The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-10-17
WAYS OF THE PANTHER.
IL Was Once the Terror of the
Children in Northern New
York.
Some Stories Of It's Ferocity
and of It's Monstrous
Leaps.
The Cougar Rarely Attacks Men but IL
not Easily Frightened When He
Is Confronted.

A recent article In Forest and Stream de-
soribes the habits OF the cougar or panther
as seen In tho forests of northern New
York, and | venture to add something fur
thsr az TO the peculiaritias of this animal.
From 1924 to 1849 my home was in ono OF
the s~parsely settled valleys of that region.
and | had frequent reminders of this beast,
not only from hsarsay. but from my own
observation and that of an immediate
nsighbor.
The cougar Cells concolor) was there
called panther. or painter. and also Data
mount. Panther was the terror OF the
children Of that region. The legendary
BLACK beaat' OF the nursery, she bear,
though plentiful enough with us, excited no
such terror in our minds as did = suggea-
tion that the painter might catch us. To
scream like a painter was understood to be
the most terrific of all screams. In that
comparison the pillars of Hercules we're
reached. But the boys of that country all
became hunters az soon az they conld carry
agun. and soon outgrew their fears. The
stories of this ~feroeity and monstrous leaps
of our panther suffered serious d~iminution
under an actual and frequent observation
of the beast.
Some Of my earliest ideas about this ami
NAL came from being shown the CARCASS OF
q sheep lying in the crotch Of a birch tree,
and about forty feet from the ground.
There was snow on she ground, and it was
plain to soc that some animal had brought
1t from q we'll fenced yard just across the
road from our house. In the yard one
lamb lying a few yards ava from the
other sheep had had the top of it's head
knocked off by a blow from al animal
which had leaped a long distance TO strike
the lamb, and had done IL no further vio-
lence. several sheep lay dead in the yard
and partly eaten. Wolves and cougars had
agreed in hunting together; but when it
came to the repast the cat-like instinct of
the cougar inclined him to q his share
into she tres beyond the chance Of inter
ference.
Two cougars came one night into the pas
ture of a farmer living a mile south of as,
and killed five sheep. carrying the bodies a
few rods into the woods, and after eating q
part, buried the remainder very carefully
with a cover of dry leaves and dirt. The
farmers boys set a bear trap and caught
the male cougar the frst night. My hunt
ing dog had q habit, if ! WAS not going to
hunt, Of going to this neighbours to see if he
could get his boys to 20, and was there that
Az ~ uALAO y Ky WAbA W. oAOA~
trap. The dog finding the animal in the
trap ran up TO it and got such a blow from
its paw as sent him some yards away, and
the panther snatched a piece of flesh from
the dogs shoulder blade, leaving bare q
piece OF the bone as large az q half dollar;
and in that plight he returned to me. That
evening at dusk | was in the road half a
mile from our house. where l had
been TO drive the COWS to pasture, when the
female mate Of the captured cougar, start
ing apparently from the side OF the noun
tain opposite to me q quarter of a mile
away, walked slowly along toward the place
where her mate has been killed, and all the
way, at short intervals, giving, such terrific
screams as | had never heard before, and
as most decidedly hurried my pace toward
the house, where / found the family stand
ing in the front yard to hear the same
alarming screams which had startled me.
Part Of her notes seemed those of anger
some Of intense grief. For half an hour
she continued her uailings and then was nc
more heard from.
Cougars rarely attack men, but are not
easily frightened when confronted. Two
of my fathers log choppers had felled {
pine tree All evening, and next morning ap-
lroached it from the top, intending to Gu
it into logs. On the butt of the tree they
saw a large cougar lying, apparently asleep
The men agreed to give it a big scare ant
the trunk of the tree and gave q join
scream; the animal simply got ny and facet
them. They retreated, when tho beas
quietly got off the log and waded of
through the snow.
A son of mine. travelling in Arizona
camped one night under some ttees. Afte
getting his coffee he lay down on his blan.
kes by the fire. Then a cougar jumped
down from the tres beside him and mad
off before the man could use his gun.