Rensselaer Union, Volume 5, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1873 — THE LION. [ARTICLE]

THE LION.

—A wfuTLit in tlrna pleasantly -iilotfis whittlto knows of the King of Beasts: Tite public must foul some difficulty in forming a true csttiriatu of Hie prowess of the African lion from the number of conflicting statements made by different travelerswijdfl hunters. The truth; appears to he’that, while eue.lv one has formed an opinion from the behavior of the particular animals they chanced to meet with, the fact that every single lion d iffers from another in temper and disposition has been allowed to drop out of sight. That some lions will make a point of attacking any human being they sco without the slightest provocation admits of no doubt, while it is at least equally certain that there are others that can hardly be forced to retaliate, and which, oven when wounded, will always rather run than fight. Generally speaking, and subject lo (he above exceptions, I have found that the lion of Southeastern Africa rarely goes out of its way to attack people; will, in point of fact, shun a conflict when avoidable. There is nearly always some explanation of its behavior when it acts otherwise; either the hunter has approached so near before seen that.the animal is afraid to turn tail, and, urged by its very fears, makes a charge; or it may lie half famished, and, having got hold of some prey, either of your killing or its own, will nut - quit it without a contest, or, if a lioness' with cubs, will tight in defense of their supposed danger. In-all the above cases, utter immobility anil coolness yyll often avert an attack. if the animal, judging by'your behavior, imagines that you do not want to hurt it, it wiLK .allot; trying you fur several tiiinites; uriS even making- one or two. sham rharges, often walk away and allow you to do the same; hilt merely raising the arm, much less pointing the gun at it, is sure to make it come on. One or two instances of this occur to me. A large native hunting party had gone out, and aver the thorn*. One of who liad gone witlr suddenly found himself lace to face with a full grown male lion, without a yard between them, lie had presence of mind enough to stand perfectly still, without even attempting to take one of the spears lie carried in ins left hand into the * other.* After b' Uinipie of minutes the unite turned away, turning around every econd to watch them. Before giving far -it met another man, who raised his spear, as if to throw it. It instantly sprang on aim, and inflicted such wounds that he lied within half an hour. I have no "doubt that if this man also had stood still he would have been perfectly safe. Again, a hunter of mine was following buffalo tracks into some thickets; suddenly a male lion rose out of one of them and snarled at him; he had hardly seen it when another, about three-quarters grown, showed itself a little' on one side, and-front behind he heard the low growling of a third.' Partly turning, so as to watch them all, fie saw the latter was a 1 ioness; and that three cubs, not much larger than eats, were following their mother, one o® them running toward him without sliowingdhe least tear, lie had, unawares, got into the center of a lion family. The lioness, in fear of her offspring' rushed up, and, as he afterward described it, fairly’ danced roufld and round him, springing to within a yard of him, sideways, backwards, and every way but on him. In this case, also, lie stood still without any movement, for, as said, it was a - h uidred to one he did not kill the mother; 1 •;:* ijfWlit* Jui liad,,Uiß oilier two. woul<) liter* ttoon avenged lief. It ended by their ultimately retiring into the thicket, ami watching him as he cleared out. Had he been nervous, or done anything but remain .quiet, there is no doubt lie would not havmgpme out alive. On the other hand, ” lion will seldom stand much bullying. H ■ may, and often will, get out of your way ; nay, even leave his prey if you approach it, and should you follow him, will perhaps do so a second time, but that is about the extent of it. He seems to argue: “I’ve retired twiefy arid here ydti are at me again-; well, if you must have it, come on nearer, it you dare;” and then, If a male, he growls deeply and makes his inane bristle up round him; or, if a lioness, crouches .down like a cat, lays her ears back, and shows her .teeth. In any case you arc in for it, the Jiifitd U fairly’ roused,-and retire or advance as you like, a charge is inevitable. I lived for many years among these animals, and their very name recalls innumerable recollections and anecdotes. mpat beautiful sight I ever saw 1 in conuectron with them, worth all the Zoos tn the world, was on a morning I had gone out to hunt with one bearer at dawn. I had not gone far from camp, and my gun was still unloaded, when I was examining some buffalo spoor, while orn looking up I saw my gun-bearer, who had my cartridges,' running away at full . speed. Knowing lie must have -seen something to frighten him so, I did not shout, but went to where he? had been standing,A'dfelgiyards ahead, and there, sure enough, not twenty’ yards off, were apair of lions; the lioness rolling bn:'its baok ohd striking at the male's head with its fore paws like a kitten, while lie stood majestically above her. I slopped a moment to watch them, and it was well worth M* and then rushed off after my Kaffre to load. The position wm good,

