IN THE JUNGLE.

 

IN THE JUNGLE.- THE LION

LIONS belong to the old world. America has her great cat, the Puma, sometimes called a lion; but Asia and Africa now the only quarters of the globe in which the true lion is found. These noble brutes used to infest a few spots in Europe in days gone by, for great boxer Polydamas, all unarmed, slew one with his hands, at the foot Mount Olympus; and schoolboys read of the terrible Nemæan lion, which roamed the woods of Argos, and frightened everybody out of his wits, until Hercules met the beast and choked him. 
In Egypt and the Holy Land lions were once common. But they are not found there now. And in fact, the lion seems nowhere truly at home, except in Africa.

The smaller or Asiatic group consists of three varieties: 

1. The Bengal lion. 

2. The lion found in Persia and Arabia. 

3 .The lion of Guzerat. 

The latter, it is said, has no mane. 

The Bengal lion is considered the most graceful member of the whole family. He, in common with his brethren, frequents the jungle, and is hunted by men on elephants. The lion's bearing in these encounters is quite worthy of his name. Disdaining the thicket, he comes forth to meet his enemy with boldness, and should the marksman miss his aim, he is in great peril; for the beast will spring at the elephant's head, and sometimes bring down to the ground hunters, elephant, and all. 

In ancient days the hunting of the lion was considered sport worthy of a king. The Emperor Commodus liked hunting such beasts. His vile courtiers applauded these pursuits. The voice of flattery reminded the Emperor that the Grecian Hercules had got a place among the gods by defeating the Nemæan lion. So lions were actually preserved, as hares and pheasants are now, and he who killed them in his own defence, was liable to a heavy penalty.  

Before you can kill your lion, or your tiger in the most approved fashion, you must secure and train your elephant. This great creature is well fitted for hunting, being very gentle and tractable. His sight is not first rate, but his senses o smell and hearing are extraordinary. Moreover, owing to his feet being spongy and elastic, he can go through a jungle or a forest with wonderful stealthiness and silence. Where a horse would sink to his fetlocks, an elephant's tread can scarcely be seen. 

The hot weather is generally chosen for hunting, as the lions and tigers then seek the lower valleys in quest of water. When the sportsmen sally forth, the clever elephant hunts for the game something like a pointer. At the word of command he will stand like a rock, and thus allow his master the opportunity of taking aim. If the beast is wounded, the elephant will sometimes make up to it, and try to trample the life out of it, in which case the sportsman is in danger of being pitched out of the howdah, as the perch on the elephant's back is called. This fate, it seems, has befallen the hunter before us, and he lies on his face in a position of terrible peril. The lion is grievously hurt, and is uttering a frightful roar. The elephant is using a tree as a lever to break the lion's backbone, while the second hunter is descending with all speed from the howdah, with his hunting-knife in his hand to do what he can for his unfortunate friend. It is a moment of thrilling agony, for the right fore-paw of the king of beasts is on the fallen man's back ribs, and the poor hunter has probably hunted his last, and is dead. Many men do die in these encounters. To slay a man-eating brate is a service of peril, and a good service to humanity.

Central India is infested with leopards and tigers, who take up their quarters near villages, and carry off the villager's property. But more than this. When a tiger has once tasted man's flesh, he cares for none other. He becomes lean and mangy, and his coat grows dim, but he never leaves off his man eating ways. When he once takes a fancy to a village, all leaving it becomes extremely dangerous.

One morning a man-eater entered a village, and besides killing five persons, he seriously wounded fourteen others. The poor villagers cannot help themselves. All they can hope for is that a party of English sportsmen will come and put the tyrant to death. And if we had done nothing more for India than show how to kill man-eaters, our occupation of that country would have been a blessing to its people. 

G.S.O.

References:

Chatterbox 1877