The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-10-27
THE AMERICAN PANTHER.
Some Facts About the Largest Feline
Animal in the Country.


The mountain lion is remarkable for
its wide geographical range. W hen |
was on the Florida reef some years ago.
the wreckers on the key complained
that 4 panther. rs they called it there.
had swan across the mainland and car
ried off pig, while another shoat had
its ear bitten off Ia the Adirondaeks
it Is comparatively -ommon, and known
as the painter among the woodsmen.
Ia fact. it ranges both continents, from
the Straits OF Magellan north 10 Canada.
In South America it is known as the
puma; IN California the American lion
or cougar, while the carcaJou or quin-
quaiou and catamount or other titles is
given it in various lands. The Ameri-
can lion, however, is its true title. as it
is the largest cat in this country and
takes the place of the lion here. Long,
slender and graceful in its motions,
1.-THE and powerful. 1t is the type of
agility and strength; and if it does not
possess the courage of the African cats
it has quite enough, when hemmed in.
to give the hunter good fight. | have
been formed that a specimen has
been killed in this State six feet in
be considered the maximum size. In
such an animal the height at the shoul-
der would be about two feet and one or
two inches. A puma was kept AT Wood
ward s. in San Francisco (whether it is
there now ] do not know, that was
nearly as large as an African lioness,
measuring four feet from the tip of the
snout to the root of the tail. In con-
trasting the puma with Others. it viii be
noticed that its head IS smaller in pro-
portion to the size Of the body than all
other cats except, perhaps, the leopard.
The skull Is about eight inches long
and five and three-eighths inches wide.
The color of all the pumas that it has
been my good fortune to see has been
a uniform reddish brown. becoming
lighter below. There are no markings
except IN the young, upon which there
are several rows of stripes and spots on
the back and sides,
The panther has been the subject of
many thrilling adventures in books, but
| have never been able to find a single
instance in the East where one of these
animals voluntarily attacked human
being, though when wounded they
make a savage resistance. So, too, the
books contain the accounts of the roars
of the panther when it was wandering
about the camp at night, and, while |
have spent considerable time in the
most impenetrable parts of the Adiron-
dacks, where these sounds are supposed
to be frequent, it WAS never my good
fortune to hear the roar of the American
lion, and, moreover, | found that all old
hunters said that it was an extremely
quiet animal. following its prey silently.
Ia South America the natives tell ma
ny stories of its cunning that are 10 be
received with some caution. One of
these tales is that it initiates the bleat-
| ing of the deer, so accurately that
these animals are lured within its reach
The greatest pest in Southern Cali
fornia to the farmer is the wildcat. 1t
attains quite large size among the
| foothills, and commits great depreda-
| tiOns in the chcken-yards. A friend
recently caught one that had n record
/ of forty chickens before it was finally
/ trapped; and that the creatures are
! vicious and will fight when cor
| nered there is little doubt. The same
| friend heard noise in his chieken-coop
one night some time ago. and. going
/ out revolver in hand, saw in the dim
/ light a large cat He fired twice in
rapid succession, when the animal
sprang, but caught the third bullet in
mid-air and dropped dead at his feet.
The GOODNESS of these creatures is
| proyerbial. at one time / followed the
Arroyo Seeo down from the mountain
| on horseback with Professor Wheeler,
OF the University of California. when as
we turned up road leading to Orange
Grove avenue, not a stones throw from
the thic6ly-scttled portion of Pasadena.
the largest wildcat | ever saw-indeed
] was inclined to think it the spotted
| lynx-stepped ont Of the bushes IN front
of our horses, sat down on its haunches
| and gazed at us. and finally, after each
party had satisfied its scrutiny. it leaped
into the bush and disappeared down
the steep sides of the canon. neither of
us having any weapon to stay it. 1t is
as have suggested. not possible that it
was the spotted lynx. that ranges south
as far as the City of Mexico. along the
Rio Grande country and into Southern
California. 1t is, however, quite rare,
and have never heard of specimen
having been caught here. This animal,
| while it seems to differ from the COM
mon lynx, is in reality only a variety,
the animal varying in a remarkable
way in color and the arrangement Of
spots. Wildcat hunting may be in
cluded in what is called doubtful sport.
Good dogs are needed to tree the ami
mails, when they can be picked off with
the riae.-Cor. of The San francisco
(Can) Call.