The Grass May Have Been
Eaten As Medicine, As Is Observed In Dogs.
That the fear of man often remains excessively strong in the carnivora
is proved from well-authenticated cases in
Which the lioness,
in the vicinity of towns where the large game had been unexpectedly
driven away by fire-arms, has been known to assuage the paroxysms of hunger
by devouring her own young. It must be added, that, though the effluvium
which is left by the footsteps of man is in general sufficient
to induce lions to avoid a village, there are exceptions; so many came about
our half-deserted houses at Chonuane while we were in the act of removing
to Kolobeng, that the natives who remained with Mrs. Livingstone
were terrified to stir out of doors in the evenings. Bitches, also,
have been known to be guilty of the horridly unnatural act of eating
their own young, probably from the great desire for animal food,
which is experienced by the inhabitants as well.
When a lion is met in the daytime, a circumstance by no means unfrequent
to travelers in these parts, if preconceived notions do not lead them
to expect something very "noble" or "majestic", they will see merely
an animal somewhat larger than the biggest dog they ever saw,
and partaking very strongly of the canine features; the face is not much like
the usual drawings of a lion, the nose being prolonged like a dog's;
not exactly such as our painters make it - though they might learn better
at the Zoological Gardens - their ideas of majesty being usually shown
by making their lions' faces like old women in nightcaps.
When encountered in the daytime, the lion stands a second or two, gazing,
then turns slowly round, and walks as slowly away for a dozen paces,
looking over his shoulder; then begins to trot, and, when he thinks himself
out of sight, bounds off like a greyhound. By day there is not, as a rule,
the smallest danger of lions which are not molested attacking man,
nor even on a clear moonlight night, except when they possess
the breeding storgh* (natural affection); this makes them brave
almost any danger; and if a man happens to cross to the windward of them,
both lion and lioness will rush at him, in the manner of a bitch with whelps.
This does not often happen, as I only became aware of two or three
instances of it. In one case a man, passing where the wind blew
from him to the animals, was bitten before he could climb a tree;
and occasionally a man on horseback has been caught by the leg
under the same circumstances. So general, however, is the sense of security
on moonlight nights, that we seldom tied up our oxen, but let them lie loose
by the wagons; while on a dark, rainy night, if a lion is in the neighborhood,
he is almost sure to venture to kill an ox. His approach is always stealthy,
except when wounded; and any appearance of a trap is enough
to cause him to refrain from making the last spring. This seems
characteristic of the feline species; when a goat is picketed in India
for the purpose of enabling the huntsmen to shoot a tiger by night,
if on a plain, he would whip off the animal so quickly by a stroke of the paw
that no one could take aim; to obviate this, a small pit is dug,
and the goat is picketed to a stake in the bottom; a small stone is tied
in the ear of the goat, which makes him cry the whole night. When the tiger
sees the appearance of a trap, he walks round and round the pit,
and allows the hunter, who is lying in wait, to have a fair shot.
-
* (Greek) sigma-tau-omicron-rho-gamma-eta.
-
When a lion is very hungry, and lying in wait, the sight of an animal
may make him commence stalking it. In one case a man,
while stealthily crawling towards a rhinoceros, happened to glance behind him,
and found to his horror a lion STALKING HIM; he only escaped
by springing up a tree like a cat. At Lopepe a lioness sprang
on the after quarter of Mr. Oswell's horse, and when we came up to him
we found the marks of the claws on the horse, and a scratch on Mr. O.'s hand.
The horse, on feeling the lion on him, sprang away, and the rider, caught by
a wait-a-bit thorn, was brought to the ground and rendered insensible.
His dogs saved him. Another English gentleman (Captain Codrington)
was surprised in the same way, though not hunting the lion at the time,
but turning round he shot him dead in the neck. By accident
a horse belonging to Codrington ran away, but was stopped by the bridle
catching a stump; there he remained a prisoner two days,
and when found the whole space around was marked by the footprints of lions.
They had evidently been afraid to attack the haltered horse
from fear that it was a trap. Two lions came up by night
to within three yards of oxen tied to a wagon, and a sheep tied to a tree,
and stood roaring, but afraid to make a spring. On another occasion
one of our party was lying sound asleep and unconscious of danger
between two natives behind a bush at Mashue; the fire was nearly out
at their feet in consequence of all being completely tired out
by the fatigues of the previous day; a lion came up to within three yards
of the fire, and there commenced roaring instead of making a spring:
the fact of their riding-ox being tied to the bush was the only reason
the lion had for not following his instinct, and making a meal of flesh.
He then stood on a knoll three hundred yards distant, and roared all night,
and continued his growling as the party moved off by daylight next morning.
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