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THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

JANUARY, 1834.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

ART. I. Facts suggesting to Man his fittest Mode of defending himself from Attacks of Animals of the Feline and Canine Tribes. By CHARLES WATERTON, Esq.

A MAN, at some period or other of his life, may have the misfortune to come in contact with the larger individuals of these two desperate and sanguinary races of quadrupeds. Perhaps a few hints, of a precautionary nature, in case of collision, may not be altogether unacceptable to Mr. Loudon's readers.

The dog and the lion are both most formidable foes to an unarmed man; and it is singular enough that the very resistance which he would be forced to make, in order to escape being worried by the former, would inevitably expose him to certain destruction from the claws and teeth of the latter.

All animals of the dog tribe must be combated with might and main, and with unceasing exertion, in their attacks upon man: for, from the moment they obtain the mastery, they worry and tear their victim, as long as life remains in it. On the contrary, animals of the cat tribe having once overcome their prey, they cease, for a certain time, to inflict further injury on it. Thus, during the momentous interval from the stroke which has laid a man beneath a lion, to the time when the lion shall begin to devour him, the man may have it in his power to rise again, either by his own exertions, or by the fortuitous intervention of an armed friend. But then, all depends upon quiet, extreme quiet, on the part of the man, until he plunges his dagger into the heart of the animal: for, if he tries to resist, he is sure to feel the force of his adverVOL. VII.- No. 37.

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sary's claws and teeth with redoubled vengeance. Many years ago, Colonel Duff, in India, was laid low by the stroke of a Bengal tiger. On coming to himself, he found the animal standing over him. Recollecting that he had his dirk by his side, he drew it out of the case, in the most cautious manner possible, and, by one happy thrust quite through the heart, he laid the tiger dead at his side.

I will here mention a trivial row I once had with two dogs. It will tend to prove the advantage of standing up manfully, when attacked by animals of the canine tribe; and I will conclude with recounting an adventure with a lion, perhaps unparalleled in the annals of hunting.

Towards the close of the year 1823, in passing over a common, I accidentally came upon two dogs. One of them was a stout, ill-looking, uncouth brute, apparently of that genealogy which dog-fanciers term half bull and half terrier; the other was an insignificant female cur. The dog immediately bristled up; and I had just time to take off my hat, and hold it shieldwise, in self-defence, when he came on, and made directly at it. I gave him a hearty kick under the breast, which caused him to desist for a moment. But he stoutly renewed the attack, which was continued for above five minutes; he always flying at the hat, and I regularly repeating my kicks, sometimes slightly, sometimes heavily, according to our relative situations. In the mean time the female cur was assailing me from behind; and it was with difficulty that I succeeded in keeping her clear of me, by means of swinging my foot backwards at her. At last, a lucky blow on her muzzle, from the heel of my shoe, caused her to run away howling, and the dog immediately followed her, just at the moment when two masons were coming up to assist me. Thus, by a resolute opposition, I escaped laceration. But this little affair is scarcely worth relating, except that it affords a proof of the advantage to be derived from resisting the attack of a dog to the utmost.

And now for the feline tribe. The story which I am about to recount will show that nonresistance was the only plan to be pursued, when escape from death seemed utterly hopeless. The principals in this affair were a brave young British officer and a full-grown lion of India. I was at Frankfort on the Mayne in August last, and I heard the account from the officer's own mouth. I shall never forget the affable and unassuming manner in which he related it to me. I repeatedly urged him to allow me to put it on record, and, at the same time, to make use of his name; but I plainly saw that his feelings were against his complying with my request, and I think I should not have succeeded, had I not luckily brought

to my assistance the plea of benefit to natural history. With this I conquered the objections of the young soldier; and I only wish that it had fallen to an abler pen than mine to relate the following adventure.

In the month of July, 1831, two fine lions made their appearance in a jungle, some twenty miles distant from the cantonment of Rajcoté, in the East Indies, where Capt. Woodhouse, and his two friends, Lieutenants Delamain and Lang, were stationed. An elephant was despatched to the place in the evening on which the information arrived; and on the morrow, at the break of day, the three gentlemen set off on horseback, full of glee, and elated with the hope of a speedy engagement. On arriving at the edge of the jungle, people were ordered to ascend the neighbouring trees, that they might be able to trace the route of the lions, in case they left the cover. After beating about in the jungle for some time, the hunters started the two lordly strangers. The officers fired immediately, and one of the lions fell, to rise no more. His companion broke cover, and took off across the country. The officers now pursued him on horseback, as fast as the nature of the ground would allow, until they learned from the men who were stationed in the trees, and who held up flags by way of signal, that the lion had gone back into the thicket. Upon this, the three officers returned to the edge of the jungle, and, having dismounted from their horses, they got upon the elephant; Captain Woodhouse placing himself in the hindermost seat. They now proceeded towards the heart of the jungle, in the expectation of rousing the royal fugitive a second time. They found him standing under a large bush, with his face directly towards them. The lion allowed them to approach within range of his spring, and then he made a sudden dart at the elephant, clung on his trunk with a tremendous roar, and wounded him just above the eye. While he was in the act of doing this, the two lieutenants fired at him, but without success. The elephant now shook him off; but the fierce and sudden attack on the part of the lion seemed to have thrown him into the greatest consternation. This was the first time

