DOMESTIC ANIMALS.-LION.

DOMESTIC ANIMALS. For an account of neat cattle, horses, sheep, and swine, together with the proper mode of rearing and managing them, &c. see part V. Art. Agriculture.

In respect to other animals, it will not comport with the design of this work to give a minute and extended account. Yet, as it might otherwise be thought quite incomplete, we shall proceed to notice a few of the most interesting animals found on the globe, without confining ourselves exclusively to those which are used as aliments. We begin with the

LION. This noble animal is far from being as large in size as many others. His ordinary height is between three and four feet, and his length six feet. Some are still larger. His head, neck and shoulders, are large, while his hinder parts are comparatively thin and small. His strength and courage are such, as to entitle him to the appellation of 66 King of Beasts." The only animals which ever seriously pretended to cope with him, are the elephant, tiger and rhinoceros. The color of the lion is a reddish yellow; his mane is somewhat darker, and often approaches to black. He is found in most parts of Africa, and the southern parts of Asia; but is more common in the former than in the latter. The lioness is one third smaller than the male; but in disposition is more ferocious. The lion requires from twelve to twenty pounds of food every day. He lives chiefly upon the flesh of animals; and in a wild state, generally takes his prey by night.

Many interesting anecdotes are related of the lion. The following, is an account of an engagement which recently took place between a lion and two tigers in the tower of London:

"Between eleven and twelve o'clock yesterday morning, as the man whose duty it is to clean the wild beasts at the tower, was in the execution of that office, he inadvertently raised a door in the upper tier of cells, which separated the den of a huge lion, from one in which there were a Bengal royal tiger and tigress. At sight of each other, the eyes of the animals sparkled with rage. The lion instantly erected his mane, and with a tremendous roar, sprang at the tiger. The tiger was equally eager for the combat, and in a paroxysm of fury, flew at his assailant, whilst the tigress fiercely seconded her mate. The roaring and yelling of the combatants resounded through the yards, and excited in all the various animals the most lively demonstrations of fear or rage. The timid tribes shivered with dread, and ran round their cages, shrieking with terror, whilst the other lions and tigers, with the bears, leopards, panthers, wolves, and hyenas, flew round their dens, shaking the bars with their utmost strength, and uttering the most terrifie cries. The lion fought most bravely, but was evidently overmatched, having to contend with two adversaries, not more than a year from the woods, whilst he had been upwards of seven years in confinement. Still the battle raged with doubtful success, until the tiger seized the lion by the throat, and flung him on his back, when, after rolling over each other several times, the exasperated tigress pinned her enemy against the veranda. In that situation, the prostrate lord of the forest still struggled with an indomitable spirit, roaring with agony and rage. By this time, however, some iron rods had been heated, the red hot ends of which were now applied to the mouths and nostrils of the infuriated tigers,

LION.

who were by this means forced to relinquish their grasp; but no sooner was the separation effected, than the lion and tiger seized in their mouths, the one the upper, and the other the lower jaw of his antagonist, biting and tugging at each other with deadly fury. So excited was their animosity, that it was with great difficulty, by the insertion into their nostrils of the glowing iron, they could be disengaged, and the lion driven back to his cell, the door of which was instantly closed upon him. The battle lasted full half an hour. The tiger, in the last onset, lost one of his tusks, but the poor lion was very severely punished."

In a work entitled "Researches in South Africa," published by the Rev. Dr. Philip, is given an account of an adventure with a lion, so curious, that we extract it without abridgement.

"Our wagons, which were obliged to take a circuitous route, arrived at last, and we pitched our tent a musket shot from the kraal; and after having arranged every thing, went to rest, but were soon disturbed ; for about midnight, the cattle and horses which were standing between the wagons, began to start and run, and one of the drivers to shout, on which every one ran out of the tent with his gun. About thirty paces from the tent stood a lion, which, on seeing us, walked very deliberately about thirty paces farther, behind a small thorn bush, carrying something with him, which I took to be a young ox. We fired more than sixty shots at the bush, and pierced it stoutly, without perceiving any movement. The southeast wind blew strong, the sky was clear, and the moon shone very bright, so that we could perceive every thing at that distance. After the cattle had been quieted again, and I had looked over every thing, I missed the sentry from before the tent, Jan Smit, from Antwerp, belonging to the Groene Kloof. We called as loudly as possible, but in vain,-nobody answered; from which I concluded that the lion had carried him off. Three or four men then advanced very cautiously to the bush, which stood right opposite the door of the tent to see if they could discover any thing of the man, but returned helter skelter, for the lion, who was there still, rose up and began to roar. They found there the musket of the sentry, which was cocked, and also his cap and shoes.

"We fired again about a hundred shots at the bush, (which was sixty paces from the tent, and only thirty paces from the wagons, and at which we were able to point as at a target,) without perceiving any thing of the lion, from which we concluded that he was killed, or had run away. This induced the marksman, Jan Stamansz, to go and see if he was there still or not, taking with him a fire-brand. But as soon as he approached the bush, the lion roared terribly, and leaped at him; on which he threw the fire-brand at him, and the other people having fired about ten shots, he retired directly to his former place behind that

bush.

"The fire-brand which he had thrown at the lion, had fallen in the midst of the bush, and, favored by the strong south-east wind, it began to burn with a great flame, so that we could see very clearly into and through it. We continued our firing into it; the night passed away, and the day began to break, which animated every one to aim at the lion, because he could not go from thence without exposing himself entirely, as the bush stood directly against a steep kloof. Seven men

LION. TIGER.

posted at the farthest wagons, watched him to take aim at him if he should come out.

