The Opelousas courier., 1886-07-17
THE MOUNTAIN LION.
The Biggest and Most Power
full OF Wildcats.
Able to Whip Grizzlies md to Leap Trsmen-
douseD Distances.

HouulaiA lioh, u S~oiIoopoAuohI Vi CuC
San Francisco Gail, writing from South
ern California, says: The power of the
puma is not exaggerated, and many in
stances are on record where grizzlie, ha re
been found dead, and torn in a way that
showed that the mountain lion must
have done the work. Instances of their
remarkable jumping powers are very
common in the East, and South, and in
this country near the McCloud River,
! where the animals arc very common, Mr..
Livingston Stone followed their tracks
to the foot of Mount Persephone, where
! they converged to the foot of a cliff
twenty feet in height, showing that to
reach their home the lions must have
taken this leap directly up.
The mountain lion is remarkable for
its wide geographical range. When !
was on the Florida reef soma years ago,
the wreckers on the key complained
that a panther, as they called it there,
udu SWu LII dCIOSS ifoHl tuC HIGH ldHu duo
carried off a pig, while another shoat had
its ear bitten off. In the Adriondacks it
is comparatively common, and known as
the painter among the woodsmen. In
fact, it ranges both continents, from the
Straits of Magellan north to Canada.
In South America it is known as the
puma; in California the American lion or
cougar, while the carcajou or ~quinqua-
jou and catamount are other titles given
! it in various lands. The American lion,
however, is its true title, as it Is the lar
gest cat in this country, and takes the
place of the lion there. Long, slender,
and graceful in 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 il has quite
enough when hemmed in, to give the
hunter a good fight. I have been in
formed that a 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
height at the shoulder would be about
two feet and one or two inches. A puma
was kept at Woodward's, In San Fran
cisco, 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 contrasting the puma with others it
will be noticed that its head is smaller in
proportion to the size of the body than
Ill other cats except, perhaps, the Loop
lrd. The skull is about eight inches
ong and five and three-eight inches
vide. The color of all the pumas that it
las been my good fortune to see has been
luniform reddish, becoming lighter be-
ow. There are no markings except in
the young, upon which there are several
lows of stripes and spots on the back and
tides.
The panther has been the subject of
many thrilling adventures, in books, but
have never been able TO find a singlein
stance in the East where one of these ami
mails voluntarily attacked ahuman being,
though when wounded they make a saw
age resistance. So, too, the books con-
tain accounts of the roars of the panther
when it was wandering about the camp
1t night, and while Ihave spent consid-
cradle time in the most impenetrable
parts of the Adirondacks, where these
sounds are supposed to be frequent, it
was never my good fortune to heaA 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.
In South America the natives tell many
stories of its cunning that are to be re-
ceived with some caution. One of these
tales is that it initiates the bleating of the
deer so accurately that these animals are
lured within its reach.
The greatest pest in Southern Califor-
MIA to the farmer is the wildcat. 1t at
tains quite a large size among the foot
hills, and commits great depredations in
chicken yards. A friend recently caught
one that had a record of forty chickens
before it was finally trapped; and that
the creatures are viciou, and will fight
when cornered there is little doubt. The
same friend heard a noise in his chicken
coop n night some time ago, and going
out, revolver in hand, saw in the dim
light a large cat. He fired twice in rap
Id succession, when the animal sprane,
but caught the third bullet in mid air.
and dropped dead at his feet.
The GOODNESS of these creatures is pro-
verbal. A few weeks ago / followed
the Arroyo Seco down the mountain ON
horseback with Professor Wheeler of the
University of California, when as we
turned up q road leading to Orange
avenue, not a stones throw from the
thickiey settled portion of Pasadena, the
largest wildcat | ever saw, indeed, I was
inclined to think it the spotted lynx,
stepped out of the bushes in front of our
horses, sat down on its launches and
gazed at us, and finally, after each party
had satisfied its scrutiny, it leaped into
the bush and disappeared down the steep