The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1890-01-01
DESPERATE ENCOUNTER
Between "Old Hank and a Big,
Ferocious Cougar.
The Brave Hunter. Though Taken by Sur
prise and Severely Wounded at
the First, Proves too Much for
the Powerful Beast.

as ''Old HANK" was brought into town
to have a broken arm and several severe
wounds looked after. He was indebted
for these, he said, to an enormous cou-
gar he had encountered the day before.
Old Hank is famous hunter, and is
probably the best shot in the State,
having subsisted for the past thirty
years almost entirely on the game
killed by himself. He was the first
white man to take up his habitatiOn in
Tom Green County, and on first coming
to this section built himself, some six
miles from here, on the Middle Fork of
the Concho, small log hut, in which he
is still residing. This hut is literally
crowded with trophies of his skill, each
of which has some interesting story
connected with it. When it was learned
! that Old Hank was in town with fresh
adventure to relate, he soon had large
audience collected to hear it. The
sturdy old hunter, who is nearing his
sixtieth birthday, was found decorated
with splints, bandages, and a yard or
two of court plaster, but though one
cheek had been laid open to the bone,
he was quite willing to entertain us
with the narrative of his desperate
fight with the cougar. In his own
words the story is this:
81 was jolting on toward home with a
big buck strapped behind me that I'd
just killed piece up the river. 1t was
nearly dark, 50 slung him up, all bleed
ing as he was, and the blood kept drip
ping all along the road, and it must have
been by that that the cougar tracked
me, for the first thing l knew a scream
broke out behind me that made the air
ring like bell. Ever heard one of
those beasts yell? Sounds something
like woman with powerful pair of
lungs screeching at the top of her voice
as if she was in mighty distress. My
horse knew what that scream meant,
for it wasn't the first time he and had
heard that sound together, though it
hadn't been lately, for the beasts are
scarcer than they used to be. He
jumped forward, and if l hadn't held on
pretty tight would have fallen almost
on the caugar, for ne wasn't but two or
three feet behind me. ] spurred up, for
they're pretty tough customers, with
mighty little or no scare in them, and
had just come to part of the road that
ran through patch of live-oak trees,
which cut off all light from the moon,
which was just rising, so if could man
age it thought I'd rather not tackle
the critter.
But it seemed like he meant to
tackle me, or rather to have that deer
at all hazards, for as looked back at
him saw the brute gather himself up
into ball, and before l could wheel
around he landed with one spring on
my shoulders, bearing me to the saddle.
The horse staggered, and fairly yelled
he was so badly scared, and as | rolled
off him broke down the road in a gallOp,
taking the deer with him. The cougar
and fell together, with me underneath.
The fall with that heavy weight on me
stunned me for a moment, and l lay
still, but to be real scared acts some
times like bucket of cold water doused
on you, so came to in a little while,
! first tried to throw the brute off, but
he chung so tight couldn't even bulge
him: then tried to roll over and over,
thinking L COulu uidhc ulm icI ioOSC
that way. but he was too heavy for that,
and besides my left arm began to hurt
me like fits and couldn't lift it. My
fig was getting desperate, when the
cougar, thinking he had me, l reckon,
stuck his head around to get at my
throat. That's their way, you know, Of
killing their prey-just catching it un-
der the throat, tearing a hole. and
drinking the blood as it gushes out.
This was my chance. for as the great
cats head reached around l dug my
finger as deep into one of its eyes as l
could. 1t howled like a fury and snap
ped at my cheek. giving me this beauty
spot, but 1 knew it was nip and tuck
now, 50 1 gouged and gouged till the
ling let 60. The moment it did made
a break up the road, for knew mighty
we'll the matter wasn't ended, and l
wanted to get out of that dark belt OF
wood to where the moon would let me
see what 1 had to fight, for, take my
word for it, that sort of a rumpus isn't
pleasant in the dark. Sure enough here
came the cougar, but was better pre-
pared for him this time, for, though I
had dropped my gum when fell on my
hoese, l had my hunting-knife out by