Once We Drove Off A
Maneless Lion And Lioness From A Dead Buffalo, Which Had Been In The
Last Stage Of A Decline.
They had watched him staggering to the
river to quench his thirst, and sprang on him as he was crawling up
the bank.
One had caught him by the throat, and the other by his
high projecting backbone, which was broken by the lion's powerful
fangs. The struggle, if any, must have been short. They had only
eaten the intestines when we frightened them off. It is curious that
this is the part that wild animals always begin with, and that it is
also the first choice of our men. Were it not a wise arrangement
that only the strongest males should continue the breed, one could
hardly help pitying the solitary buffalo expelled from the herd for
some physical blemish, or on account of the weakness of approaching
old age. Banished from female society, he naturally becomes morose
and savage; the necessary watchfulness against enemies is now never
shared by others; disgusted, he passes into a state of chronic war
with all who enjoy life, and the sooner after his expulsion that he
fills the lion's or the wild-dog's maw, the better for himself and
for the peace of the country.
We encamped on the 20th of June at a spot where Dr. Livingstone, on
his journey from the West to the East Coast, was formerly menaced by
a chief named Mpende. No offence had been committed against him, but
he had firearms, and, with the express object of showing his power,
he threatened to attack the strangers.
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