The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-04-30
A FIGHT WITH A JAGUAR.
TIE Fearful but Victorious Conflict OF
a Texas Herder.

Texas Herder.
From the ST Louis Globe Democrat
For some months past the stockmen Of
Del Rio, Tex, have been much annoyed
and even put to serious loss by the depreda-
dations Of some large animal, which, de-
scending from the Bonita mountains, where
| it had its den, carried off sheep. young
/ calves and even occasionally attacking a
/ COW which had wandered from the
| herd and, surprised by Its ferOclous
/ foe, had ITS throat torn open by power
/ full fangs. The nature Of the wound in
| ficted and the boldness OF the robber
/ aroused the general belief that it was
| mountain lion, though none had been seen
! in those parts for years. Many attempts
| were made to surprise and entrap the ami
| NAL, but, however cunnlngly devised,
| failed entirely, and though trailed several
| times by the blood of a victim TO the mouu-
| tains, the creature escaped into some Of the
! dens and caves in which the BOnitas abound.
| The depredations of the animal were. how
ever, brought to a close few days ago by
| Reuben Hathaway, herder en-
ployed on the Enterprise ranch,
who encountered the robber
| in the act of carrying of a lamb and after
a severe struggle, which resulted in the
mans being very badly wounded, succeeded
in killing it. The jaguar, for such the
animal is pronounced by old hunters, was
an enormous female. These animals, once
| so common in the mountains about, have
almost entirely disappeared and are only to
| be met with in the widest and most I'M
! frequented parts, and the one killed by
| Hathaway is the first that has been known
to venture down into the valleys
1t was shortly before dayllgh J that Hatha-
way was aroused by the frightened bel
| lowing of the sheep, which were confined
close TO his cabin in large pen. Hastily
| thro wing on his clothes and arming himself
| with stout knife and a gun, he ran to the
spot, and was just in time TO see large
aOInal disappear in a growth of bushes and
| you z timber. The jaguar was dragging
| the lamb it had secured, and thus hamp-
| cred, was soon overtaken. Seeing Hatha-
way, it dropped the lamb and turned to
run, but was stopped by a bullet
| which tore terrible wound in
| one of it's headquarters, though
! failing to kill it. Screaming like a fury, it
| rolled over for a moment, and hathaway,
thinking it in death struggle, drew his
! knife, and, rushing upon it, endeavored to
cut its throat. The touch of the steel
| seemed to direct its attention for the first
| time to it's assailant, and before the herder
could defend himself the jaguar was upon
| him. He fell heavily, with the huge body
| of the animal crushing him almost to suffo-
! cation, while it endeavored to catch him by
| the throat.
| Fortunately, one arm was free, and with
| his knife, which he still clutcbed, he struck
| at the creature, and, by hacking at it as
| best his painful aud Cramped position would
| allow, managed to prevent its fixing it's
| fangS in his throat The jaguar's powerful
| claws, however, ripped his clothing into
| shreds, and digging themselves into the flesh
| put Hathaway into such agony that, with a
| superhuman effort he caught the animal by
| the throat, and succeeded in choking it
! rlv fn = 81
its hold on him, and it was with mucn diff
Guilty the herder managed to pull himself
| from under it's carcass. He seized his gun
which was lying near, and staggered Co a
sapling, to which he chung for support,
| while the jaguar, recovering, spied him, and
with increased fury sprang toward him,
| only to be received by another shot, which
buried itself in the animals neck. but did
not check it's attack on Hathaway for mo-
| ment.
The man, seeing that it was again to be a
| hand-to hand battle between them, dropped
his gun and endeavored to meet the jaguar 3
onslaught by bracing himself against the
| sapllng. But the shock of the animals
springs bore him to the ground and the two
rolled over together, the laguar swapping
and scratching and the herder driving his
knife into the animals shaggy body when
ever opportunity enabled him to do so. Both
were covered with blood and weakened nigh
| unto death, so atCer some minutes the
combat resolved itself into a watchful
| truce, while the jaguar, with its teeth
fixed in Hathaways shoulder, lay snarling,
but painting frightfully, and the man, half
insensible from pain and loss of blood, was
unable to strike another blow. The many
wounds of tho animal began now to take
effect, and presently, of its own accord it
staggered to its feet and tried to run, but
falling from weakness, it fell to crawling,
while Hathaw ay watched it, too much ex-
hausted to make an effort to stay it, and
indeed too much afraid to provoke it TO at
lacking him again.
1t was some hours before he could move,
but snow storm setting in, he grew afraid
to remain where he was, and after untold
difficulty dragged himself to his cabin,
where he was found some hours later by
his fellow-ranchmen. His shoulder was
fearfuly torn and the bone was broken in
several places, while his limbs and chest
had the skin cut from them in strips, leav-
ing him for the most part a raw mass OF
bleeding flesh. The laguar was found near
ly a mile from the scene of the fight quite
dead, and covered with no less than twenty
three knife wounds, besides the two bullet
holes it carried. Close to where the carcas.
was discovered there were found, later in
the day, two half-grown cubs, which were
: running about shifting at the blood on the
ground and crying for hunger. They were
easily captured. 1t is supposed that they
we're the old jaguar's cubs, and impelled by
hunger wandered own from their home il
the mountains. Both were males. anC
splendid specimens. but very vicious.