he had ever come in contact with so formidable an animal; and much exertion was used before his riders succeeded in urging him on again in quest of the lion. At last, he became somewhat more tractable; but, as he was advancing through the jungle, all of a sudden, the lion, which had lain concealed in the high grass, made at him with redoubled fury. The officers now lost all hopes of keeping their elephant in order. He turned round abruptly, and was going away quite ungovernable, when the lion again sprang at him, seized his

hinder parts with his teeth, and hung on them, until the affrighted animal managed to shake him off by incessant kicking.

The lion retreated farther into the thicket; Captain Woodhouse, in the mean time, firing a random shot at him, which proved of no avail; as the jolting of the elephant, and the uproar of the moment, prevented him from taking a steady aim. No exertions on the part of the officers could now force the terrified elephant to face his fierce foe, and they found themselves reduced to the necessity of dismounting. Determined, however, to come to still closer quarters with the formidable king of quadrupeds, Capt. Woodhouse took the desperate resolution to proceed on foot in quest of him; and, after searching about for some time, he saw the lion indistinctly through the bushes, and discharged his rifle at him; but he was pretty well convinced that he had not hit him; for he saw the lion retire, with the utmost composure, into the thicker parts of the brake. The two lieutenants, who had remained at the outside of the jungle, joined their companion, on hearing the report of his gun.

The weather was intolerably sultry. After vainly spending a considerable time in creeping through the grass and bushes, with the hope of discovering the place of the lion's retreat, they concluded that he had passed quite through the jungle, and gone off in an opposite direction. Resolved not to let their game escape, the lieutenants returned to the elephant, and immediately proceeded round the jungle, expecting to discover the route which they conjectured the lion had taken. Captain Woodhouse, however, remained in the thicket, and, as he could discern the print of the animal's feet on the ground, he boldly resolved to follow up the track, at all hazards. The Indian gamefinder, who continued with his commander, at last espied the lion in the cover, and pointed him out to the captain, who fired, but unfortunately missed his mark. There was now no alternative left but to retreat and load his rifle. Having retired to a distance, he was joined by Lieutenant Delamain, who had dismounted from his elephant on hearing the report of the gun. This unexpected meeting increased the captain's hopes of ultimate success. He lost no time in pointing out to the lieutenant the place where he would probably find the lion, and said he would be up with him in a moment or two.

Lieutenant Delamain, on going eight or ten paces down a sheep-track, got a sight of the lion, and instantly discharged his rifle at him.

"Impetus est fulvis, et vasta leonibus ira!"

"Vast is their fury and as vast their power."-EUSDEN'S Trans. This irritated the mighty lord of the woods, and he rushed towards him, breaking through the bushes (to use the captain's own words)" in most magnificent style." Captain Woodhouse now found himself placed in an awkward situation. He was aware that if he retraced his steps, in order to put himself in a better position for attack, he would just get to the point from which the lieutenant had fired, and to which the lion was making: wherefore, he instantly resolved to stand still, in the hopes that the lion would pass by, at a distance of four yards or so, without perceiving him, as the intervening cover was thick and strong. In this, however, he was most unfortunately deceived; for the enraged lion saw him in passing, and flew at him with a dreadful roar. In an instant, as though it had been done by a stroke of lightning, the rifle was broken and thrown out of the captain's hand, his left arm, at the same moment, being seized by the claws, and his right by the teeth, of his desperate antagonist. While these two brave and sturdy combatants, "whose courage none could stain," were yet standing in mortal conflict, Lieutenant Delamain ran up, and discharged his piece full at the lion. This caused the lion and the captain to come to the ground together, while Lieutenant Delamain hastened out of the jungle to reload his gun. The lion now began to craunch the captain's arm; but as the brave fellow, notwithstanding the pain which this horrid process caused, had the cool determined resolution to lie still, the lordly savage let the arm drop out of his mouth, and quietly placed himself in a couching position, with both his paws upon the thigh of his fallen foe. While things were in this untoward situation, the captain, unthinkingly, raised his hand to support his head, which had got placed ill at ease in the fall. No sooner, however, had he moved it, than the lion seized the lacerated arm a second time; craunched it, as before, and fractured the bone still higher up. This additional memento mori from the lion was not lost upon Captain Woodhouse; it immediately put him in mind that he had committed an act of imprudence in stirring. The motionless state in which he persevered after this broad hint showed that he had learned to profit by the painful lesson.

He now lay, bleeding and disabled, under the foot of a mighty and an irritated enemy. Death was close upon him, armed with every terror calculated to appal the heart of a

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