Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-07-13
A WILDCATS AWFUL LEAP.
u Wa to Death, but Through No Fault
ul the Animals Agility.


Il Wa To Death, hut Through No Fault
at the Animals Agility.
I've soCn il disputed IN the papers
that wildcat or catamOunt can
make 70 i.a1 ul twenty i've feet, said
. ru.'l 10 az sullivan county u a 70
pyr'.I. "I would like Ia mculigu
what | ,IN 20 wildcat do once ! was
truot iI-a,Hg Oh ono u the upper triJ,
l'u.,, ul Tie BaaycrKlll, aud had
cDrnar}ui down into a deep rlyLuc o.
gul so % tempting pool ut the foot OF
lae 'a.l wNgfp ] was sure my casts
@os., be rewarded Dy the killing uf
sguc biz trout ! was not mistaken
Hs ~ tllal | lad landed four trout
lhe smallest one eighteen inches long.
AMI "a, down 10 rest the pool 10th
sldo~ Of the rayine were perpendicular
walls OF rock, probably twenty live
feet HIGH. The summit Of the wall on
inc side Of the creek opposite ~ me
sIuugl back gradually from its edgc
for several feet TO a heavy growth Of
pine.
AS ! was sitting at the bottom Of
the rayiue | happened to glance up 10
the top Of the rocks opposite Inc, and
saw a hen pheasant accompanied Jy
her newly matched brood come out
of the pines and scratch aud peck her
way along the sloping open space,
hunting food for her young, which
clustered closely about her. The pleas
antcame nearthe edge OF the precipiec,
and II seemed To me that she was plac.
ing her brood in a most dangerous pO-
sition. when she turned as ii TO walk
back with them TO the pines, Tho in
slant she turned something like a
shadow lifted across the top Of thcra.
vino. and half a second later | saw an
enormous wildcat clinging to the edge
Of the opposite wall by his fore feet,
holding the pheasant between his
jaws. The wildcat struggled a mo,
mcnt 10 drag himself from the edge OF
tie abyss 10 u sure footing on top OF
the rocks, but his effort was in vain,
and lac game crashing down the face
of the precipice, still holding the luck,
less pheasant in his jaws. lie fell
with "A crash in the water, and lay mo-
tionless at the edge of the pool.
Il supposed that the animal had
been watching the pheasant from the
bushes on top Of the rocks opposite
where the bird had appeared with hel
brood, and at his opportunity had
leaped across to seize her, but had mis-
judged the distance and fallen short
with the result so fatal TO him.
The whirl of the water brought the
wildcat around in a short time To the
side where ! was standing, and as ]
was bending down to examine him ]
saw a man with a gun scramblina
down the rocks. The man sooL
reached my side, and | then learned
that he had shot the wildcat as the an.
imal was dying across the chasm upon
his prey. Sure enough, just at the
base OF tho animals brain was the hole
made by the rifle ball. The hunter
had been following the wildcat fol
some time, and had lost track Of him
but came ncar the edge of the rayin,
in time TO see him make his leap ant
follow him with the bullet. II wa
that which had stopped the ANNA
short in the tremendous leap it ha'
calculated on or it would have cleareC
the space with safety and doubles
with ease. The wildcat was in realit,
almost in his death throes when h
struck the pheasant, which he chung
TO with the clutch of death, and still
held in 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 measurement was forty-thret
eet."-New York Sun.