The harbour of Sierra Leone was discovered by the Portuguese towards the end of the fourteenth century, and was named by its discoverers Sierra Leone from supposing the mountains to abound in lions, though it has also been asserted that the name was derived from the noise of the surf on the shores, which resembles the roar of a lion.
At the present day there are no lions to be found along the coast of tropical West Africa, but it is not improbable that they were numerous in the days of the early Portuguese explorers and roared a challenge to their ships when they put in to land.
EMPIRE DAY IN FREETOWN.
The following lines by T. B. Rhodes in his “Bombastes Furioso,” apropos of Col. Titus’ speech in the House of Commons on the Exclusion Bill on the 7th January, 1681, shows that it was generally accepted as a fact that lions abounded along the Coast of West Africa, which was the only part of Tropical Africa known to Europeans in those days:—
“So have I heard on Afric’s burning shore
A hungry lion give a grievous roar:
The grievous roar echoed along the shore.
So have I heard on Afric’s burning shore
Another lion give a grievous roar,