Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-25


ror to call the lion the king ol
ESSy3 beasts, for other animals surpass
S=S him in SIZE sagacity and feroclty
The royal Bengal tiger is fully d
fifth stronger, and is more terrible Zoe II
every respect to the hunter.
But, for all that the lion is most for
midable creature in his prime, far superior
to those which we are accustomed to see in
the travelling menageries of the country, anc
the sportsman who succeeds in 'bagging" one
of the beasts in his native haunts may vel
plume himself on the exploit.
biologists formerly admitted but one spe
ces of lion, but they now agree that there
are several varieties. From the illusions tc
them in the Scriptures, they must have beeu
quite abundant centuries ago in Syria, Pales
tine and Egypt, but they have disappeared
from those countries long ago.
The African lion is by far the most fe-
rocious and powerful. The male has long
and thick name. The usual color is tawny,
with the name dark, approaching black,
though the color varies. The average length
of the lion is six and seven feet, exclusive of
the tail, and the height at the shoulder is
nearly three feet. The lioness is smaller,
more graceful, agile in her movements, and
more impetuous in her fury.
There are three varieties Of the African
lion-the Barbary lion, from Barbary and
North Africa; the Senegal lion, from Senegal
and West Africa, and the Cape lion, from
South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope.
The last named is more brownish in color
than the others.
There are also three varieties of the Asiatic
lion-the Bengal, the Persian, and the name
less lion of Guzerat. The last is nearly dest-
tute of name, and is found in Guzerat, along
the banks of the Sombermuttee, near Ahme-
dabad, extending through a country about
forty miles in extent.
The lion possesses prodigious strength, and
with one blow can smash the shoulders of
a horse, and carry him away in his tre-
mendous jaws 1t has been asserted thai,
fling him over the fence by single effort,
so as to reach the ground almost at the same
instant.
Some hunters like the great Gordon Cum
ming, describe the roar of the lion as ap-
palling in its volume and depth, while Liv-
ingstone ridicules the idea, and says:
ITO this day, | can distinguish between the
ostrich and lion with certainty only by know
ing that the ostrich roars by day, and the
lion by night"
Jules Gerard, the great hunter, spent six
hundred nights hunting the lion in Algeria,
and met with many narrow escapes and STIR
ring encounters. Among the many Arabs
engaged in this dangerous but attractive sport
was tall, thin, snewy fellow, as swarthy
as an Ethiopian, and known by the name of
Joktan
He was hunter of immense strength and
activity, and with an experience that rendered
him almost invaluable to European needing
his services.
Joktan was devout Musselman, or be-
lever in Mohammed, and he had one child
only, who was also named Joktan. The
mother of the little fellow died when he was
an infant, and now, at the age Of twelve,
he always went with his father on his hunting
expeditions. In fact, he began doing SO
when only eight years old; but at the time
of which we speak, he carried his own -un
and was counted full-grown man, though il
is hardly to be believed that the affectionate
father allowed him to run into unnecessary
danger.
1t is not long since that European hunter.
possessing more money than skill or sense
engaged Joktan to take him on hunt after
lions
Mr. Beaverton, as he announced himself
talked so glibly Of his exploits in India ,vhere
he claimed to have killed three maneating
tigers, that possibly Joktan was misled
though he was man quick to read the
character of those who came to engage his
assistance in the perilous business.
Be that as it may, it is certain that, after
the usual preliminaries and the promise of
large compensation, Joktan and the English
man, accompanied by the active little Arab.
started out from camp one day just at sun.