Dr. Livingstone, in his description of the Lion, takes off a good deal of the poetical nobility and imaginary superiority with which the Lion has been commonly invested. The following selections will show what are Dr. Livingstone's impressions from personal experience:—"When a Lion is met in the day-time, a circumstance by no means unfrequent to travellers in these parts, if preconceived notions do not lead them to expect something very 'noble' or 'majestic,' they will see merely an animal somewhat larger than the biggest Dog they ever saw, and partaking very strongly of the canine features. When encountered in the day-time the Lion stands a second or two gazing, then turns slowly round and walks as slowly away for a dozen paces, looking over his shoulder, then begins to trot, and when he thinks himself out of sight bounds off like a greyhound. By day, as a rule, there is not the smallest danger of Lions which are not molested attacking Man, nor even on a clear, moonlight night, except at the breeding-time.
"So general, however, is the sense of security on moonlight nights that we seldom tied up our Oxen, but let them lie loose by the wagons; while, on a dark, rainy night, if a Lion is in the neighbourhood, he is almost sure to venture to kill an Ox. His approach is always stealthy, and the least appearance of a trap is enough to cause him to refrain from making the last spring.
"Lions never go near any Elephants, except the calves, which, when young, are sometimes torn by them. Every living thing retires before the lordly Elephant, yet a full-grown one would fall an easier prey than the Rhinoceros. The Lion rushes off at the mere sight of the latter beast."
FIG. 68.—JAGUAR (Leopardus onca).
The Bengal or Royal Tiger is the largest of the Feline tribe, being generally 8 feet long and 4 high. It is, however, often found much larger. It would appear from the most correct accounts that the Lion is hardly a match for this formidable creature. The Tiger is as beautiful as dreadful; its colour is of a bright orange-buff, with white face and under parts, the back and legs being beautifully striped with black. The Tiger has no mane, but is of a sleek, graceful make, though terribly powerful. It inhabits India chiefly, and will prowl for hundreds of miles by the sides of rivers, secreting itself in the jungle and sleeping by day. Sometimes traces of a Tiger will be seen in the locality of villages or towns, and stray Sheep or Bullocks disappear from time to time, but it will destroy any human being who unluckily approaches its haunts, and having once tasted human blood, appears afterwards to prefer this kind of food to all others, and will pick out a cow-herd in preference to the cattle he is driving; in all probability this preference is really owing to the ease with which the capture can be made; and the small resistance Man is capable of offering; be this as it may, the Tiger having once destroyed a man is called a "man-eater," and a reward is offered for his head; when this occurs near any of the stations of the East India Company, the officers generally make it a point to sally forth and endeavour to capture this terrific beast; this they do on foot, as it is impossible to depend on any Horse, their natural fear of the Tiger being so great that all Horses either shy, or at once retreat. The officers, armed with guns, take with them a number of natives, who with long canes beat the jungle and generally start out the monster, at whom there are a few deadly rifles pointed, which invariably bring him at once to the ground.
The largest of this tribe inhabiting the New World, is the Puma or Cougar, which is much inferior to the Lion both in size and strength, although very fierce and dangerous, it is of a pale drab colour inclining to grey; it climbs trees and stretches itself along their branches, waiting for some unlucky animal to pass, when it drops quietly upon its shoulders and quickly destroys it. The Leopard tribe includes several varieties, as the Jaguar, Panther, Ounce, Ocelot, &c., they are all more or less spotted with black, and possess all the ferocity and much of the strength of the nobler species of their tribe, the smallest of them being more than a match for a man without weapons.
The Canine tribe of the Carnivora includes Dogs, Wolves, Jackalls, and Foxes. The Dogs are greatly altered from their wild nature by being domesticated, resembling in their wild state a small Wolf; the Dog in its domesticated state is too well known to need any description here. The Jackals and Wolves generally hunt in packs, and devour all kinds of offal, flesh and bones, which their strong jaws and teeth appear to crush and break up without difficulty.
The Bears form the next tribe, these are often very large animals; the Grisly Bear of the Rocky Mountains (Damis ferox) is the largest of the Brown Bears, it often measures eight feet long and is extremely powerful, the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) is smaller, but still a powerful animal, the Polar Bear (Thalarctos maratimus) is white and is the largest of all the Bears, measuring eight or nine feet long, it is coated with long shaggy hair, and even its feet are clothed with hair underneath, that it may not slip on the ice, and to defend it from the cold; this Bear is found in the Arctic Regions among the ice, and feeds upon Fish and other marine animals. Bears in general are carnivorous, but eat many other kinds of food; they are very fond of honey, and are never contented if they smell it, until they get at it, for this purpose they will often gnaw a hole in a tree and thrust in their head. Advantage is taken of this predilection to entrap the animal, the natives of the Rocky Mountains often baiting Bear traps with honey.
The Seals and Walrus (fig. 69) form the next, or Phocine tribe; they are amphibious, and feed chiefly on Fish, inhabiting the colder regions of the North; their hinder extremities are but little developed, and serve the purposes of a tail. They are covered with a close fur, and the canine teeth of the Walrus are so largely developed in the upper jaw as to form tusks, by means of which they hook on and attach themselves to the blocks of ice.