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
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.