Wichita eagle., 1888-11-10
HUNTING WILDCATS.

She was bark rugged ana was built in
1873. -
HUNTING WILDCATS.
THE PASADENA HUNT CLUBS DAY
WITH THE CALIFORNIA LYNX.
New Edition Of the Game Of PUSSY In .
Corner"-The Game, Perched Upon .
Sycamore Limb-In . Whirlwind Of
Ferocious Hounds.
SIS this coon or fox huntf" asks lady
on q spirited little bronco. 81 came out
Tor Wildcats"
"And you shall have one" said the master
Of the hounds, as the bay Of old ''Music"
broke the stiffness "If that isn't cat am
greatly mistaken. Stand back, gentlemen
be cried, as moment later the sounds grew
louder, and then the whole pack swept by az
if in review by the sweating chatting horses;
away they go, living whirlwind, the horses
leaping after. The plunging, rearing,
scrambling is indescribable Down the bank,
up the other side, the green hands cursing,
while the old climbers scramble over and
find themselves in the thickness Of thick ar
royo jungles. Shouts come from all about.
Some see the game, and some merely think
they do; but finally, amid a perfect pande-
monium, comes the welcome sound, "Treedl"
The horses come struggling up, some
without riders and riders without hats
Some are caught in the briars and seem I'M
able to get out, but finally the field il
assembled around big sycamore, about
which the dogs are grouped, making music.
Some attempt to climb and fall back. One
young dog gains ten feet up the slippery
trunk, only to slide down again. What is it
all about7 Cast your eyes upward fifty
yes, sixty feet, and there is the object of all
the work, sport, early rising and general up
roar-the arch chicken thief himself How
big he looks crouching on a big limb, backed
against the trunk, looking down at his tor
mentors; his two eyes blazing green and vel
low, his ears twitching nervously, and the
short tail moving back and forth, indicative
of rage and fear. freed surely, but caughta
No, indeed The chances are that he will
make another tree before the finish
"Give him chance to rest, )" says the mas
ter Of the hounds, who believes in fair play,
If anything. "He is winded, and so are the
They sit and look with eager eyes, tongues
hanging out, and white, froth flecked teeth,
showing formidable array for poor puss,
who looks down to almost certain death.
Still, cats are said to have nine lives, and he
does not propose to give them up SO readily.
A CIRCLE AROUND TIT TREE
''Now, ladies and gentlemen" says tho
huntsman, "form yourselves in circle about
the tree, and give the dogs full play, and
don't shoot; the hounds have worked for the
cat and they deserve It Again, it is the
most humane way Of looking at it; the dogs
will kill the cat sooner than bullet"
With the little speech delivered for the
benefit Of the excitable tenderfeet in the
hunt, the horses are arranged in big circle
about the sycamore, and a young man who
wishes to beard the lion in its den crawls
slowly up. As he draws nearer the cat the
latter looks around in desperation. The tail
twitches quicker and more nervously; glanc-
ing down at the open mouthed dogs, then at
the approaching human enemy, the poor ami
NAL is evidently considering the chances.
Nearer the clinker comes, until man and cat
gaze into each others eyes scarce three feet
away. For a moment puss hesitates; then,
turning quickly, he steadies himself, and
with mighty spring, is in the air. Down
he goes fifty feet, bounces among the bush, q
mass Of springs, steel and rubber, and is
away. He has landed just beyond the circle
and horse has dashed aside to let him pass,
followed by the pack in full cry. They go
like flash Of light, a roaring, crashing
sound; scream-and puss is again visible,
perched upon the limb of another bigfsyca-
more.
The same thing is repeated again and
again, and the ladies repent, and cries Of
''Let her go" "Poor puss," are heard among
the baying of the dogs that are growing
fairly mad with unappeased foreclosures
Again the young man faces the cat, this time
fully sixty feet from the ground. Surely, If
ever an animal had won its liberty, this one
had. But the game is up; the dogs are
spreading, and as out into the air the cat
leaps, in magnificent form they collect.
Down he comes like gigantic flying squirrel
with legs spread far apart, the soft cushion
like pads ready for rebound. Like fash
he cuts the air, strikes the ground at the
writer's feet and is enyeloped in a whirlwind
of ferocious hounds.
THE AGONY rs OVER
The agony Of the cat is over in q second,
but the dogs fight, war and struggle until
each has vented his rage upon the inanimate
skin, that is now borne aloft as a trophy.
Not a few of the dogs but have not felt the
sharp teeth and claws Of the vicious cat that
tips the scales at fifty pounds.
"WeI,n said a tenderfoot, ''for up and
down excitement that beats anything evsr
saw or heard Of It makes your very hair
stand on end, and / fancy that II the cat
should strike any one during the jump be
would in all probability go under"
Two other cats were freed, and those, with
. coon and coyote, constituted the mornings
hunt Like fishing, wildcat hunting changes
Sometimes they are plentiful, and again not
one is seen In all several hundred of these
mischievous animals have been killed by the
hounds Of Mr. Bandini, and the sport may
be ranked with any in excitement, while
being followed on horseback it affords ride
through one of the most delightful portions
Of the southern country.
The wildcat of this country, while not 50
large as its cousin Of Colorado and other
states, is large and powerful animal for a
cat, averaging forty or fifty pounds, with
small tassels upon its ears, high rump and
small, ridiculously small tail, which, how
ever, Is a very expressive organ
The wildcat is, according to some suthori-
ties, the ancestor OF the present domestic
cat. The long tail Of the house cat may be
accounted for by assuming that generations
Of boys in pulling the tails OF cats have pro-
duced the elongated csudal appendage.
The southern California wildca. is, pro-
lxu~ b~oinc vnr:a<v -