The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-07
YELLOW CATS OF THE WEST.
THEY ARE RANK EDWARDS, But
VERY UNCANNY.
And when Brought to bay VIII
Fight With Desperate FerOcity.

leash on their imaginations and hunt these
'ferocious" animals about the corners
over the tables. behind the bookcase and
under the bed. shedding with their trusty
pens an immeasurabIe amount of gore,
and finally giving the finishing stroke in
that fatal spot behind the left foreleg"
in a manner calculated to be thrilling and
realistic. but TO mountaineers, into whose
hands these stories occasionally fall, they
are higly amusing. If the writer's aim
at correctness and realism when introduc-
ing a mountain lion into a story it will do
well for them to remember that what is
known as mountain lion will never at
tack man unless driven to it by hunger,
and this, with the entire mountain region
and herds Of the rachers in the valleys to
draw upon. is Of rare occurrence.
There are three occasions on which
they will stand their ground or retreat
fighting. These are when they have cubs
In the vicinity, when they are in force.
two or more. or when they are cornered.
| The last situation is the most desperate
| for all concerned
Mountains lions and the smaller mem
| oers of the feline tribe have many char
Acteristics in common, but one of the
| most uncanny and peculiar is that of fol-
lowing person. Did you ever notice, on
/ a deserted street late at night. that YOU
were being accompanied by house cat.
! not at your heels as a dog, but first on
| one side then the other, sometimes ahead.
| sometimes behind. singing along in the
shadows of the buildings or slipping
| quickly across a ray of light from some
window. apparently not noticing YOU but
| surely keeping YOU company?
| 1t is the same with mountain lions I
| have been followed for miles on foot. too
| by those great yellow cats, generally in
/ the evening or late in the afternoon, when
/ the sun has dropped behind the mountains.
| leaving the gulches in semi-twilght. 1t is
| certainly not conducive to buoyancy of
| spirits TO glance back up the gulch and
! see, about 90 yards behind you, one of
| those big yellow brutes trotting demurely
| along in your trail. A few minutes later
| and you catch a glimpse of the yellow
| body slipping noiselessly through the
bushes at one side or the other and the
| next time you see 1t 1t may be directly
| ahead on a rock or bluff at the side of the
| trail watching for your coming. There is
something decidedly uncanny and grew
some In the situation, and If you are a
tenderfoot II is ten to one that your
first thought will be to "streak it, for
camp. Don't do it. 1t is the worst thing
you can do. If the lion really means busi-
nessgit could overtake you in less than a
| dozen leaps. If you do not care to risk a
shot, go right ahead as you were before
seeing the brute. and IL the buck ague"
will permit, whistle or sing. There is not
one chance in a thousand of the lion at
lacking you. You can see that II is alone,
and its following you is evidence that il
has no cubs in the vicinity. There Is but
one thing to guard against; If the animal
Is ahead OF you, avoid passing within leap
ing distance of that tree or rock above
you, especially II the winter season be on
and the snow lies deep on the higher
mountains. In that event the brute may
be hungry, but there is slight probability
of Its attacking you on the level, 1t pre-
ferring TO leap from hight of 10 or 20
feet. However If you happen to have
saddle Of vension or a hunk of bear meat
| drop 1t and go right on. OF all the larger
carnivorous animals, mountain lions are
the most easily killed, and 1 have known
the two barrels of No. 10 shotgun loaded
with BIB shot to do the work more than
once What If you are in the mountains
without a gun? Well-in that event a
mountain lion is an excellent substitute
for fool killer. and may the Lord have
mercy on your soul.
Mountain lions are probably more nu-
merous down on the peninsula of Lower
California than in any other locality on
the Pacific slope. Perhaps the finest range
for big game on the entire peninsula is
that well down toward the lower end, of
which the towering peak of San Pedro
| Martir is the apex.
| In little park at the foot of the east
! ern slope lived last summer Mexican
| placer miner with his family, several
small children and his old father. the lat
| ter helpless from the infrmities of age,
| being considerably over 100 years. This
| dwelling was an adobe hut of one room,
| with hole about 2A feet square for a
| window for which piece OF old blanket
served as a curtain. The door was of
| split pine saplings bound together with
| bark, the whole hung on wooden hinges.
| pile of spruce boughs covered with a
| blanket served as bed for the old man.
| One evening, just after the family had
| finished their supper, a smothered cry,
| accompanied by snarls and growls, came
| from the hut. The miner rushed in, and
| moment later there came q yell, fall
| and sounds of a struggle The sonora
dropped the cooking utensils she held and
| ran to the door. In the light she saw her
! husband on his back on the floor and on
! top of him huge mountain lion, gripping
his left shoulder in its powerful jaws and
cutting his flesh into ribbons with its
/ claws. Her husbands hand clasped the
! brutes neck in vain effort to choke loose
/ its hold. The old father lay on the floor
! gasping for breath. THE AK" called her
husband, family. The frightened woman
ran to the, woodpile and. returning with
|
! head The light was poor, and in her
| haste she failed to strike squarely the
ak glancing from the brute's skull. How
! ever, it loosed its hold on the PROSTATE
man, and sprang for the woman
! Trowing her to the floor. The husband
! staggered to his feet, and his right arm
being uninjured he seized the ak and
| dealt the now enraged lion terrible blow
| between the eyes. The ak crashed through
the skull deep into the brain. and without
/ a sound the brute rolled over, quivered
! few times, and was still. On examina-
! ton 1t proved to be very old, and almost
! toothless, it's claws worn down short and
! dull This accounted for the compare
! lively slight injuries it inflicted. The hus-
bands shoulder while badly bruised and
wrenched, was not crushed, and the claws
I had just cut through the skin, causing
| the blood to flow freely. The old man said
! the lion came through the hole that serv-
\ ed for a window, and Selling him by the
/ arm, began dragging him out the same
! way. 1t was gaunt and half famished,
/ and hunger had driven it to the house
/ This is the only instance within my knowl-
edge where mountain lion has volunta-
rily entered the habitation of man and at
tackled the inmates.