail is black, 
and the reft of it is interfperfed with black rings. The 
legs and claws, referable thofe of the lion, only the legs are 
much (liorter in proportion to the fize of the animal. 
The tiger is much more ferocious, cruel, and favage, 
than the lion. Although gorged with (laughter, his thirft 
for blood is not appealed j he feizes and tears in pieces a 
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