The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-11-01
THE PIELD sroRTs or AFRICA.


rHs FIELD SPORTS or AFRICA.
.-.Ii I|.I ,----
X. Gordon Cummings, Esq, an officer of
the English Army, has published a book OF
unusual interest, entitled "Field Sports OF
south Airiea-6yo years Of a hunters lile In
the Oar interior Of South Africa, with notices
Of the native tribes, chase Of the lion, elephant
hippopotAmus, giraffe, rhinocoroA, Sc" His
accounts Of the enormous fields Of different
spScisa OF Antolopcs, and Of his adventures
generally. are Of the highest interest The
following extract from his work, relative 10
the Lion, will be read with profit by those
Who care 20 know OF the habita and disposi-
tion Of the king Of beasts. II is from the pen
Of an ardent lover OF chnae, and from a close
observer Of anything pertaining To H. The
incidents mentioned in the following extract
occurred ia the the vicinity Of Riot River, a
strpnm of modest size, which takes is rise one
hundred miles 60 the eastward, and flowing
wOstsrly joins tho YAAl Riyer,opposite Camp
bellsdorp. Mr. Qpnluings says;
The night Of the 9TH was TO me rather a
memorable one, As being the FIRST ono on
which hAd the satisfaction Of hearing the
,decp-toned thunder Of the lions roar. Al
though there was no one near TO inform me
hy what beast the naughty and impressive
sounds which echoed through the wilderness
were produced, had litde difficulty in di-
Vining. There was no mistake about Il and
.on hearing IL At once knew ,ns well as Il ae-
.customcd 20 tho sound from my infancy, that
the Appaiiiug roar which was uttered Within
half . mile of me was NO other than that Of
tho mighty and terrible king Of beasts. AL
though tho digniied aud truly monarchiAl APP
peAranee OF the lion has long rendered him
famous among his fellow quadrupeds, and his
appearance aud habits have ofien been des-
cribed by ahler pens than mine, Nevertheless
I consider that few remarks, rcsultng from
my own personal experience, formed by n
tolorably long acquaintance with him both by
day and night, may not prove pniuteresting
10 the reader. There Is something 70 noble
and imposing in the presence of the lion, when
seen walking with digni6od seli-posscssion,
free and undauntSd, on his native soil, that
no description can convey an adequate idea
Of his striking appearance The lion is OK
quisitely formed by nature for the predatory
habits which he is destined to pursue. Com
binihg IN comparatively small compass the
qualities OF power and agility, he is enabled,
by meais of the tremendous machinery with
which nature has endowed him easily to over
come and destroy almost every beast of The
forest, however superior TO him in weight and
stature. NJ. sd. Tr.,...,..
Though considerably under four feet in
height, he has little difficulty in dashing 10
the ground and overcoming the lofly and APP
parently powerful giraffe, whose head tow
ors above the trees OF the forest, and whose
slCinis nearly an inch in thickness. The lion
Is the constant attendant OF the vast herds of
buTaioes which frequent the interminablc
foresta of the interior and full grown one
so long M his teeth are unbroken, generally
proves a match for an old bull buffalo, which
in size and strength greatly surpasses the
most powerful breed Of English cattle the H.
ON also preys ON all the larger varieties Of the
antelope, and on botl varieties Of the gnoo.-
The zebra, which is met with in large herd,
throughout the interior, ia also a faVorite OBJ
jert of pursuit
Liens do not refuse, as has been asserted
10 feast upon the ycnisop that they have moi
Killed thernzclxca- haxs re p0a.sdlyz disosE-
,erstl lions of all ages which had taken posses
sion or aud were fcasting upon, the carces,
of the various game quAdrupcds which had
fnllar before my rifle. The lion is very gen.
orally difused throughout the secluded part.
of Southern Africa. He is, however nowhert