can get
anything good without taking a little trouble for it. And to have seen
this greatest of all natural caverns is worth far more labor and
fatigue than we have expended on its exploration. There is nothing
like it in the known world.

THE LION.

[Illustration: THE LION'S HOME.]

I do not desire to be wanting in respect to the Lion. Because I
asserted that it was my opinion that he should resign the throne of
the King of Beasts to the Elephant, I do not wish to deprive him of
any part of his just reputation.

The Lion, with the exception of any animal but the Elephant, the
Rhinoceros, the Hippopotamus, and such big fellows, is the strongest
of beasts. Compared to Tigers and Panthers, he is somewhat generous,
and compared to most of the flesh-eating animals, he is quite
intelligent. Lions have been taught to perform certain feats when in a
state of captivity; but, as all of us know who have seen the
performing animals in a menagerie, he is by no means the equal of a
Dog or an Elephant.

The Lion appears to the greatest advantage in the midst of his family.
When he and his wife are taking their walks abroad they will often fly
before a man, especially if he is a white man.

But at home, surrounded by their little ones, the case is different.
Those cubs, in the picture of the Lion's home, are nice little
fellows, and you might play with them without fear of more than a few
scratches. But where is the brave man who would dare to go down among
those rocks, armed with guns, pistols, or whatever he pleased, and
take one of them!

I do not think he lives in your town.

We never see a Lion looking very brave or noble in a cage. Most of
those that I have seen appeared to me to be excessively lazy. They had
not half the spirit of the tigers and wolves. But, out in his native
country, he presents a much more imposing spectacle, especially if
one can get a full view of him when he is a little excited. Here is a
picture of such a Lion as you will not see in a cage.

[Illustration]

Considering his size, the strength of the Lion is astonishing. He will
kill an ox with one blow of his great paw, if he strikes it on the
back, and then seizing it in his great jaws, he will carry it off
almost as easily as you could carry a baby.

And when he has carried his prey to the spot where he chooses to have
his dinner, he shows that no beast can surpass him in the meat-eating
line. When he has satisfied his hunger on