Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-02
HUNTING WILDCATS.
THE PASADENA HUNT CLUBS DAY
WITH TIE CALIFORNIA LYNX.

THE PASADENA HUNT CLUBS DAY
WITH TIE CALIFORNIA LYNX.
New Edition of the Game of Pussy in q
Corner"-Tho Game, Pefthed Upon n
Sycamore Limb-In whirlwind Of
Ferocious Hounds.
sis this coon or fox huntF' asks lady |
on spirited little bronco 81 came out |
for Wildcats
And you shall have one,n said the master
Of the hounds, the bay of old Music"
broke the stiffness "If that isn't a cat am
greatly mistaken. Stand back, gentlemen
he cried, as a moment later the sounds grew
louder, and then the whole pack swept by as
If in review by the sweating chatting horses
away they CO. a living whirlwind, the horses
'eaping after The plunging, rearing,
Srambling is indescribable. Down the bank,
W Cne other side the green hands cursing,
"u,e the old climbers scramble over and
h''l themselves in the thickness of thick ar
ssoyo ltngles. Shouts come from all about.
some See the game, and some merely think
ICY 10; but finally, amid perfect pande-
n, 'nlum, comes the welcome sound, "Treedr'
- horses tcome struggling up, some
without 1gierS and riders without hats.
Some are caught in the briars and seem I'M
able TO get out, but finally the field is
assembled around big sycamore, about
which the dogs are grouped, making music.
Some attemp, 10 climb and fall back One
young dog gains ten feet up the slippery
L. II l.. II
all about. 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 be looks crouching on big limb, backed
against the trunk looking down at his tor
mentors; his two eyes blazing green and vel
low, hi, ears twitnhing nervously. and the
short tail moving back and forth, indicative
of rage and fear. freed surely, but caughti
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. ale is winded, and so are the
dogs" But the hitter do not care to wait.
They sit and look with eager eyes, tongues
hanging osss-irfd white, froth fecked teeth,
w. tuhs formidable array for poor puss,
who looks down 10 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 THE TREE
"Now, Indies and gentlemen" says the
huntSman, form yourselves in a 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 a big circle
about the sycamore and 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 clirker 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, a
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. Thew 60
like flash of light, roaring, crashing
sound; a seresm-and puss is again visible,
perched upon the limb Of another bigssyca-
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 ferociousness
Again the young man faces the cat, this time
fully sixty feet from the ground Surely, ii
ever an animal had won It's 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 a gigantic flying squire
with legs spread far apart, the soft cushion
like pads ready for rebound. Like flast
he cuts the air, strikes the ground at the
writer's feet and is enveloped in whirlwinC
of ferocious hounds
THE AGONY Is OVER
The agony OF the eat is over in a second
but the dogs fight, war and struggle unit
each has vented his rage upon the inanimat,
skin, that is now borne aloft as a trophy
INpI u lew u tle i----1 blb nave NOT IefJ INT
sharp teeth and claws of the vicious cat thai
tips the scales at fifty pounds
"Wel,' said a tenderfoot, "for up anC
down excitement that beats anything eve
saw or heard of. 1t makes your very hai
stand on end, and l fancy that if the ca
should strike any one during the jump h
would in all probability go under"
Two other cats were freed, and those, wit
accom- and a coyote, constituted the morning
hunt. Like fishing, wildcat hunting change.
Sometimes they are plentiful, and again nc
one is seen. In all several hundred Of thes
mischievous animals have been killed by tn
hounds of Mr. Bandini, and the sport ma
be ranked with any in excitement, Will
being followed on horseback it affords rid
through one Of the most delightful portion
Of the southern country
The wildcat OF TINS country. while not
large as its cousin Of Colorado and othe
states, is large and powerful animal for
cat, averaging forty or fifty pounds, wit
small tassels upon its ears, high rump ar
small, ridiculously small tail, which, hoy
ever, Is very expressive organ.
The wildcat Is, according to some author
ties, the ancestor of the present domest
cat The long tail Of the house cat may
accounted for by assuming that generation
of boys in pulling the tails of cats have pr
duced the elongated caudal appendage.
The southern California wildcat is, pr
perly speaking, lynx, being a variety
these animals and known to science as lyl
RUPEES, variety maculatus. 1t has wi
range over California, Arizona, New Mexi
and to the north and south.-C. F. Holden
San Francisco Chronicle