Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-06-27
A WILDCATS WAYS.


an the cats, from the greatest, the
oyai Bengal tiger. to the least, the
purring pet of our households, are
el.eeIni and dainty creatures; and de-
spiee their cut-throat methods of earn
ing a livelihood-when it has to be
earned-they are all worthy to be
Gassed among the true aristocrats of
the four-footed world.
AS much of this may be claimed for
our american wildcat as for any other
species for, though he has a short tail
instead OF the long, graceful member
OF the typical cats, he makes up for
TINS defect by possessing a greater
length OF limb, and accordingly stands
higher in proportion to his length of
body He is therefore one of the most
active springers and most nimble
climbers of the feline race.
Wildcats, even here in the forests of
the Atlantic slope, are more abundant
than is generally supposed. They have
learned to dread man and to keep out
OF his sight and hearing, and away
from the keen scent of his trained
hounds; hence they are seldom seen.
But all our boarder forests, even those
VI Tile great clIleS,
include among their wild population a
1alr percentage Of felis rufus, as the
biologists call him. Surprising even
the willy fox in secretiveness, the wild
cat, IT he were not possessed of a GER
tain courage and independence, es-
pecially when feeding, would be al
most as common in our forests as the
ground squirrel.
With fur quite valuable to the
trapper, and with too great readiness
to walk into a baited snare or to take
to tree when hunted by hounds, he
is much more likely than the fox to
fall before the hunters rifle. He is,
at the same time, more sensi-
tive than Reynard to the encroach-
ments of man upon his chosen haunts.
He more boldly attacks the farmers
fowls or sheep, or even his young
calves. and, having killed his prey, he
often stands by it defiantly until dis
covered and shot These Characters
tics of wildcats account for the fact
that they are becoming far less numer-
Gus near our older settlements.
The ability of this animal to eIude
the observation of man. when not feed
ing, is truly wonderful. He once
learned to fear the Indian, who could
send from q distance sharp-pointed
arrow into his vitals. How much more
must he dread the white hunters long
range rifle! Conscious of his own
prowess. and relying upon his formida-
bic equipment of claws and teeth, he
knows at the same time that he is no
match for that other destructive crea-
I'm yOI, L. g..
est with a powder-and-lead-load
weapon over his shoulder.
Indeed, the wildcat shares this feel
ing with every other brute inhabitant
of the forest. But, unlike many of
them, when suddenly approached by
the hunter. he disdains a precipitate
and cowardly fight, and only trots
leisurely to the nearest brush, and
crouches there within a few PAGES of
his enemy. Or, perhaps, he springs in
to the fancied security of a tree, not
realizing the far-reaching and death
dealing power of the rifle. Whatever
his retreat may be, he must turn more
than once and look back with cat-like
stare at his pursuer. and then is the
deadly shot delivered.
But, except on these rare occasions.
the wildcat remains entirely out of
mans sight and hearing. His crouch
ing attitude, his gray-mottled and red
dish-brown coat, closely resembling in
general color his background of dead
leaves and messy rocks, render him in
visible SO long as he remains notion
less.
Observe our domestic puss when
providing in the garden. intent on
bird-hunting. ard notice how skill
fully she manages to keep out of sight
and hearing. Every movement is made
with the utmost caution, every adj
vantage of ground or vegetation is
made use of, every disadvantage is es-
timated and, if possible, avoided. Yet
this is a creature in whose veins flows
the blood of many generations of
household pets, and from whose nature
much of the original wildness has
been eradicated.
The wildcat is tenfold more cautious
and watchful, and when we consider
the almost impenetrable thickets and
secret rock covers that abound in our
deeper forests it is a wonder that even
the hunters sharp eyes can ever dis
cover his presence. Nothing but his
defiant moods can betray
him.
have never heard the cry of the
wildcat except at night, and expert
enced hunters tell me that it is seldom
uttered in the daytime. When hunted
with dogs and driven to bay in mar
row thicket, from which he can not
escape without running the gauntlet,
the cat seems to know his danger, and
utters shrill and piercing
cries, intensely expressive of rage. de-
fiance, perhaps of despair. His ordi-
nary calls are not unlike those of the
cat, except that they are
longer drawn out and naturally have
much more volume. Yet so seldom are
these cries heard that the wildcat may
almost be called q silent member of
natures family.
As a fighter this cat has no superior.
and with the exception of the larger
nembvrs of the weasel tribe, such as
the badger and the wolverine, he has
no equal at twice his size. The feline
nee are endowed by nature with weap-
ms superior to those of all other car
terrible claws provided
With sheaths, and thus kept sharp
vben not in use. Our wildcat, though
10 larger than beagle hound, proba-
,lv possesses twice the muscular force |
md az ility of any dog, and can. in fair
,attle. soon make the pluckiest and
hound draw off whipped. |
rec powerful dogs may kill a wildcat. |