The Placer herald., 1857-05-16
The Lion under another Point of View

Let us first sketch the story of the lions
life, beginning with his marriage, which takes
place towards the end of January. He has
first to seek his wife; but, as the males are
far more abundant than the females, who are
often cut off in infancy, it is not rare to find
a young lady pestered by the addresses of
three or four gallants, who quarrel with the
acerbity of Jealous lovers. If one of them
does not succeed in disabling or driving
away the others, Madam, impatient and dis
satisfied, leads them into the presence of an
old lion whose roar she has appreciated at
distance The lovers fly at him with the
temerity of youth and evaporation. The
old fellow receives them with calm assurance,
breaks the neck of the first with his terrible
jaws, smashes the leg Of the second, and
tears out the eye of the third. No sooner
is the day won, and the field clear, than the
lion tosses his name in the air as he roars
and then crouches by the side of the lady,
who, as a reward for his courage, licks his
wounds caressingly. Our lion then is mar
ried, let us say. He is the slave Of his wife.
1t is she who always takes precedence; when
she stops he stops. On arriving at douar
(the collection of tents-what we call "vil-
lager for their supper, she lies down while
he leaps into the enclosure, and brings to
her the booty. He watches her while she
eats, taking care that no one shall disturb
her; and not until her appetite is satisfied
does he begin his meal. When she feels
that she is about to become a mother, 4. e.
towards the end of December, they seek an
isolated ravine, and there, without the aid of
chloroform or DR.. Locock, she presents her
lord with one, two and three puppies, gene
rally one male and one female If the read
er has ever seen and handled puppy lion,
he will understand the idolatry of mother
and father. She never quits them for an in
slant, and he only quits them to bring home
supper When they are three months old
their weaving commences. The mother ac-
customs them gradually to it, by absenting
herself for longer and longer periods, and
bringing them pieces of mutton, carefully
skinned. The father, whose habitual demean
our is grave, becomes fatigued by the trivo-
lous sports of his children, and for the sake
of tranquility, removes his lodging to dis
tance, within reach however, to render as
sistance, if required. AT the age Of four or
five months the children follow their mothers
to the borders of the forest, where their ia
theirs bring them their supper. At six
months old they accompany father and mo-
ther in all nocturnal expeditions. From
eight to twelve months they learn to attack
sheep, goats and even bulls; but they are so
awkward that they usually wound ten for
one they kill; it is not till they are two
years old that they can kill horse or a bull
with one bite. While their education is
thus in progress, they are ten times more
ruinous to ;he Arabs, since the family does
not content itself with killing the cattle re-
CURED for its own consumption, bpt kills
that the children may learn to kill. Atthree
years old the children quit home and set up
for themselves, becoming fathers and mothers
in turn. Their places are occupied by ano-
ther brood. At eight years old the lion
reaches maturity, and lives to thirty or forty.
When adult he is magnificent creature,
very different in size, aspect and disposition
from the lions to be seen in menageries and
geological gardens-animas taken from the
mothers breast, bred like rabbits, deprived
of the fresh mountain air and ample nourish-
ment. As an indication of the size attained
by lions in a state of nature, we might cite
the fact mentioned by Gerard, that the
strongest man in the cavalry regiment to
which he belonged was unable to carry the
skin and head Of the lion Gerard had killed.