The Press., 1890-12-25
A BIG PANTHER KILLED.

A big panther was killed last week, near the Come cticut and New York line, in wild mountainous tract along the western border of Ridgefeld, twenty miles south west of Danbury, and Gin straight line) seventy miles southwest of Hartford It was only thirty miles northeast of New York City. It was the cougar-no ''cata-: mount" as wildcats are called, but a real cougar, an animal with enormous paws, and looking much like ioness. Once these creatures abounded in Connecticut, but that was two centuries ago; now, a few stray down, in the winter, among the woods on the spurs of the Green Noun tains, which reach southward through Berkshire county (Mass. almost to Long Island Sound. They are still far from un- G )mmon in some parts of New York and Pennsylvania. and in the mountains of Western Virginia. They will kill a COW or a horse, and a man, unarmed, would not stand moments show when leaped upon by punther.
 The farmers and charcoal burners living around the borders of the wild tract on many csttle, calves, sheep, etc., by the depred dations of this monster, who had grown at last so bold that he began raiding the barnyards and getting into stables.
 It was during the latter part of October that the panther first made it's appearance, A farmer over on the New York state side missed calf from his barn yard,one night, and the tracks from the wild visitor were plainly traced. The following night anoth- CT calf was missed, and one of the COWS was terribly lacerated. The next night a watch was kept, but the animal did not put in an appearance. A~Ranther had been killed in the neighborhood the prev ious spring, and the cattle owners felt sure that this was another of that species. A week later Farmer Williams, living a mi @ or more east of where the animal made it's first visit, heard terrible confusion'in his stable. He seized a gnn and ran out just in time to see something which looked like great cat leap upon stone wall run ming from the barn to the road, and before he could take aim, it disappeared on the other side of the wall, and he could hear it crashing through the brush in neighbor- ing wood. One of Farmer Williams best cows was dying in the shed-like enclosure in which it was kept, and the flesh was torn in shreds. The next day a search was made and the tracks of some big ani- nal were followed up into the Hundred acre. mountaiE Ca wild tract of a thousand l dCEeS) Wu0Eo tuoy were IOSb.
 Nearly every night for two weeks the animal was heard from at various locali ties, carrying away calf in one place, a sheep in another, or mutilating larger animal somewhere else. Its tracks were followed time and again, but the searchers were always unable to find the hiding place of the beast. A young couple wlle were riding home from church one Sunday might were suddenly confronted bv the an imal in the highway. It stood there mo- tionless, and they were almost upon il before they saw 1t. They were terribly frightened, and were about to turn around and hive in the opposite direction, wher the panther turned tail, trotted down the road, and disappeared in the darkness The two described it as being pure white and half as large as cow This was as they saw it in the moonlight, but of course the animal was not white: it was the colol of lion.
 Tine stories of the size of the panther grew as they circulated, and at lengtt depredations became so extensive that the farmers banded together to exterminate it For week bands of hunters were ou nightly tramping through the woods, an6 lying in wait
 Their hunt was brought to successful termination last week, and a resident o that region brought to Danbury the new. of the death of the animal. It was sho while making it's way to it's l.ir on tht Connecticut side of the line with calf i had killed. Two dogs which were witt the hunters attacked it first. One was killed outright and the other so crippled that it had to be shot. The panther uoioho6 ho+uoon OS0 op1 Qf0 y,ourdo