Year: 1873

GWeAGy ydfus on, were pair OF hons


the lioness rolling on its back, and strik
ing out at the males head with its fore
paws like kitten, while he stood ma
iestically above her. [ stopped a mo-
ment to watch them, and it was vel
worth it, and then rushed off after my
kaffre to load. The position was good
and I might have killed one to a Ger.
tainty, but when I had succeeded in get
ting him down from the top of big tree,
and went back, they had gone. I sup
pose they must have got our wind. Nc
doubt they had been hunting all night,
and had been down to the river to drink
preparatory to going to bed.


do not think the lion deserves his IT,
tie of king of beasts, though perhaps he
is the most nOble-looking. Elephants
are decidedly more sagaeious, and the
black rhinoceros (lpetyane) is certainly
more dangerous, and either of the two
could kill him in few moments, with
but little danger to themselves. In
deed, he cannot manage an old buffalo
bull, unless he takes it by surprise.


Until lately they were to be found in
Natal, andin troops in the Zulu country,
but have retired back with the game,
and, except on the Zulu coast, there are
now only few stray ones, until you
reach the Ubombo mountains. There,
along the banks of the rivers PongoIo,
Nkwavuma, Usutu, and more especially
the Mbuluzi and -MbuIUzane, they
abound, troops of ten or twelve being by
no means rare. Like all the feline tribe,
they hunt more by night than by day,
but in the uninhabited districts they
prowl about by daylight, especially when
hungry. When their hunting has been
successful, they sleep the whole day in
some thicket hard by their prey, return
ing to it after their evening drink, as
like all carnivora they must drink fre-
quently, and their presence is a sure
sign of water being near.


Their favorite food is buffalo and ze-
bra, preferably the latter, though they
generally go after the former, as they
are more easily stalked from frequent
ing the thicker parts of the Jungle.


Sometimes, when attracted by meat,
they will come and roar all night within
a few yards of the camp, and cases have
occurred when they have attacked it. I
remember one man, a European, who
had to spend the night in tree watching
a male lion which had sprung into the
camp and seized a piece of meat, kindly
taking no notice of the terrified scram-
BILE he caused, and which, after roaring
for little, was joined by two Iionesses,
the three proceeding to eat all the buf-
falo-meat in stock, one always keeping
guard while the other two went to water


This is a habit of theirs when they
have killed any thing, to protect it from
vultures, wolves, and jackals, which, if
not prevented, would pick the bones
clean in a few minutes.


I know a Dutch hunter, a very pow
erful man, who was once sleeping out
near the Nkwavuma. He had been un-
successfully pursuing gameall day, and
had made no camp fence or other pro-
lection, as he had got nOmeat with him.
During the night he was awoke by some
thing catching hold of his arm. Think
ing it was a wolf, he made tremendous
effort to free himself, striking out at it
with the disengaged arm. The blow was
such that if it did not knock the animal
down, it at any rate drove it back, and
enabled him to snatch up his rife and
fire. The lion, as to his astOnishment it
turned out to be, jumped away roaring,
and next morning was found dead a few
yards off


They are excessively fond of eating
buffalo and other game, killed too late
in the day to be broken up, and, even
when the hunters are sleeping by it,
they will come almost within the glare
of the fire. and tear and crunch away,
taking no notice of shots or stones, but
an occasional growl, unless hit, when
they are pretty certain to make one
spring into the centre of the camp and
do all the mischief they can. Il propo8
of this, l remember hearing of very
plucky thing done by native hunter of
a friend of mine. He had killed buf-
falo and was sleeping out by it alone,
and during the night heard crunching
going on that only lions powerful jaw
could produce. He got up, and by the
dim light of a third-quarter moon could
just make out the outlines of two lions,
about twenty yards off. He took steady
aim-he only had single-barreI-an
fired at the nearest, which made bound
upward and fell dead. The other took
no notice, and after a minute resumed
its meal, upon which he quietly loaded
and shot it dead on the spot. 1t showed
great pluck, for alone in the dark with
two lions, and only one shot to trust to,
is any thing but a pleasant position


Sometimes 1 have heard the most ex-
traordinary concerts going on round
game the lions were feeding on, wolves,
hyeuas, and jackals, keeping up a con-
tinual round of hOwling, squealing, and
laughing, which, being interpreted,
meant, I suppose, that they were very
hungry and wished the lions would
clear out and let them begin. 1t is by
no means unusual to find a wolf or
jackal lying dead, punished on the spot
for dqring to approach too near the big
ger robbers supper, and I have often
seen the spoor of where a hon had
chased wolves several hundred yards
away from his prey.


Much has been written about their
roar, and 1 must confess to having been
disappointed in it at first but after a
time ] discovered that thn11rh II has no