The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-02-05
TWO MOUNTAIN LIONS.
Their Magnificent Courage Whe1
Brought to Bay.
They Fight to the Death with Pack os
I:Ioodhounds. Backed by Armed
Hunters, and Br,vely Meet
Their Doom.

There had been great cxcitcmc--
-lnong the ranchmcn of the valley c.
lie Sierra Madrc for 5OLuc weeks over
she depreciation, committed upou their
locks Of sheep and herds Of cattle by
One beast of prey. y hat this roJbcr
vas no one could say with any cX-
ctncss, for. uniting an extraordinary
.cgr'c of cunning v ia great speed of
oct, the roguc iuvarla bly, managed to
elude all pursuit. Morning after
morning some ACrslcr would report q
COW, ca-f or sheep dope Ia d ath with "a
cruel wound in IT'S throat from which
the assassin hal drained its warm
life's blood. but the dead carcass was
all that remained tell the story OF
the coming and going OF the spoilcr.
for no shadow left less trace OF its
presence.
This enemy of their herds was all
tho more feared by the cattlcmcu, as
there vas 10 guessing whore the next
victim was 20 bc found. for with in
credib.e raEidity o. movement the ami
IA seemed to Scour the country for
alcS in every GIrc-tiOn- ;-ecking with
,:ll the Iastidiousucss Of a true cg1icurc
Inc tcndcrcst lambs and choicest brand
IF cattle. The herds themselves
seemed 10 know that some TO lur!sed
near. and at night would Luddlc to-
Ecther rs IL for mutual Protc -tion.
at last matters reached a climax
when the fine imported Durham COW,
with a long pedigree - Of one Of the
"calthy Stocll-owncrs of the vicinity
traycd away from her comfortable
tall, and, with the curiosity of her
TX, was investigating the country.
when she was set upon 10y the mystcri-
ous beast of prey. She was found lit
orally torn To pieces, and 1t was evil
dent that the COW, Il yong one, had en-
dcavorcd to make some fight for her
life. for her horns were stained with
blood, and a trail OF blood lcalinr to a
small thicllct close 1T hand Indicated
that the animal that lad killed her had
not escaped without = wound
1t had been believed from the first
that the dcprcdator had made its de-
scent from the mountains, to which It
would return after each orgy. and, on
bloodhounds being sent for and placed
on the trail, the dogs led at once to-
ward the rugged peaks that frown
down on this lair valley The blood
stains ceased with the ;,.cIzet. so II
was concluded that the animal had not
been very severely wounded, and no
further traces of its passage were visi-
bic in the open country, though the
dogs showed no hesitation on the trail
The hunting party numbered nearly a
dozen and wiis composed OF local MIN
rods, who scented fine sport on the oc-
easion. and :tOckmen, each of whom
had the loss of one or more fine blood
cd sheep or cows To avcnre.
After some ten or twelve miles of
steady travel, facing the chill noun
tain that frosted the air and sDurred
the wiry little Mexican ponies into a
BRISK trot- the party reached the little
staten of Rio Namiquipa, whore the
dogs paused. Here they seemed
puzzled at some sudden turn the trail
had taken, for they ran here and there
for some minutes, finally breaking
away up the river. But after run of
Il hundred feet or so the old Chihuahua
hound Miguel made a stand, and then.
with 4 warning cry to his mates
turned and sped back to where the
Lanters waited The pack followed
hiln, though with some hesitation, un-
I'll. pressing him close as he went
leaping from one to the other of the
stepping stones that crossed the
stream, they seemed all at once to un-
derStand his mancuvcrs and lcaped for
ward mp the shelving bank with jov-
ful cry of certainty. Old MigueTs
master, an aged Mexican, by name
Leandcr, explained that the dogs had
here struck the trail of some other
animal that had come down the river
TO drink at that spot He had. lie
thought, joined the one they sought,
and the two had struck out together
for the mountains. With renewed in
terest the hunters walked their horses
across the shallow stream and followed
the dogs. which were now only dark
speclSs on the golden sands that
washed the foot of the grim ana mighty
Sierra.
The dogs were observed after awhile
TO gather about Il clumD of cactus
plants that marked the first rise of the
mountains proper, then to go on and
hnaily disappear behind a mass OF
laIien bow dcrs- At this the party
urged on their ponies, as IL was
evident that the game was near at
hand Old Leander at the clump Of
catcus dismCuntcd, and after q brief
examination OF the disturbed sand de-
ciarcd 1t this place the wounGcd ami
NAL had lain down to rest, while the
other, probably its mate, had stood
by. AS the hunters paused here the
loud barking of the dogs was heard at
some little distance, SO clapping spurs
to the ponies the party went forward
at a gallop.
The hounds were found To have
gathered about small heap of earth
and stones, on which stool an cuor-