and I might have killed one to a certainty; hut when I had succeeded in getting him down from the top of a big tree, and went back, they had gone,. I suppose they must have got our wind. No doubt they bad been hunting all night, and had been down to the river to drink preparatory to going to bed. .. . ■ . | Ido not think' the lion deserves his title as king of beasts, though perhaps he is the most noble looking. Elephants are decidedly more sagaciohs, and the black rhinoceros ( upetydne ) is certainly more dangerous, and either of the two could kill him iu a few moments, with but little danger to themselves. Indeed, he cannot manage an old buffalo bull, unless lie takes it by surprise.. Until lately they were to be found in Natal v and in troops in the Zulu country’, but Hate retired back with the game,'and, except on tire Zulu coast, there are now only a few stray ones until you reach the Übombo Mountains There, along the banks-of the rivers Pongolo, Nkwavuma, Usutu, and more especially the Mhuluzi and Mbulzane, they’ abound, Hoops of ten or twelve being by no means rare. Like all the feline tribe they hunt more by night than by day, but in the uninhabited district.-} they prowl about by daylight especially when hungry’.' When their hunting has been successful they sleep the whole day in some thicket hard by their prey, returning to ft after their -evening drink, as,-like all carnivora, they must drink frequently, and their presence is a sure sign of water being near. Their favorite food is buffalo and zebra, preferably tlie latter, though they generally go after the former, as they are more easily stalked from frequenting the thick er parts of the jungle. Sometimes when attracted by meat, they will come and roar all night within a few yards of the camp, and cases have occurred When they have attacked it. I remember one man, a European, who had spent the night in a tree watching a male lion which had sprung into the camp and seized a piece of meat, kindly taking no notice of the terrified scramble lie caused, and which, after roaring for a little, was joined by two lionesses, the three proceeding to cat all ti c bulf'alo-meat in stock, one always keeping guard while the other Two went to water. This is a habit of theirs when they have killed anything, to protect it from vultures, wolves, and jackals, which, if not prevented, would pick the hones clean itv a few minutes. I know a Hutch hunter, a very powerful man, who was once sleeping out near the Nkwavuma. lie had been unsuccessfully pursuing game all day, and had made no camp fence or other protection, as lie had got no meat with liim. During the night lie was awoke by something catching hold of hold of his arm. Thinking it was a wolf lie made a tremendous ctlort to free himself, striking out at it with the disengaged arm. The blow was such that if it did not knock the animal down it any rate drove it back, anu enabled him to snatch up his rifle and Arc. 'flic lion, as to his astonishment it turned out to be, jumped away roaring, and next morning was found dead a few yards off. They arc excessively fond of eating buffalo and other game, killed too late in the day to he broken up, and, even when the hunters are sleeping by it, they will come almost within the glare of the fire, and tear and crunch away, taking no notice of shots or stones, but an occasional growl, unless hit, when they are pretty certain to make one-spring into the center of the camp and do all the mischief they can—Apropos of this, I remember lieaF~ ing of a very plucky thing done by a native liunlcr'ot a friend of mine. He had killed a buffalo and was sleeping out by it alone, and during the night heard crunching going on that only a lion’s powerful jaw could produce. He got up, and by the dini light bT a fhlrd-quavter moon could just make out the outlines ot two lions, about two yards oft - . He took a steady aim—lie only had a single barrel—and fired at the nearest, which made a bound upward and fell (lead. The other took no notice, and after a minute resumed its meal, upon which he quietly loaded and shot it