was scarcely perceptible by what means they had been killed. Of the time which we had gained by the interference of the dogs, not a moment was lost; we fired upon him; one of the balls went through his side just between the short ribs, and the blood immediately began to flow, but the animal still remained standing in the same position. We had now no doubt that he would spring upon us; every gun was instantly reloaded; but happily we were mistaken, and were not sorry to see him move quietly away; though I had hoped in a few minutes to have been enabled to take hold of his paw without danger.

"This was considered, by our party, to be a lion of the largest size, and seemed, as I measured him by comparison with the dogs, to be as large as an ox. He was certainly as long in body, though lower in stature; and his copious mane gave him truly a formidable appearance. He was of that variety which the Hottentots and boors distinguish by the name of the black lion, on account of the blacker color of the mane, and which is said to be always larger and more dangerous than the other, which they call the pale lion. Of the courage of a lion I have no very high opinion, but of his majestic air and movements, as exhibited by this animal, while at liberty in his native plains, I can bear testimony. Notwithstanding the pain of a wound, of which he must soon afterwards have died, he moved slowly away with a stately and measured step.

"The lion, as we have seen, principally lives in the plains, and is always found where there are large herds of wild antelopes and other animals feeding together, in that fellowship which is characteristic of each species. To all these animals he is an object of unceasing dread. It is supposed by the agitation which oxen display when a lion is near them, that they can scent him at a considerable distance. Whatever may be his physical strength, therefore, and we know that it is prodigious, it is evident he could not accomplish his purposes by strength alone. The instinctive fear of the creatures upon which he preys would be constantly called into action, by their keen sight and acute scent; and they would remove to some distant part before the destroyer could reach them. The lion, too, as well as the tiger, and others of the same species, seldom runs. He either walks, or creeps, or, for a short distance, advances rapidly by great bounds. It is evident, therefore, that he must seize his prey by stealth; that he is not fitted for an open attack; and that his character is necessarily that of great power united to considerable wariness in its exercise.

"Every one, almost, is familiar with the roar of the lion. It is a sound of terror, and produces an appalling effect. It is said by travellers that it sometimes resembles the sound which is heard at the moment of an earthquake; and that he produces this extraordinary effect by laying his head upon the ground, and uttering a half stifled growl, by which means the noise is conveyed along the earth. The instant this roar is heard by the animals who are reposing in the plains, they start up with alarm; they fly

in all directions; they rush into the very danger which they seek to avoid. This fearful sound, which the lion utters, is produced by the great comparative size of the larynx, the principal organ of voice in all animals.* He utters it to excite that fear which is necessary to his easy selection of an individual victim.

"The lion, as well as all of the cat tribe, takes his prey at night; and it is necessary, therefore, that he should have peculiar organs of vision. In all those animals which seek their food in the dark, the eye is usually of a large size, to admit a great number of rays; and that part which is called the choroides reflects, instead of absorbing, the light. The power of seeing in the dark, which the cat tribe possesses, has always appeared a subject of mystery; and it is natural that it should be so, for man himself sees with more difficulty in the dark than any other animal; he has a compensation in his ability to produce artificial light. This peculiar kind of eye, therefore, is necessary to the lion to perceive his prey; and he creeps towards it with a certainty which nothing but this distinct nocturnal vision could give. "Every one must have observed what are usually called the whiskers on a cat's upper lip. The use of these in a state of nature is very important. They are organs of touch. The slightest contact of these whiskers with any surrounding object is felt most distinctly by the animal, although the hairs are themselves insensible. They stand out on each side, in the lion, as well as in the common cat, so that, from point to point, they are equal to the width of the animal's body.

"If we imagine, therefore, a lion stealing through a covert of wood in an imperfect light, we shall at once see the use of these long hairs. They indicate to him, through the nicest feeling, any obstacle which may present itself to the passage of his body; they prevent the rustle of boughs and leaves, which would give warning to his prey if he were to attempt to pass through too close a bush ;- and thus, in conjunction with the soft cushions of his feet, they enable him to move towards his victim with a stillness greater even than that of the snake, who creeps along the grass, and is not perceived till he has coiled round his prey."

"The size of the larynx is proportionate to the strength of the sounds which animals utter. The absolute size of the larynx of the whale and the elephant is the largest; but relatively the larynx of the lion has a still greater circumference."-Notes to Blumenbach's Comp. Anatomy, by Lawrence and Coulson, 1827.

