Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/522

 516 LION LIPANS a frizzled fur, brindled or clouded with dark brown, and with a dark dorsal line ; the shaggy mane and tufted tail begin to appear about the third year, attaining their full development in the seventh or eighth ; the average age of the lion is about 25 years, though individuals have lived in confinement much longer than this. As seen in menageries, the lion is one of the most tractable of the large felidce, and shows gratitude and attachment to those who treat it kindly ; it is susceptible of being trained to perform certain feats, and to permit familiari- ties with its formidable jaws and claws which make the spectators shudder; whipping, pull- ing open the jaws, and placing the head with- in the range of their teeth, evince a rash courage in their keepers which few but a Van Amburgh or Driesbach would care to imitate. The lion of the menagerie is a very different animal from that seen in its native wilds; hunting it in Africa is not a very dangerous sport for men of nerve, though it is rarely indulged in for the mere sake of sport unless by a Gerard or a Gumming. The natives oc- casionally assemble to destroy it, when their flocks have suffered severely ; on these, occa- sions the animal is worried in the daytime, when it is timid and unable to see very clearly, or when satiated with food, by dogs and men, and is generally easily killed if the hunters have the courage to approach within gun-shot. Livingstone, though he had sufficient reason for dreading the king of beasts, speaks of him in a manner which detracts greatly from his regal and magnanimous character; according to him, the lion fears man, except at night, and never attacks him unless from necessity, a " man-eater " being always an old animal, whose decaying teeth force him to come to the villages in search of prey ; seen in the day- time, he finds nothing very majestic in his ap- pearance, but merely an animal somewhat larger than the largest dog, partaking very strongly of the canine features, and very unlike the usual representations ; he stands a second or two gazing, turns and walks slowly away for a dozen paces, looking over the shoulder, then begins to trot, and, when nearly out of sight, bounds off like a greyhound. By day there is not, as a rule, the smallest danger of lions which are not molested attacking a man, nor even on a clear moonlight night, unless during breeding time ; travellers always tie up their cattle and horses on dark rainy nights, but not on moonlight ones. The approach of the lion is stealthy, and any appearance of a trap will prevent his making a spring. Lions are abundant where game is plenty; six or eight, probably one family, occasionally hunt together. Livingstone says : " One is in much more danger of being run over when walk- ing in the streets of London, than he is of being devoured by lions in Africa, unless engaged in hunting the animal." As to the roar of the lion, he says that in a dark and stormy night and in an exposed situation it might inspire fear, but not otherwise, and that the ostrich makes a noise as loud and with difficulty distinguishable from it; as to his prowess, a large buffalo is more than a match for him, as a single toss would disable him; lions never approach a full-grown elephant, and rush off at the very sight of a rhinoceros. Gordon Gumming does not write so disrespect- fully of the king of beasts, but is delighted with his noble appearance, regards his roar as extremely grand and powerful, and from per- sonal experience considers lion hunting under all circumstances decidedly a dangerous pur- suit. The Asiatic variety of the lion is in- ferior in size, strength, and fierceness, with less ample mane, of a uniform pale fawn color, and with less width of head and nobleness of bearing. Lion hunting in Asia is attended with great pomp and show, and with comparatively little danger on account of the open nature of the districts infested by them, and the conse- quent fair mark they present to the bullet; occasionally an enraged and wounded animal gives evidence of his strength by pulling the largest elephant to the ground, to the great peril of his riders. The maneless lion of Guze- rat, described by Capt. Smee, is probably a variety of the preceding. Guvier and others describe a fossil lion (F. spelcea) as occurring in the caverns of the diluvial epoch in Europe as far north as Great Britain; some of the fragments found indicate an animal one fourth larger than the existing lion; their remains are found with those of bears and hyssnas in the caverns of Kirkdale and Gailenreuth, though less abundant. LIPANS, a tribe of American Indians, a branch of the Apaches. In the last century they roamed from the Rio Grande and the borders of Chi- huahua to the grounds of the Comanches, and made war on the Spanish frontiers and the more settled tribes. In 1721 they killed the mis- sionary Father Joseph Pita at a place which was called in consequence Carniceria. They resembled their allies the Comanches in their habits, but were more enterprising and war- like. They made some progress in civilization, and many learned to speak Spanish. They thus came to figure in the revolutions of Mexico; 300 Lipans under Capt. Menchaca formed part of the force which captured Hidalgo in Coahuila in 1811 ; and in 1813 a party of them under Capt. McFarland were engaged in the battle of Resales, where the Spaniards were defeated. When Texas became a republic, the Lipans were next to the Comanches the most power- ful tribe in its territory. They ranged from Austin to Corpus Christi, and, though brave and daring, seem not to have often molested the Texans, but plundered the Mexicans. In the summer of 1848 a collision occurred with the Texans, with loss on both sides. The Lipans then retired up the Brazos, and began a desolating war. They gave up their Mexican prisoners in 1851, and were advised to avoid the hostility of the Texans, whose settlements