dead upon the spot. It showed great pluck, for, alone in the dark with two lions, and only one shot to trust to, is anything but a pleasant position. Sometimes I have heard tlie most extraordinary concerts going on round game the lions wore Feeding on, wolves, hyenas, and jackals keeping up a continual round of howling, squealing and laughing, which, being interpreted, meant, I suppose, that they were very hungry and wished the lions would clear out and let them begin. It is. by no means unusual to Imd a wolf or jaekal lying dead, punished on the spot for daring to approach too near the bigger robber’s supper, and I have often seen the spoor ot where a lion had chased Wolves several hundred yards away from his prey. Much lias been written about their roar, and I must confess to having been disappointed in it at first; but alter a time I discovered that, though it has no resemblance to thunder, or anything of that soft, it really is a very awe-rnspfring sound. It commences by a low booming growl, repeated two or three times, anil I increasing in loudness until it becomes a roar that tills the air, and dies away again in a low muttering. Lions coming from a different direction will often keep it up for half an hour, answering one another, and it shows how the animal is dreaded, that the moment it is heard near camp there is a dead silence* ■ Mown wood is hastily heaped on the fire* and alFthe natives uneasily shift their positions and take up their guns and spears. More than once I have lost a night’s sleep by a serenade of. this description, the lions, being hungry, smelling our meat and keeping prowling about close to until (lawn. The low, warning moan uttered by them, >'IF you approach too near a thicket where they are concealed, is-a most unpleasant noise, and when. I first heard It I aftstostiAtetook Bkfor the moan of some large animal in pain; but it invariably means that the lion js iu a bad temper, and you had Tetter not go too close. » j. There are cases where, single-handed, and armed only with appear,« i*ative has succeeded jn killing one that lias sprung on him YviUto'itrecmving any thing bpt trifling injuries; but Obese >F e °, ,l] y «<*ptions that prove the rule that where they strike they kill. , Unlike other large game, they divide ilidf attentions equally, springing from one to another, and lighting with tooth and claw In the most wonderful manner. It ja. a grand sight to see one (Charge a native regiment sent out after it, as they sometimes are, springing over the heads of tlie first- line rigid into the centef' flyinjp ißioilt, knocking n»on d#w4 with every blow, until, a complete sieve of assigai wounds, it die* fighting. They generally ne in the kaku-thorns,

or in the dense evergreens which line the rivers, an.d in the summer in the reeds. The best chances for killing them are obtained in tlie former place, as you often come across them, asleep when you are stealing about after game. It is better not to fire if its head is. foward you, as, even Jf you shoot it through the brain, its dy™ng bound may land it on top of you; but if you see one, go round and try to get a shot at its back—they always lie on them side—and then there is a good chance at the head or heart, with a possibility of breaking the backbone. Sometimes tlie bush is too thick for you to go round, and in that case hide, and break a twig, or give a low whistle, and it will get up, uncertain what has disturbed it, and give every opportunity for a steady shot. Sometimes one meets them in' Bad places, where it would be very dangerous to fire if alone, when, if seen, it is best to stand one’s ground, not attempting to make any offensive movement, and not to kneel down; for some reason, probably because they themselves always crouch preparatory to attack, lions will rarely stand this if anything of an ugly temper. When you do fire try for the shoulder, or, if a very crack shot, and not at all nervous, the brain; do notaim too high, as the forehead is perfectly flat, and a ball is apt to glance, With a male, in firing al the shoulder, take care the floating mane which covera/it does...not cause you to aim too high, as, when tlie brute is angry and bristles up, it makes it seem a much larger mark than it really is. When you have to take refuge in a tree, go up as far as you can get, for if none of its bones are broken the lion generally will have a try at you, though, if the branches are thick, there is little danger even within its distance. In a case where a few seconds’ delay may save your life, it is worth while to know that anything thrown down—a hat, coat, etc.—will first be torn up with a crunch of the teeth or a blow of the paw before your pursuer resumes the chase. It has, to my knowledge, saved more than one man at a pinch,