on that extreme boundary, against a tribe of savages who were then supposed to threaten an invasion of the colony. The occupation, I believe, was not recognized at that time by government. The character of the scenery was somewhat peculiar; vast plains or flats extended in all directions, bare and sandy, rarely presenting a green blade of verdure to the weary eye. These plains were enriched or intersected by ranges of low table mountains, whose sides and summits were equally divested of all vegetation; and in passing over the country, as you crossed the lower ridge of some of those hills, a prospect of the same unvaried and barren extent was presented to the view. It was seldom we met with a human habitation, and nought enlivened the dreary scene save the various species of antelope and quagga abounding in these plains, which, frightened at the appearance of man, ran off in every direction. At a distance they might have been sometimes taken for vast herds of sheep and droves of cattle. If a boor's dwelling happened to be in the neighbourhood, it was always erected on the banks of some rivulet or spring, where there might be a sufficient supply of water for his flocks, and to water a few roods of land that he might grow vegetables and tobacco. In the drier seasons, however, these almost pastoral farmers were obliged to forsake their more permanent abodes, and betake themselves to tents, and, with their flocks, wander over the sandy waste in search of pasturage for their sheep and cattle. While encamped in these open plains, their folds were frequently disturbed by the midnight visit of the lion; and their only escape from his attacks was in the discovery of his retreat and his destruction. His usual prey was the antelope; but the fleetness of these animals, or their instinctive precautions perhaps, gave them more security than the feeble defences of a crowded fold.

"It was on these occasions that I witnessed the mode in which the boor discovered and rid himself of his troublesome neighbour, as the officer commanding was applied to, and most willingly granted the assistance of a few men, whom we were delighted to accompany.

"The method by which the boors pursue the lion will be shown by describing the last hunt at which I was present. In every instance it was the same, and in three, successful, without injury to any individual of the parties. The north-east bank of Orange River, opposite our encampment, was totally uninhabited save by a few wandering bushmen. Vast numbers of antelopes and quaggas grazed upon the plains; and, in the rugged and bare hills which intersect them, the lion dwelt during the day, and at night descended, after considerable intervals, in search of food. I have seldom seen him in the plain during the day, save when, in the extreme heat of the summer, he might be found on the wooded banks of the river; but often during the night, when we bivouacked in the open plain, and the terror of the cattle and

horses bore evidence of his approach, at dawn he would be seen winding slowly his way to the loftier summit of some neighbouring mountain. One might hear the thunder of his voice at the distance of many miles, while every animal shook with fear. A lion of huge dimensions passed the river, which at that season was low, and carried off a horse, the property of a neighbouring boor. For some nights previous he had been heard in a hill close to the banks of the river, to which it was supposed he had again retreated on destroying his prey. The boors assert that the flesh of the horse is highly prized by the palate of the lion, but perhaps it is because that animal is their own most valuable property. It was proposed to cross the river the following morning, and trace him to his den, with the few boors we could collect and a party of our men. We mounted immediately after sunrise, and with a large number of dogs proceeded to the mountain, every crevice and ravine of which we examined without finding him. Gorged with his late meal, he had, perhaps, we thought, remained in the thick cover on the steep banks of the river, to which we then returned, and in passing over a narrow plain, a spot of ground was pointed out to us by an eye-witness where he had been seen to seize and devour a quagga some days before. The hard and dry soil was actually hollowed by the violence of the mortal struggle. The dogs had scarcely entered the thick bushy banks of the river ere they gave tongue, and they appeared to advance in the pursuit, as if the lion was slowly retreating. At times it would seem that he turned and rushed upon the dogs. We, however, could not dare to enter farther than the skirts of the jungle, with a finger on the trigger and the carbine half at the present. One single clutch of his tremendous paw unquestionably would have been fatal. For a considerable time the dogs remained silent, and we fancied we had irrecoverably lost him. With more and more confidence we examined the thicket, but without success, and were about giving up the pursuit in despair, when a Hottentot and boor observed his footsteps in the sand. The word was again to horse. The lion's course appeared to be towards the mountain which we had left. A friend, with a party of boors and soldiers, galloped straight up the nearest declivity, while I, with a smaller number, rode round a projecting edge of the hill, into a deep ravine, to which he might have retreated. With my party I had been too late; he had been just brought to bay, as he was commencing his descent on the opposite side of the hill, but my friend delayed the attack until we should arrive to witness it; meanwhile the dogs amused him. The ascent by which we could reach the summit was steep and rugged, but our horses were accustomed to it, and with whip and spur we urged them on. Whoever has seen the African lion at bay would assuredly say the sportsman could never behold a more stirring scene in the chase.

