Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-05-18
BOB, THE LION KILLER.
An Old Wyoming Hunter Who Had a
Mountain Lion for u Bed Fellow.

Near the neaQ waters Oh IlOrsc crtch.
in this territory, lives Gerard Bob, q
former well known mountaineer, who,
as might be supposed, derived his
queer title from the number OF noun
tain lions he has slain in that vicinity.
Various are the ways in which he has
slain the animals, for he no sooner
gets on the trail of one OF the var
minis than he scarcely halts or stops,
but continually shadows the animal
day and night until it is brought to
bay and dropped by the unerring aim
of his rifle.
Though Gerard Bob is fairly GOV.
cred with scars and deep gashes from
fierce encounters with lions and other
brutes, every of which indicates a
thrilling adventure, yet he protests
that he is not afraid of the most savage
mountain lion that ever walked. for he
considers the whole tribe base cow
ards. On enc occasion he had a noun
tain lion for bed fellow and he af-
firms that he rested perfectly easy,
and without any undue excitement
Ii came about in this wise: One OF the
ranchmen living in the foot hills near
the North Platte river had been miss
ing large numbers Of his sheep, and
they had evidently been slain by some
wild animal. The depredations in
stead of decreasing Were rapidly aug
mentingtill each morning two ormore
members of the flock would be found
slaughtered and their carcasses partly
eaten. The owner of the ranch con-
cluded that it was the work Of a lion
and employed Gerald Bob TO bring in
the animals skin.
The first day out, though he fol-
lowed the lion through deep valleys
and over the rocky sides of the noun
tains for nearly forty miles, yet not
once did he catch sight Of the beast,
though at several times he was very
near. AT one place among some thick
brush the lion stopped long enough to
kill a good sized deer, and was feast
ing on the carcass, when the noise of
the hunters approach caused him TO
flee again.
The hunter, after taking a fair
nights rest under some shelving
rocks, was out again at the first dawn
of day and soon discovered the lair of
the beast where it had lain during the
previous night. Then another toll.
some day was spent in following the
lion, but Bob got one glimpse of him
behind some bushes. This greatly Eli
couraged the hunter, as he noticed
,Iat ,aans;n,a11. H. 1.,, lu,lta,l az N
~tervals, indicating that he was grow
ing tired. At the earliest streak Of
light on the following morning Bob
hastily swallowed his cold lunch of
jerked meat and biscuit and was off
after the lion as usual. The trail led
straight for a cave, and Just as Bob
entered at one end the lion rushed out
like a flash at the other. But a quick
shot from Bob's rifle wounded the lion
and in its fight left a trail Of blood in
the path. On it went, up the sides Of
the steep, craggy mountain, with Bob
in steady and determined pursuit.
Now he felt certain of his game, the
blood enabling him to follow it easily.
Still the animal did not exhibit any
uncommon signs of fatigue until late
in the day. At various times, how
ever, it ~endeavored to secret its trail
by doubling and springing in and out
of the water, but the hunters eagle
eye readily detected the effort at de-
ception and the latter lost but little
time with blind trails.
Late in the afternoon, as Bob was
carefully feeling his way up among
the crags, suddenly he was startled by
a low gTowl, and instantly he saw the
form Of the animal in mid-air, coming
directly toward him. Stepping to one
side he barely lodged the beasts paw,
and it landed far below him, and
again disappeared in a twinkling. He
o pursued il with more vigor, and
that evening just at dusk discovered
where the animal had crawled in a
hole between some rocks. Bob halted
at the outside only long enough TO eat
his dry meal, and then. with his Win
chester in hand, boldly entered. At
first he could hear growls and the ami
NAL seemed 10 be moving not far from
him, but he could not distinguish a
single object. Soon he came 10 where
the hole forked, and as he did not yet
see the animal, he decided to remain
IN the den until morning and prevent
its escape. All the time he could hear
the movements of something near,
and he lay with his finger touching
the trigger, ready TO shoot. Hours
wore away, and he thinks he must
have fallen asleep, but how long he
did not know, for when he woke up
he forgot where he was and put out his
hand. As lac did so he touched the fur
of the lion, and il Immediately gave a
snarl. Two eyes now glarcd iercely
upon him. In another instant he
pointed his gun toward the two glis-
tening eyes and fired. The report was
quickly followed by a cloud Of dust
and violent struggles of the beast
Then all became calm. A few min
utes afterwards he found the corpse of
the dead lion, and then began the task
Of pulling il out of the hole. On ar
irving at the surface he was consider
ably surprised TO find the day quite
well advanced, and after skinning the
animal at once fastened for the settle
ments. The lion measured almost
nine feet, and was a real western mon
Stpr Laramie Citv Cor ~ Inuis