The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-07-20
THE MOUNTAIN LION.
The Biggest and Most Power.
full OF Wildcats.
Able to Whip Grizzlies and to Leap Tremen-
dous Distances.

NAoS VI Ill dEClClC Oh the
mountain lion, o rrespondcnt of the
Dan francisco Cal, writing from South
erh california, says: The power of the
puma Is not exaggerated, and many in
Stances are ON record where grizzlies have
Deen found dead, and torn in a way that
showed that the mountain lion must
nave done the work. Instances of their
re"arkablc jumping powers are very
common In the East, and South, and in
this country near the McCloud River.
where the animals are very common, Mr..
Livingston Stone followed their tracks
10 the foot of Mount P%erscphone, where
tncy ~convcrgcd to the foot of a cliff
twenty feet in height, showing that to
reach their home the lions must b,vo
taken this leap directly up.
Ihe mountain lion is remarkable for
us VIDE geographical range. When I
was on the Florida reef some years ono
the wrcckers on the key complained
that a panther, as they called it there,
had swum across from the main land and
carried OIL Il pig, while another shoat had
us ear bitten off. In the A~driondacks it
IS comparatively Common, and known rs
the painter among the woodsmen. In
TACT, 1t ranges both continents, from the
otralts of Magellan north to Canada.
In South America it is known rs the
puma; in California the American lion or
cougar, while the carcajou or q%uinqua-
Jou and catamount are other titles riycn
IL IN various lands. The American lion.
however, is its true title, as it is the lar
gcst cat IN this country, and takes the
place OF the lion there. Long, slender,
and graceful i'll its motions, 1.-the and
powerful, it is the type of agility and
strength; and if it does not possess the
courage of the African cats it has ouitc
enough when hemmed in. t. give thc
hunter 4 good fight. I hn. been in
formed that n specimen has been killed
IN this State six feet in length, including
the tail, and this may be considered the
maximum size. In such an animal the
he'ght at the shoulder would be about
two feet and one or two inches. A puma
was kept at Woodward's, III San Fran
CISCO, that was nearly as large rs an
African %lioncss, measuring four feet from
the tip of the snout to the root of the tail
In contrasting he puma with Others it
Will be noticed that its head is smaller in
proportion to the size of the body than
oil other cats except, perhaps, the Loop
0Tu. IhP SEnlI &c ,1,D,S& -:-lL 80 |
long and five and thrcc-eisht inches
WIDE. The color Of all the pumas that it
hasTbccn my good fortune to sec has been
a uniform reddish, becoming lighter be-
low. There are no markings exccpt in
the young, upon which there arc several
rows of stripes and spots on the back and
sides.
Thc panther has been the subject of
many thrilling adventures, in books. but
l have never been able to find a single in
stance in the East where one Of these ami.
mails voluntarily attacked thurman being.
though when wounded they make a saw
age resistance. So, too, the books con-
tain accounts of the roars of the panther
when 1t was wandering about the camp
at night, and while 1 have spent consid-
cradle time in the most impcnctrablc
parts of the. Adirondacks, where these
sounds are supposed to be frequent, it
was never my good fortune to hear the
roar of the American lion; and, moreover,
L found that all old hunters said that it
was an extremely quiet animal, following
its prey silently.
In South America the natives tell many
of its cunning that are to be re-
ccivcd with some caution. One of these
tales is that it initiates the blcatinc of the
deer so accurately that these animals are
lured within it's reach.
The greatest pest in Southern Califor-
MIA to the farmer is the wildcat. II at {
quite a large size among the foot {
hills, and commits great d~cprcdations in {
chicken yards. A friend recently caught ,
one that had n record of forty chickens !
before it was finally trapped; and thet a
he creatures are vicious and viii fight q
when cornered there is little doubt. The G
friend heard a noise in his chicken +
coop one night some time ago, and going i
revolver in hand, saw in the dim
light a large cat. He fred twice in rap. t
q succession, when the animal sprang. il
'ut caught the third bullet ia mid air. a
nd dropped dead at his feet. G.
The GOODNESS of these creatures is pro-