"At last, before it became quite light, he walked up the hill with the man in his mouth, when about forty shots were fired at him, without hitting him, although some were very near. Every time this happened, he turned round towards the tent, and came roaring towards us, and I am of opinion, that if he had been hit, he would have rushed on the people and the tent.

"When it became broad day-light, we perceived, by the blood and a piece of the clothes of the man, that the lion had taken him away and carried him with him. We also found behind the bush, the place where the lion had been keeping the man, and it appeared impossible that no ball should have hit him, as we found in that place several balls beaten flat. We concluded that he was wounded, and not far from this. The people therefore requested permission to go in search of the man's corpse, in order to bury it, supposing that by our continual firing, the lion would not have had time to devour much of it. I gave permission to some, on condition that they should take a good party of armed Hottentots with them, and make them promise that they would not run into danger, but keep a good look-out, and be circumspect. On this, seven of them, assisted by forty-three armed Hottentots, followed the track, and found the lion about half a league farther on, lying behind a little bush. On the shout of the Hottentots he sprang up and ran away, on which they all pursued him. At last the beast turned round, and rushed, roaring terribly, amongst the crowd. The people, fatigued and out of breath with their running, fired and missed him, on which he made directly towards them. The captain, or chief head of the kraal, here did a brave act, in aid of two of the people whom the lion attacked. The gun of one of them missed fire, and the other missed his aim, on which the captain threw himself between the lion and the people so close, that the lion stuck his claws into the kaross [mantle] of the Hottentot. But he was too agile for him, doffed his kaross, and stabbed him with an assagai. Instantly the other Hottentots hastened on, and adorned him with all their assagais, so that he looked like a porcupine. Notwithstanding this, he did not leave off roaring and leaping, and bit off some of the assagais, till the marksman, Jan Štamansz, fired a ball into his eye, which made him turn over, and he was then shot dead by the other people. He was a tremendously large beast, and had but a short time before carried off a Hottentot from the kraal and devoured him."

TIGER. The Tiger, commonly called the Royal Tiger, is a native of Bengal, of the kingdoms of Siam and Tonquin, of China, of Sumatra, and, indeed, of all the countries of Southern Asia, situated beyond the Indus, and extending to the north of China. This species of animal has long abounded in the above countries, while the Asiatic lion, on the contrary, has only been known within a few years. The average height of the tiger is about three feet, and the length nearly six feet. The species, however, varies considerably in size, and individuals have often been found much taller and longer than the lion. The peculiar markings of the tiger's skin, are well known. On a ground of yellow, of various shades in different specimens, there is a series of black transverse bars, varying in number from twenty to thirty, and becoming

PUMA OR COUGAR.-DOMESTIC CAT.

black rings on the tail, the number of which is, almost invariably, fifteen. There are oblique bands, also, on the legs. The pupils of the eyes are circular.

The tiger, like the lion, springs upon its prey from an ambush; and, in most cases, he is easily terrified by any sudden opposition from human beings. A party in India was once saved from a tiger, by a lady, who suddenly opened an umbrella, as she saw him about to spring. Our readers may remember the attack of a tigress upon the horses of the mail, on Salisbury plain in England, a few years ago. The creature had escaped from a travelling menagerie; and, not forgetting her natural habits, sprung upon the leaders as they passed her. The guard would have shot her; but her keepers drove her off, and she escaped to a haystack, under which she crept, and was retaken without difficulty. In narrow passages in Hindoostan, travellers have often been seized by tigers; or a bullock, or horse has fallen a victim to the ferocity of this prowling beast. Horses have such a dread of the tiger, that they can scarcely ever be brought to face him. Hunting him, therefore, on horseback, is a service of great danger. The elephant, on the contrary, though considerably agitated, will stand more steadily, while his rider anticipates the fatal spring by a shot which levels the tiger to the earth. One peculiarity of the tiger, is his willingness to take to the water, either when pursued, or in search of the prey which he espies on the opposite bank of a river.

The PUMA or COUGAR is a native of the American continent, and is principally found in Paraguay, Brazil, and Guiana. He is sometimes seen in the United States, where he is called panther or painter. He resembles the lion, both in color and voice; but is not as large, and has no mane. Capt. Head, in his "Journey across the Pampas,' relates the following interview between a man and a puma:

"The man was trying to shoot some wild ducks; and, in order to approach them unperceived, he put the corner of his poncho (which is a sort of long, narrow blanket,) over his head, and crawling along the ground upon his hands and knees, the poncho not only covered his body, but trailed along the ground behind him. As he was thus creeping by a large bush of reeds, he heard a loud sudden noise, between a bark and a roar : he felt something heavy strike his feet, and instantly jumping up, he saw, to his astonishment, a large puma, actually standing on his poncho; and perhaps the animal was equally astonished, to find himself in the immediate presence of so athletic a man. The man told me he was unwilling to fire, as his gun was loaded with very small shot; and therefore remained motionless, the puma standing on his poncho for many seconds; at last the creature turned his head, and walking very slowly away about ten yards, he stopped and turned again: the man still maintained his ground, upon which the animal tacitly acknowledged his supremacy, and walked off."

The DOMESTIC CAT is found in almost every country on the globe. It is probably a domesticated variety of the wild cat, for when suffered to retire to the woods, it soon becomes wild. A tame cat generally attains the age of twelve years. The food most agreeable to cats is the flesh of animals, or fish; they eat vegetable aliment only from necessity. There are, however, some plants of which they are very fond; of this