Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-01-30
A CATAMouNT,s LEAP.
It was 20 Death, But Through No Raul
Of the AnImapa ABILITY.

OF the AnimaPs Agility,
'I've seen it disputed in the papers that
a wildcat, or catamount, can make a leap OF
twenty-five feet" said a resident Of Sulli-
van County 10 a New York Sun reporter,
"and would like 10 mention what | saw a
wildcat do once. was trout fishing on
one Of the upper tributaries Of the Beaver
kill, and had clambered down into deep
ravine 10 get at a tempting pool at the foot
Of fall, where was sure my casts would
be rewarded by the killing Of some big
trout. / was not mistaken as TO that. i
had landed four trout, the smallest one
eighteen inches long, and sat down TO rest
the pool Both sides Of the ravine were
perpendicular walls Of rock, probably
twenty-five feet high. The summit Of the
wall on the side Of the creek opposite 10 me
slOped back gradually from its edge for
several feet to heavy growth Of pine.
"As | was sitting at the bottom Of the
ravine happened 10 glance up TO the top Of
the rocks opposite me, and saw a hen
pheasant accom- panied by her newly hatched
brood come out Of the pines and scratch and
peck her way along the sloping open space,
hunting food for her young, which clus-
tered closely about her. The pheasant
came close 70 the edge Of the precipice, and
it seemed TO me that she was placing her
brood in a most dangerous position, when
she turned as If 20 walk back with them TO
the pines. The instant she turned some
thing like q shadow fitted across the top Of
the ravine, and Ealf 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 wild
cat struggled for a moment TO drag himself
from the edge Of the ABYSS 10 a sure foot
ing on the top of the rocks, but his effort
was in vain, and he came crashing down
the face Of the preciplce, still holding the
luckless pheasant in mis- Jaws. He fell
with a splash in the water, and lay motion
less at the edge of the pool.
81 suppose tnat the animal had been
watching the pheasant from the bushes on
top of the rocks opposite where the bird had
appeared with her brood, and at his oppor-
tunity had leaped across TO seize her,
but had misiudged the distance and fallen
short, with the result so fatal TO him.
'"The whrl Of the water brought the wild
cat around in a snort time TO the side where
was standing, and as was bending down
TO examine MIN l saw man with gun
scrambling down the rocks. The man soon
reached my side, and tnen learned that he
had shot the WIND cat as the animal was fly
ing across the chasm upon his prey. Sure
enough, Just at the base Of the animals
brain was the hole made by the rife ball.
The hunter mad been following the wildcat
for some time, and had lost track Of him,
but came near the edge of the ravine in
time 10 see HIM make his leap and
followed him with the bullet. 1t wac
that which had stopped the animal short in
the tremendous leap it had calculated on or
it would have cleared the space with safety
and doubtless with ease The wildcat was
in reality almost in his death throes
when he struck the pheasant, which he
clung 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-three feet.