On the plain, south of Sebituane's ford, a herd of buffaloes
kept a number of lions from their young by the males turning their heads
to the enemy. The young and the cows were in the rear. One toss from a bull
would kill the strongest lion that ever breathed. I have been informed
that in one part of India even the tame buffaloes feel their superiority
to some wild animals, for they have been seen to chase a tiger up the hills,
bellowing as if they enjoyed the sport. Lions never go near any elephants
except the calves, which, when young, are sometimes torn by them;
every living thing retires before the lordly elephant, yet a full-grown one
would be an easier prey than the rhinoceros; the lion rushes off
at the mere sight of this latter beast.
In the country adjacent to Mashue great numbers of different
kinds of mice exist. The ground is often so undermined with their burrows
that the foot sinks in at every step. Little haycocks, about two feet high,
and rather more than that in breadth, are made by one variety
of these little creatures. The same thing is done in regions
annually covered with snow for obvious purposes, but it is difficult here
to divine the reason of the haymaking in the climate of Africa.*
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* `Euryotis unisulcatus' (F. Cuvier), `Mus pumelio' (Spar.),
and `Mus lehocla' (Smith), all possess this habit
in a greater or less degree.
