it with his teeth, tore the plank up, and drew out every nail with the
utmost ease; which action will give a good idea of the muscular strength
of this creature.

It is impossible to say why there should be such conflicting accounts of
the hyaena, given by those whose veracity is undoubted. No one dreads
them on the Gold Coast, but they seem to be the terror of all the
inhabitants at, and to the north of the Cape, also in Abyssinia, where
Bruce called them "the plagues of their lives," and we can scarcely
forbear a smile, when we read that one of them stood by his bed-side,
with a purloined bunch of candles in his mouth; having found his way to
him even through the streets of Gondar.

THE CAT TRIBE.--LIONS.

I must be allowed to give a somewhat more lengthened description than I
have bestowed on other animals, to the Felidae, or Cat-tribe, because
the same characters serve for all; size and colour being almost the only
difference among those of which I shall treat. Grace and strength are
their universal attributes, the latter lying chiefly in the fore parts
of their frames; such as their paws, legs, shoulders, neck and jaws; the
former in their arched and rounded form, and the extreme suppleness of
their joints. Their muzzle is short and round, some of their teeth are
of enormous size and strength, their sight is very acute both by night
and day; their eyes are set obliquely in the head, and always glare in
the dark; and sometimes by day when they are in a rage. It is only in
the smaller tribes that the pupil is vertically linear, when the full
light causes it to contract. The ears are large, and the sense of
hearing much developed. Their smell is not equally perfect, and the
roughness of their tongue shews, that their taste cannot be very
delicate. This roughness is caused by the horny papillae, or small
projections, with points directed backwards, which cover the tongue, and
enable it to lick the flesh from the bones of their food. They have long
bristles on each side of the mouth, which form the most sensitive organs
of touch; each bristle being inserted in a bed of glands under the skin,
communicating with a nerve. The claws of the Felidae are extremely
strong, sharp, and crooked; and all four-feet are furnished with them,
five before, and four behind; and the most effective system of muscular
contrivance not only gives such force to the fore-paws, that a blow from
one of these will fracture a man's skull