Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-28
A FIGHT WITH A JAGUAR.
The Fearful but Victorious Conflict Of a Texas
Herder.

The Fearful but Victorious Conflict of q Texas
Herder.
For some months past the stockmen Of Del
Rio, Tex. writes q correspondents of the st.
Louis Globe Democrat have been much an
noyed and even put to serious loss by the dep
relations Of some large animal, which, descend
ing from the Bonita mountains, where 1t had
its den. carried off sheep, young calves and
even occasionally attacking COW which had
wandered from the herd and. surprised by
its ferocious foe, mad its throat torn open by
powerful fangs. The nature of the wound in
fiicted and the boldness of the robber aroused
the general belief that it was a mountain lion,
though none had been seen in those parts for
years. Many. attempts were made to surprise
and entrap the animal but however cunningly
devised failed entirely. and though trailed
several times by the blood of n victim to the
mountains, the creature escaped into some of
the dens and caves in which the Bonitas
abound. The depredations Of the animal we're.
however, brought to a close few days ago by
Reuben Hathaway, a herder employed on the
Enterprise ranch. who encountered the robber
In the act Of carrying off lamb and after a
severe struggle. which resulted in the mans
being very badly wounded. succeeded in kill
ing it. The jaguar, for such the animal is pro-
nounced by old hunters, was an enormous
female These animals, once SO common in the
mountains about have almost entirely disap-
peared and are only to be met with in the Wild
est and most unfrequented parts. and the one
killed by Hathaway is the first that has been
known to venture down into the valleys.
1t was shortly before daylight that Hathaway
was aroused by the frightened believing of the
sheep, which were confined close to his cabin
in large pen. Hastily throwing on his clothes
and arming himself with stout knife and a
gun, he ran to the spot and was Just in time to
see a large animal disappear in a growth Of
bushes and young timber. The jaguar was
dragging the lamb it had secured and. thus
hampered was soon overtaken. Seeing Hatha-
way. it dropped the lamb and turned to run,
but was stopped by bullet, which tore terri
BILE wound in one of its headquarters, though
failing to kill it, Screaming like fury, it rolled
over for a moment and Hathaway, thinking it
in a death struggle, drew his knife. and rush
ing upon it. endeavored to cut its throat. The
touch of the steel seemed to direct its attention
for the first time to its assailant and before the
herder could defend himself the iaguar was
upon him. He fell heavily with the huge body
of the animal crushing him almost to suffoca-
tion while it endeavored to catch him by the
throat.
Fortunately, one arm was free, and with his
knife, which he still clutched he struck at the
creature, and by hacking at it as best his pain
full and cramped position would allow, man.
aged to prevent its fixing its fangs in his throat
The jaguars powerful claws, however, ripped
his clothing into strickland digging themselves
into the flesh put Hathaway into such agony
that with u superhuman effort he caught the
animal by the throat and succeeded in chok-
ing it nearly to insensibility. II relinuuished
its hold on him, and with much difficulty the
herder managed to pull himself from under its
carcass He seized his gun, which was living
near, and staggered to a sapling, to which he
chung for support. while the jagunr. recover
ing. 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 its attack ON Hathaway for
o moment.
The man, seeing that it was again to be a
hand-to-hand battle between them, dropped
his gun and endeayored to meet the jaguar's
onslaught by bracing himself against the sap
ling. But the shock of the animals spring
bore him to the ground and the two rolled over
together, the jaguar swapping and scratching,
and the herder driving his knife into the ami
mails shaggy body whenever opportunity en-
abled him to do so. Both were covered with
blood and weakened nigh unto death, so after
some minutes the combat resolved itself into a
watchful truce, while the jaguar, with its teeth
fixed in Hathaway's shoulder, lay snarling but
painting frightfully, and the man, half insensi-
bic from pain and loss of blood was unable to
strike another blow. The many wounds of the
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 Hathaway watched it. too
IL,
and indeed too much afraid to provoke it to at
lacking him again.
1t was some hours before he could move, but
q snow storm setting III, he grew afraid to re-
main where he was, and after untold difficulty
dragged himself to his cabin. where ne was
found some hours later by some of his fellow
ranchmen. His shoulder was fearfnlly torn and
the bone was broken In several places, while
his limbs and chest had the skin cut from them
in strips, leaving him for the most part n raw
mass OF bleeding flesh. The jagnar was found
nearly 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 carcass
was discovered there were found. later in the
day, two half-grown cubs, which were running
about smiling ut the blood on the ground and
crying Tor hunger. They were easily captured.
L. is supposed that they were the old jaguers
cubs. and impelled by hunger wandered down
from their home in the mountains. Both were
males, ana splendid specimens, but very vi
cious.