Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 20, August 13, 1870Various
General
Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 20, August 13, 1870
Various
American wit and humor -- Periodicals
At last, after an exciting ride over roads that had perhaps never been
trod before by human wheels, Mr. P. reached the great Kauterskill
Falls--that lovely freak of nature which has been celebrated in all
ages, and of which the poet says:
"The noble splash Niagara gives,
In thee, fair Kauterskill, still lives;
All but the mighty roar and size.
And clamor of wild hackmen's cries."
[Illustration]
This view of the Falls is from a sketch by Mr. P. himself.
(He will send a beautiful chromo of it--seventeen and a fourteenth by
eighteen and thirteen fifteenths of an inch--life size,--and a copy of
the paper for nine years, for thirty-four dollars and a quarter--postage
paid.)
* * * * *
COMIC ZOOLOGY.
GENUS FELIS.--THE LION.
The Lion is a Cat, and has probably been a greater Scourge to humanity
than any other of the feline race, with the exception of the nine-tailed
variety, now almost extinct. He is known in Africa as the _Rad_, an
Arabic word signifying thunder, and not, as the superficial philologist
might suppose, a contraction of the name of a political party in this
country that at present enjoys the Lion's share of the spoils. It is
true that some of the American Rads are immense brutes, but in other
respects they do not bear much resemblance to the "lord with a big head"
which infests the African and Asiatic continents. Much has been said of
the pluck and endurance of the Lion, but his heart often fails him in
the hour of danger, and he sometimes Caves in without showing as much
Bottom as is displayed by his counterfeit presentment on the stage. In
short, like the Noble Savage of our own wilds, his moral attributes have
been greatly exaggerated. He prowls through the woods at night in search
of the herbivora which constitute his prey, but generally vanishes at
the appearance of Aurora. The Rad also makes tremendous havoc among the
stock in many parts of the East, but has never been known to molest the
Bullock in Georgia.
Among the sports who have particularly distinguished themselves as
assailants of the Lion, may be mentioned SAMSON, HERCULES, NIMROD, JULES
GERARD, Captain CUMMING, Sir SAMUEL BAKER, VAN AMBURGH, and CHARLES
SUMNER, of Massachusetts. The last named gentleman, who is not generally
looked upon as an ardent votary of the Chase, some time ago attacked the
British Lion (_Leo Britannicus_) with tremendous ferocity, injuring that
somewhat superannuated beast as much as it was possible to do with a
short range air-gun at the distance of three thousand miles. For a
moment the shaggy monster looked angrily across the Main at
Massachusetts, but was soon satisfied that his antagonist was feinting,
whereupon he yawned, winked lazily at an adjacent Unicorn, and relapsed
into his customary state of doze. He evidently regards American
Lion-shooters as a Motley throng, from whom nothing serious is to be
apprehended.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account