The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1889-11-15
A Wildcats Awful Leap.

I've seen it disputed in the papers
that a wildcat or catamount can make a
leap of twenty-five feet," said a resi-
dent of Sullivan county to a New York
Sun man, ''and l would like to men
tion what l saw wildcat do once. |
was trout fishing on one of the upper
tributaries of the Beaverkin and had
clambered down in a deep ravine TO ger
at a tempting pool at the foot of a fall,
where l was sure my casts would be re-
warded by the killing of some big tIout.
L was not mistaken as to that. had
landed four 1rout. the smallest one
eighteen inches long, and sat down to
rest the pool" Both sides of the ra-
vine were perpendicular walls Of rock,
probably twenty feet high. The sum
NIT of the wall on the side of the creek
opposite to me sloped back gradually
from its edge for several feet to a heavy
growth of pine.
las was sitting at the bottom of
the ravine happened TO glance up to
the top of the rocks opposite me and
saw a hen pheasant ACCOMPANIED by
her newly Matched brood come out of
the pines and scratch and peck her way
along the sloping open space. hunting
food for her young, which clustered
closely about her. The pheasant came
very close to the precipice, and it seem
ed to me that she was placing her brood
In most dangerous position. when she
turned as il to walk back with them to
the pines. The instant she turned
something like shadow fitted across
the top of the ravine, and half a second
later saw an enormous wildcat cling
ing to the edge of the opposite wall by
Its fore feet, holding the pheasant pes
tween its jaws. The wildcat struggled
for moment to drag himself from the
edge OF the abyss to sure footing on
the top of the rocks, but his effort was
il vain, aud be came crashing down the
face of the precipice still holding the
Iuekless PLEASANT in his jaws. He fell
with splash in the water and lay mo-
tionless at the edge of The pool.
Il supposed the animal had been
watching the pheasant from the bush |
es on the top of the rock opposite where
the bird had appeared with her brood
and at his opportunity had leaped |
across to seize her, but had misiudged
the distance and fallen short with the |
result so fatal to him,
1.-The whirl OF the water brought the |
wildcat around in a short time to the |
side where l was standing, and as was |
bending down to examine him L saw a |
man scrambling down the rocks. The
man soon reached my side, and I then |
learned that he had shot the wildcat as |
The animal was flying across the chasm |
upon his prey. Sure enough, Just at |
The base OF the animals brain was the |
hole made by the rifle bullet. The
hunter had been following the wildcat |
Tor some time, and had lost track OF
him, but came near the edge of the ra-
vine In time. to see him make his lean
and follow him with a bullet. 1t was
that which stopped the animal short in
the tremendous leap it had calculated /
On, or 1t would have cleared the space
with ease. The wildcat was in reality
almost in its death throes when he
struck the pheasant, which he cIung to
with the clutch of death, and still held
N his mouth when We dragged him out
Of the water. We measured the width /
of the chasm across which the wildcat
had made his death leap. The meas
lrment was forty three feet.''