day, what certain experienced sportsmen easily
achieve by night. Consequently, M. Chassaing
is greatly satisfied to find that Europeans and
even Arabs are adopting his plan of lion-shooting;
and to his delight, he is sure to leave
successors behind him, whenever age shall compel
him to retire.

It may be safely stated that many naturalists
who have studied the lion and described his
ways, have only known him in a captive state.
Had they, like M. Chassaing, been acquainted
with him wild and free, their judgment would
often be different. Whatever has been said to
the contrary, the lion slaughters much rather
through instinct than necessity. Blood inebriates
him. Behold him surrounded by victims! His
joy is at its height; he passes from one to the
other. Except when urged by hunger, he
contents himself with greedily drinking the blood.
If pressed by appetite, he tears away lustily with
his teeth, eats gluttonously, and, if he quit his
prey, it is not through disdain or pride, as some
writers have paid him the compliment of
supposing, but simply because he can gorge no
more. He returns to it, sometimes for five or
six days; that is, up to the point when it
becomes uneatable.

It is true that the animal does not always
return to his first-slain prey; but the reason is
that, during his retreat, he has sacrificed fresh
victims along the road, enough to satisfy his
appetite. It is an exception which by no means
justifies the statement put forth by certain
travellers and naturalists, that the lion never
deigns to eat of the same dish twice.

There exist in Algeria three very distinct
species (or varieties?) of lion. The tawny lion,
who is the tallest in stature; the black lion, not
quite so tall, but more thick-set, square-built,
and stout; and the grey lion, whose stature
differs from that of the two preceding species.
In one quality they are identical; namely, in
being equally dangerous.

Great forests are the lion's favourite habitations
—lofty trees, with thick underwood—
which he scarcely ever leaves except in the
evening, when he goes in search of his
provisions. He habitually follows the roads and
paths. Only when disturbed or pursued does
he make his way through the thicket. He
announces his departure from his lair by terrible
roars, and then is silent, to avoid betraying his
approach when he nears the douars. He then
advances stealthily, sometimes by leaps,
sometimes crawling close to the ground, catching the
slightest sounds and keeping his eye on every
bush. If the dogs, by their excited barking,
betray his approach, the Arabs rush out of their
tents, yell at liim insulting epithets, "Christian!
Jew! Gipsy!" and worse, throw stones in his
supposed direction, and beat the nearest trees
with their sticks. Thus discovered, he retires;
but only to change his tactics. He waits till the
hubbub has settled down. Then, aided by his
enemy's false security, he returns unawares,
clears the enclosure at a single bound, seizes
his prey, and makes the best of his way back
again, before the Arabs are even aware of his
inroad.

The enclosures, in which the herds are folded,
are usually from eight to ten feet high. We can
imagine how strong and agile the lion must be,
to clear such an obstacle with ease when laden
with the prey which he has selected as the
plumpest. It the first theft do not suffice to
appease his hunger, he defies his adversaries
anew. The offensive names and the stones slung
after him produce about an equal effect; the dogs
do not care to quit the tents, and he carries off
his victim undisturbed. When, by a very rare
exception, the lion, surprised, fails to secure his
prey, the herd has suffered none the less; for it
is seldom that, before seizing one, the destroyer
has not felled five or six. head of cattle. Does
he do so with a view to a speedy return?
Perhaps; but he multiplies his evil deeds, if only for
the pleasure of revelling in blood.

It is impossible for the lion to eat all the
animals he slays; but that does not hinder him
from continuing to butcher all he meets on
his passage. Blood is his stimulant, and carnage
his pleasure. He rarely attacks horses, oxen, or
mules, on the open plain; but if they straggle or
venture to pasture in extensive woods, they pay
the penalty of their invasion of his territory.
There he is master, and slaughters whatever he
finds, at his ease.

At El-Mader, a lion rushed through a herd of
domestic animals, dividing it in two. Sheep,
goats, horses, and mules were dispersed in
indescribable confusion. One half was able to
escape to the plain. The other half, purposely
separated by the lion's manoeuvre, fled towards
the summit of the mountain. Next day, forty-
five carcases strewed the ground. On visiting
the field of carnage, M. Chassaing recognised,
besides the lion's traces, the marks of a lioness
and her cub. Evidently, a single lion could
hardly accomplish such a massacre alone. Some
author has written that the lion, seizing a bullock
by the ear and whipping him with his sinewy
tail, is able to lead him whithersoever he will,
more cleverly than a butcher could. We may
believe that the lion, without touching the beast,
has the talent to drive him towards a thicket,
where he is sure to devour him in peace; and he
effects his purpose by intercepting any attempt
he may make to return to the plain.

A general belief is, that the lion fixes his
residence in holes or in the hollows of rocks: in
short, in a cavernous den. This is a mistake.
Confident in his strength, sure of his own power,
and fearing the attack of no animal whatsoever,
he simply selects, as his place of repose, the
densest thicket he can find, where man, if he
dare, may go and visit him. Moreover, it is the
pangs of hunger only which can rouse the creature
out of his slothfulness; and he will hardly
take the trouble to dig a retreat which his courage
and pride would disdain, if he had it. Were it
possible for the sportsman, following his track,
to muffle the sound of his footsteps and avoid all
brushing or breaking of the branches which
oppose his passage, he might easily be surprised in