THE puma, cougar, or American lion, is from four to five feet long, but more commonly of the former size, and has a tail of half that length, which has not, like that of the lion, a terminating brush of hair; neither has the puma a mane. Indeed, his name of lion could only have been given to him by careless or unscientific observers, as his uniform sameness of color is the sole point of resemblance which he has to the king of beasts. He has a small rounded head, a broad and rather obtuse muzzle, and a body which, in proportion, is slender and less elevated than that of his more dignified namesake. "The upper parts of his body," says Mr Bennett, "are of a bright silvery fawn, the tawny hairs being terminated by whitish tips: beneath and on the inside of the limbs he is nearly white, and more completely so on the throat, chin, and upper lip. The head has an irregular mixture of black and gray; the outside of the ears, especially at the base, the sides of the muzzle from which the whiskers take their origin, and the extremity of the tail, are black." The fur of the cubs has spots of a darker hue, which are visible only in certain lights, and disappear when the animal is full grown. Both the sexes are of the same color.

The puma was once spread over the whole wide extent of the new world, from Canada to Patagonia. The progress of civilization has, however, circumscribed his range, and has rooted him out in many places. Notwithstanding his size and strength, he is cowardly; and, like almost all cowards, he is sanguinary. If he find a flock of sheep unprotected, he will

1 Felis concolor, LIN.

*It is not now common, in any part of the United States, except the unsettled districts. It is usually called the panther, or painter, by the common people. It is also called the

catamount.

destroy the whole, merely that he may enjoy the luxury of sucking their blood. As he possesses much timidity and little swiftness, and in South America frequents the open plains, he generally falls a victim when the hunter pursues him with the unerring lasso.

In seizing its prey, the puma crawls softly on his belly through the shrubs and bushes, conceals itself in ditches, or assumes a fawning appearance. As soon, however, as it can reach its victim, it leaps on its back by one bound, and soon rends it to pieces. Molina tells us, that, in Chili, where the husbandmen tether their horses in the fields by pairs, the puma kills and drags one away, and compels the other to follow by occasionally striking it with his paw. All animals are not thus easily vanquished. Asses defend themselves with their heels, and are often victorious; and cows form themselves into a circle round their calves, turn their horns towards the assailant, and not unfrequently destroy him. Even a woman or a child can put him to flight. When hunted with dogs, however, and cut off from his retreat to a rock or a tree, he places himself under the trunk of a large tree, and fights furiously.

The puma is easily tamed, and in captivity becomes tractable, and even attached. It loves to be noticed and caressed, expresses its pleasure by purring, will follow its owner about like a dog, and has been known to suffer children to ride upon its back.

The following anecdotes are from Godman !

"Two hunters, accompanied by two dogs, went out in quest of game near the Catskill mountains. At the foot of a large hill, they agreed to go round it in opposite directions, and when either discharged his rifle, the other was to hasten towards him to aid in securing the game. Soon after parting, the report of a rifle was heard by one of them, who, hastening towards the spot, after some search, found nothing but the dog, dreadfully lacerated and dead. He now became much alarmed for the fate of his companion, and while anxiously looking around, was horror-struck by the harsh growl of a cougar, which he perceived on a large limb of a tree, crouching upon the body of his friend, and apparently meditating an attack on himself. Instantly he levelled his rifle at the beast, and was so fortunate as to wound it mortally, when it fell to the ground along with the body of his slaughtered companion. His dog then rushed upon the wounded cougar, which with one blow of its paw laid the poor animal dead by its side, The surviving hunter now left the spot, and quickly returned with several other persons, when they found the lifeless cougar extended near the dead bodies of the hunter and the faithful dogs."

"About the close of the late war, a merchant of Piqua, named Herse, received a considerable sum of money in small bills, which made it appear of still greater magnitude to several suspicious looking persons who were present when it was received. Mr Herse being unarmed, was apprehensive that an attempt would be made to rob him at the camping ground, and

expressed his apprehensions to a single fellow-traveller, who was also unprovided with arms. In consequence, they resolved not to go to the camping ground, but to pass the night in the woods without fire; there, turning their horses loose, they lay down in their blankets on the leaves. In the night they were aroused by hearing the horses snort, as they are apt to do on the approach of Indians, and shortly after they were heard to make several bounds through the woods, as if some one had unsuccessfully attempted to catch them. After some time had elapsed, they both distinctly heard, what they supposed to be, a man crawling towards them on his hands and feet, as they could hear first one hand cautiously extended and pressed very gently on the leaves, to avoid making a noise, then the other, and finally the other limbs in like manner and with equal care. When they believed that this felonious visitor was within about ten feet of them, they touched each other, sprang up simultaneously, and rushed to some distance through the woods, where they crouched and remained without further disturbance. A short time after, they heard the horses snorting and bounding furiously through the woods, but they did not venture to arise until broad daylight, being still ignorant of the character of their enemy.

"When sufficiently light to see, by climbing a sapling, they discovered the horses at a considerable distance on the prairie. On approaching them, it was at once evident that their disturber had been nothing less than a cougar. It had sprung upon the horses, and so lacerated with its claws and teeth their flanks and buttocks, that with the greatest difficulty were they able to drive the poor creatures before them to Shane's. Several other instances of annoyance to travellers had happened at the same place, and Shane believed by the same cougar."