Polynesian. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu], Hawaii) 1844-1864, 1850-12-07

VI 'ho ioiCst, dt tue uedu nOuf OF InlOnlgnt
unaccompanied by any attendant, and en-.
scoEced within twenty yards of the fountain
which the surrounding troops of lions are ap.
proaching. Such has been my situation
many scores of times; and though am al.
lowed to have tOlerable good taste for mu.
SIC, consider the catches with which was
then RECALLED as the sweetest and most natu.
raj ever heard
| As general rule, lions roar during the
night; their signing means commencing as
! the shades of evening envelop the forest, ant
continuing at intervals throughout the night
In distant and secluded regions, however,
have constantly heard them roaring loudly
as late as nine and ten o'clock on bright
sunny morning. In hazy and rainy weather
they are to be heard at every hour in the
day, but their roar is subdued 1t often hap
pens that when two strange male lions meet
at a fountain, terrific combat cnsues, which
not unfrequently ends in the death of one o
them. The habits of the lion are strictly
nocturnal; during the day he lies concealed
beneath the shade of some low, bushy tree
or wide-spre aiding bush, either in the Level
forest or on the mountain side. He is also
partial to lofty reeds, or fields of long, rank
yellow grass, such as occur in low-lying
valleys. From these haunts he salIies forth
when the sun goes down, and commences his
nightly prowl. When he is successful in
his beat and has secured his prey, he does
not roar much that night, only uttering oc-
casionally few low means; that is, provid-
ed no intruders approach him, otherwise the
case would be different.
! Lions are ever most active, daring, and
presuming in dark and stormy nights. and
consequently, on such occasions, the travel
er ought more particularly to be on his
guard. | remarked fact connected with
the lions hour of drinking peculiar to them.
selves: they seemed unwilling to visit the
fountains with good moonlight. Thus, wher
the moon rose early, the lions deferred their
hour of watering until late in the morning
and when the moon rose late, they drank at
very early hour in the night. By this
acute system many grisly lion saved his
bacon, and is now luxuriating in the forests
of South Africa, which had otherwise fallen
by the barrels of my ''Westly Richards. -
Owing to the twany color of the coat with
which nature has robed him, he is perfectly
invisible in the dark; and although | have
often heard them loudly tapping the water
under my very nose, not twenty yards from
me, | could not possibly make out so much
as the outline oftheir forms. When thirsty
lion comes to water, he stretches out his
massive arms, lies down on his breast to
drink, and makes a loud tapping noise in
drinking not to be mistaken. He continues
tapping up the water for long while, and
four or five times during the proceeding he
pauses for half a minute as if to take breath
One thing conspicuous about them is their
eyes, which, in a dark night, glow like two
balls of fie.
The female is more fierce and active than
the male, as general rule. Lonesses
which have never had young are much more
dangerous than those which have At no
time is the lion so much to be dreaded as
when his partner has got small young ones.
At that season he knows no fear, and, in the
coolest and most intrepid manner, he will
stance of this kind came under my own OBJ
servation, which confirmed the reports had
before heard from the natives One day,
when out elephant-hunting in the territory
of the ''Baseleka," accompanied by two
hundred and fifty men, was astonished sud-
denly TO behold majestic lion slowly and
steadily advancing towards us with a digni-
ned step and undaunted bearing, the most
noble and imposing that can be conceived
LashIng his tail from side to side, and growl-
ing haughtily, his terribly expressive eye
resolutely fixed upon us, and displaying
show of ivory well calculated to inspire ter
ror among the timid ''Bechuanas," he ap-
preached. A headlong flight of the two
hundred and fifty men was the immediate re-
suit; and, in the confusion of the moment,
four couples of my dogs, which they had
been leading, were allowed to escape in
their couples. These instantly faced the
lion, who, finding that by his bold bearing
he had succeeded in putting his enemies to
flight. now became solicitous for the safety
Of his little family, with which the ,,iioness
was retreating in the background Facing
about, he followed ai:er them with a naughty
and independent step, growing ferceiy at
tne Gossss winch trotted along on either side
oi him. Three troops of elephants having
been discovered a few minutes previous to
this, upon which was marching for the at
tack, ], with the most heartfelt reluctance,
reserved my fire. On running down the hill
side to endeavor to recall my dogs. observ-
ed, for the first time, the retreaing lioness |
with four cubs. About twenty minutes at |
terwards two noble elephants repaid my for
bearance.
Among Indian Nimrods, certain class of
royal tigers is dignifed with the appellation
of "man-eaters. These are tigers which,
having once tasted human flesh, show a pre-
Election for the same, and such characters
ire very naturally famed and dreaded among
he natives. Elderly gentlemen of similar
astes and habits are occasionally met with
,mong the lions in the interior Of South Af-
'ica, and the danger of such neighbors may
,e easily imagined. l account for lions first
acquiring this taste in the following manner:
he Bechuana tribes ofthe far interior do not
Jury their dead, but unceremoniously carry
hem forth, and leave them lying exposed in
he forest or on the plain, prey to the lion
nd hyana, or the jackal and vulture; and
an readily imagine that lion, having thus
nee tasted human flesh, would have little