Morning journal and courier., 1888-11-12
CLOSE WORK WITH A B0B-oAT.
One of the Ugliesf Brutes of the Forest tOTackle Is the Canadian Lynx.

One of the UgAiesf BruteB of the Forest
 to Tackle Is the Canadian Lynx.
 From the Boston Traveerl
 To those who have never penetrated into the heart of the Adirondack wilderness or spent night in a Canadian trapper's camp, the word ''bob-cat" may seem slightly for 1 eign. and will, no doubt, need translation. The hunters and guides of the Adirondack region, and throughout the Canadian border, apply this term to the Canada lynx, on ac- count of it's resemblance to a tailless cat; or rather 8 cat with only an apology for tail -"bob oat," or lynx. ''He gets there just the same," as the following story, told by an old hunter, goes to prove. I will not at tempt to initiate his peculiar dialect but otherwise tell it just as he told me, sitting 1 round roaring fire in the heart of the Ad- ! irondaeks:
 t'Twas a warm morning in September 1894 l when I shouldered my rife and started with ! my dog for the Giants Basin hoping to bring l home fine buck for the venison was run 1 ming low at the camp, and in this region winter sets in early and when first here stays. The basin was favorite lick for deer, and this fall had been a plentiful one for them. The road led through sunny keene Valley, l where it turned up the mountain and led toI l the rest of the way along the dry lodge of g mountain stream. At last the basin was l reached and after waiting an hour or more | my patience was rewarded by obtaining fat 1 young buck which l quartered and hung or
 tree, to await the arrival of party of trap
 pers who were going to join me at the basiI ! on the following morning.
 1 "Before preparing for the night took il
 into my head to have partridge for supper
 and started out accordingly.
 ! tsLuck seemed against me, and was about | to turn back for the basin, when to my dis
 may had not the least idea which way te
 turn, and i5 had grown very dark, the wind
 had come up, and every appearance of z
 cold night pervaded the air. While pon.
 dering what to do, the wind brought to my ears cry or moan faint ss to be hardly
 heard above the whispering balsams, but
 all doubt was removed by a second cry, much nearer and more distinct than the first
 I now realized what the cry meant, and
 knew that the smell of fresh venison had at-
 tracted the nose of one of the ugiest ami mals of the forest, the Canadian lynx, or I ''bob cat" l ''Before could make ready for an attack or find place of shelter, the boughs ahead of me parted, and with yell the lynx, for | such it proved to be, sprang straight for my shoulders and would have struck me full l in the chest had I not retained presence of mind to drop on one knee, and thus receive | the whole weight of the animal on my heels. 1 We both turned, but the cat was little bit l quicker, and, catching my arms in his open l jaws, rolled me over on my back, and at the | same time settled his claws well into my 1 hunting jacket. With the arm that was free I struggled desperate to reach my hunting | knife, that might sooner end the struggle, ! which was beginning to severely tell on my strength. At last my arm was free of his jaws; he had dropped it, in order to use his teeth to better effect on my throat, and had nearly accomplished this when from under the bushes saw black shaggy mass fly
 through the air and fasten itself on the back of the cat, who rolled over and prepared for | another struggle, which I ended by plungine my knife to his heart, and thus saving my
 dog, for it was my watchful friend, from g
 struggle that must inevitably end in a victory for the bob cat.'
 'T slept that night with lynx for pillow
 and dog for footboard, and was awakened
 the next morning by trsppers who had
 come in search of me, not finding me at ths
 basin. By the aid of poles we carried the cal
 home, and when measured it was found tc
 reach twelve feet, tip to tip, being the larges
 specimen of the kind ever killed in tht
 country"