The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-06-03
A CATAMOUNT FIGHT.
THE MOUNTAIN LION is A VERY W.
cioJs ANTAGONIST.

There are no moro vicious fighters il
the whole animal kingdom than th
mountain lions of the northwest - sait
! Major jackson Of Spokane. "Tbey com
bine the cunning and agility of the ca,
tribe with the strength of the lion ant
the ferocity Of the tiger.
II have never been much of a hunter
| but few years ago l had an adventur,
with mountain lions out in Washington
that gave me enough OF hunting big game
for all time I had captured some younp
deer, elk and foxes and started. a smal
inenagerie OF my ranch.
"One day was out in the hills looking
at some timber, and near q mouth of a
small cave in the rocks 1 found young
lion crawling about On the ground and
whining like kitten. 1t was only a few
weeks old, and l decided to take it home
and add it to my menagerie. l Judged
shat there was nest of the young ami
mals somewhere among the rocks and that
this one had ventured out and got lost
while the old ones were away.
I had no trouble in catching it, and
he was too young to show fight But as
soon as l took it up in my arms it set up
a dreadful screeching cry, sort of cross
between the wall of a frightened baby
and the bark of a small dog. Fearing that
the cries would bring the old lions homo
In hurry lost no time in getting away
from the spot where l found my captive
TOOK of my coat and wrapping up the
cue tried TO stop its cries, but it was no
use 1t only made more noise.
Before had gone 100 yards 1 heard
the bloodcurdling Shrek of full grown
lion close behind me, and knew that the
mother of tho
cry must have been a call for help In 10
seconds it was answered as many times
and the cries came from all directions
Il was surrounded by mountain lions.
and l knew that the cry of the cub would
rouse them TO fury l hated to lose the
expected addition to my menagerie. but /
dropped that lion cub as if it had been n
hot brick. Instead of running away. as /
thought it would, the cub lay down right
under my feet and made more noise than
ever
Then 1 started to run to get away
from it, but a swaying of the branches of
two trees in front of me and chorus of
fierce shrieks close behind warned mo that
was too late At least a dozen full grown
mountain lions, judged, were closing in
around me, and they We're there for busi.
ness
Some 10 yards ahead of where 1 stood
saw big rock that rose out of the
ground 10 feet or more. l made a dash
for that rock and reached it Just in time.
Backing up against it faced half score
of full grown lions, and they were as vi
clous looking lot as | ever saw. l had
hoped that they would stop when they
found that the cub was safe, but they
didn t. l had my winchester with me
and the chamber was full of cartridges.
when faced my pursuers, some of
them were on the ground leaping along
like cats at play, while others were in the
trees springing from branch to branch
with prodigious jumps. They were still
giving vent to their cries, which werc
enough to raise q mans hair when heard !
At a distance All the time they were
coming closer, and two Of those on the |
ground were creeping along ready to
spring at my throat as soon as they were |
lear enough.
The apparent hopelessness of my situa. |
ion seemed to steady my nerves, and, tax. |
ng careful aim at the nearest lion, l fired |
With new kind of screech the brute
capped five feet into the air and fell back |
lead. But there was another one on tho
,round almost as near as the first and
till advancing
"A second shot finished that one, and
hen glanced at those in tho trees. l saw
wo glaring down at me, with their eyes
'leaining like balls of fire. Both were
rouching for spring shot the nearest
ne, and again my bullet reached a vital
pot.
Before l could throw out the empty
he'll l heard a terrific shrek, dying away
o hoarse growl, right over my head, and
hen knew that one OF the animals was
II the rock above me.
For an instant [ forgot the ono in the
rec and jumped away from the rock AT
he same instant both lions jumped for
ne, one from the tree and one from the
ock above me. 1 saw them coming and
ried to dodge to one side wheeled about
nd escaped the full force of their spring.
10th of them struck me on the shoulders
nth their fore feet as they came down, and
heir long sharp claws tore great burrows
4 my flesh and left my coat and shirt
angling in shreds.
The blood spurted from my wounds,
nd | was knocked down by the forco of
he blows. closed my eyes as fell, face
ownward and expected TO be torn to
lreds in an instant, but to my surprise !
q.
nd as l struggled to my feet their hoarso |
rowling and the sounds of a terrific {
ruggle told mo that they were fighting |
ch other. {
They had got the smell of blood, Lld, 1
issing their victim at the first spring tho '
rec brutes few at each others throats. J.
turned in time to see the most ferocious +
mbat l had ever witnessed, and in the '
citement of the moment l forgot my
)unds. a
" The other lions had seen in the trees e
ere probably frightened away by the g
OTIS l had fired. Anyway they were 9
ne, and the two that had tried to make &
neal of me were left TO fight their battle &
the death without interruption s.
II picked up my rifle and again took n
sition against the rock, but the fighting [
ms were no longer aware of my presence.
ley rolled over and over so fast that they
lked like two great yellow balls, chang
g to red as the blood began to flow in O
cams from the gaping wounds they \
re tearing in each others bodies with ri