There he was, seated on his hind quarters, his eye glaring on a swarm of curs yelping around him; his dark shaggy mane he shook around his gigantic shoulders, or with his paw tossed in the air the nearest dog, apparently more in sport than in anger. The mode of attack was now arranged. The horses were tied together in a line, taking care to turn their heads from the direction where the lion was at bay, and likewise that they were to the windward of him, lest his very scent should scare them into flight. The retreat behind this living wall is the boors' last resource if the lion should advance upon them, that his fury may fall upon the horses. Some of the boors are excellent marksmen, and the Hottentot soldiers are far from being despicable; yet many a bullet was sent ere he was slain. Tired by the wounds he received, his claw was no longer harmless; one dog he almost tore to pieces, and two more were destroyed ere he fell. At each shot he rushed forward as if with the intent of singling out the man who fired, but his rage was always vented on the dogs, and he again retired to the station he had left. The ground appeared to be bathed with his blood. Every succeeding attempt to rush forward displayed less vigour and fury, and at last, totally exhausted, he fell; but still the approach was dangerous. In the last struggle of his expiring agony he might have inflicted a mortal wound: cautiously approaching, he was shot through the heart; twelve wounds were counted in his head, body, and limbs. He was of the largest size, and of the species called the black lion. We claimed the skin and skull-the bushmen the carcass, which to them is a delicious morsel; and the boors were satisfied with knowing that he would commit no further depredations on them.

"On another occasion we roused two lions on the top of a low stony hill. They were calmly descending one side as we reached the top, and, amid a shower of bullets, they crossed a plain to ascend another. We followed, and they separated; we brought them to bay in succession, and slew both. It appears to me, from what I have seen and heard, that a lion, once wounded, will immediately turn upon his pursuers; but I am of opinion that he seldom attacks man, and generally shuns him, having none of the reported partiality for human flesh. In the district I described, and of which a description was necessary to show that we encountered him upon clear and open ground, the various kinds of lion were originally very numerous. The boors enumerated three-the yellow, grey, and black. Their numbers were much diminished, principally, perhaps, from their retreating beyond Orange River to an unoccupied country, although many also were destroyed by the boors. It has been said that the lion dwells in the plains. The African hunters almost always seek him in the mountains; and occasionally one or two will not shun the encounter, if armed with their

133 long and sure rifles, which they carry on almost all occasions. I will relate one more instance. A party of officers, a few years since, along with some boors, discovered a lion, lioness, and two cubs, within a short distance of Hernianus Craal, on the frontier. The lion dashed forward to protect his mate and young ones, and attempted to defend them by shielding them with his body, until the officers, moved by the nobleness of his conduct, entreated that he might not be destroyed; but the Dutchmen were inexorable, and they killed him; the cubs fled, and the lioness followed; but all were found dead of their wounds the succeeding day."

ONE of the most dangerous animals that the traveller in Asia and the East Indies can encounter, is the tiger, a most ferocious and powerful enemy, belonging to the feline species, of which, as you know, the cat is a member.

So serious are the depredations of this animal, that in India he is hunted and killed whenever his traces are found. These are usually in the jungles, as thick bushes and trees are called, and here the tiger resorts until hunger draws him forth in search of food. Many are

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the stories we could relate of the perils which often attend the daring hunter when he finds himself in the presence of his formidable foe. One or two instances must, however, suffice.

A gentleman in the civil service of the East India Company relates the following:

"When a tiger springs on an elephant, the latter is generally able to shake him off under his feet, and then woe be to him. The elephant either kneels on him and crushes him at once, or gives him a kick which breaks half his ribs and sends him flying perhaps twenty paces. The elephants, however, are often dreadfully torn, and a large old tiger clings too fast to be thus dealt with. In this case it often happens that the elephant himself falls, from pain, or from the hope of rolling on his enemy, and the people on his back are in very considerable danger both from friends and foes. The scratch of a tiger is sometimes venomous, as that of a cat is said to be. But this does not often happen; and in general persons wounded by his teeth or claws, if not killed outright, recover easily enough.

"I was at Jaffna, at the northern extremity of the island of Ceylon, in the beginning of the year 1819; when, one morning my servant called me an hour or two before my usual time, with 'Master, master! people sent for master's dogs-tiger in the town!' Now, my dogs chanced to be some very degenerate specimens of a fine species, called the poligar dog, which I should describe as a sort of wiry-haired greyhound, without scent. I kept them to hunt jackals; but tigers are very different things. My gun happened not to be put together; and while my servant was doing it, the collector, and two medical men, who had recently arrived,, came to my door, the former armed with a fowling-piece, and the latter with remarkably blunt hog-spears. They insisted upon setting off without waiting for my gun, a proceeding not much to my taste. The tiger had taken refuge in a hut,, the roof of which, as those of Ceylon huts in general, spread to the ground like an umbrella; the only opening in it was a small door, about four feet high. The collector wanted to get the tiger out at once. I begged to wait for my gun; but no-the fowling-piece (loaded with ball, of course) and the two hog-spears were quite enough. I got a hedge-stake, and awaited my fate, from very shame. At this moment, to my great delight, there arrived from the fort an English officer, two artillerymen, and a Malay captain; and a pretty figure we should have cut without them, as the event will show. I was now quite ready to attack, and my gun was brought a minute afterwards. The whole scene which follows took place within an enclosure, about twenty feet square, formed on three sides by a strong fence of palmyra leaves, and on the fourth by the hut. At the door of this the two artillery-men planted themselves, and the Malay captain got on the top, to frighten the