The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-19
TRAPPED BY A cATAMOuNr.
The Big Brute Surprised the Hunter
Stealing Her Young.

shanty with its ponderous stone chimney
is located near the head of Kettle creek,
in Potter county, where with a pair of
splendid dogs for companions Ross passes
his time most delightfully."-. He is now well
on toward IS years Of age. and people who
know his history say there's a romance
IN his lfe-a love disappointment so pOig-
nant in its sting that a quarter of a CEN
fury ago he bid adieu to the bustling world
and took up the hermit-like life that he is
leading to-day.
But it is not of this phase of his life
that my story treats. 1t is of an exciting
adventure that fell to his lot early last
ran, while he was endeaVoring to make
"a tener" las he calls $40 real quickly.
Oftentimes Ross truns an honest dollar
or more by furnishing the museum agents
or owners Of small parks with bear cubs,
IaWns, raccoonS, porcupines and the like
Tor curiosity pets. He can tell some mighty
interesting stories concerning his eXpe-
riences in taking young animals alive;
but his adventure of last fall is perhaps
as exciting as any. He had had a stand
ing order for year or more for a pair of
catamount kittens for the owner Of a
Deer garden in Pittsburg. The proprieto
OF the garden had been up ia Potter county
on trouting expedition and met Ross
Hayes and learned of his method of live
nhood. The Pittsburger wanted a pair of
kittens, but would take "A single one if
he couldn't do any better For the pair he
was TO give Ross SIS. while for one he
would pay but SO Ross had been keep
ing MS ears and eyes open for a year in
order to catch on to where some old cat
amount was rearing her young, but with
out success. Early last summer while
whipping a fork Of Kettle creek for truot
he did come onto a bunch of rocks where
pair of tawny wildcats were breeding
ana ne was tempted to try and work off
a pair OF their kittens on the Pittsburger
Tor genuine catamounts offspring
He thought better of this however. and
Tor his honesty he was rewarded. along
toward ran, by the discovery Of the lair of
pair OF catamount parents He was out
Taccoon hunting on this occasion, and
while squirting through a thicket Of lau-
rel and hemlock his attention was at
tracted by a curious squeaking like the
weak mewing of a house cat. He inves-
ugated and found that the sounds came
from under quite large rock that had
TOPPED over the top of another rock
forming tent-like aperture of several
ne round a litter Of catamount kittens
so young that they were barely able to
open their eyes. He knew that the young
uns weren't old enough to be taken then
so ne marked we'll the place and calcu-
lated on going back a little later on and
securing pair of the silky-coated Crit
ters He got out of the neighborhood of
the lair as soon as possible for fear Of
an interview" with Mrs. Catamount
whom he knew would be "all-ired
her kittens
.Catamounts have a habit of moving
their young from place to place, by catch
ing them up in the teeth by the nape of
the neck, just as the domestic feline car
RES her young. Nobody knew this better
than Ross Hayes, for he is AN intelligent
ieMow and studies the natural character
tsticS of his game
He kept close watch on this particular
catamounts home, and when he found
| that the kittens could move about pretty
well and showed a disposition to lap the
rain drops off the leaves about their rock
pound home he concluded IL was about
| time for him to earn his S25 During his
m he he, F0,gI
| Gu 10 see or hear any signs of either the
male or female parents This was
strange, for usually one of the old cats
| stays within earshot of their lair to pre-
! vent molestation. Ross afterward learn
| ca, however, that woodsman had killed
| lhe male parent nearly month before
mus the task of maintaining the five
Kittens Iell upon the mother, hence the
| reason why she remained away from the
| nest for so long time
Ross swung a bag across his shoulder
| When he started for his young cata-
| mounts. The cats nest was but a half
hour walk from the cabin, so Ross was
not long In covering the distance. He lis
| tened on nearing the copse where the nest
was located to learn whether or not the
sounds of the kittens were still there or
| whether he could hear the gruff snarling
| OF the she parent. The kittens were there
ana the noise they We're making showed
that they were fast acquiring sufficient
| strength to move to other quarters Ross
| sneaked through the thick laurels after
nrst surveying the lower limbs of nearby
trees on which the old cat might be lurk-
! ing. he kept his hunting knife in one
| hand and made sure that his pistol hung
securely at his belt. At the sight of him
the peSky Kittens set up kissing and =
splitting and they all huddled hack uDdar
| the pig stone out of his reach All he
could see were the eyes of the Young
TdtinlhtS sparkling In the darkness
he knew he'd have to act quickly. for
llhe chances out of ten the old cat would
a La i.
knife on the ground, then knelt down and
craWled into the hole under the rock -
was necessary for him to crawl so far
lnat the greater part of his hod1J ,Tos
| cramped under the stone He was inst
IN the act of grabbing for a pair of tbe
oIishI eyes that We're now within reach
MHen ne peIt something land kerplunk on
MS PACK, and the next instant he felt
something like a knife thrust in his side
he knew what 1t was. 1t was the old cat
ne packed out of there in a hurry feaI-
ing LOT MS knife. All this while the old
cat was scratching and biting him in a
tenlnc manner her ugly claws tearin@
mis- 1esh at every jab. Ross realized bjs
position and he was thoughtful enough To
h ny" SnaC II ne packed entirely out of the
and head Ia MS race
His wounds hurt intensely. but he man
aged 70 grasp the knife and make a back
nanoed Iunge at the animal on his haclr
HIS aim, blind though 1t mas was 500 n
Tor the blade Of the knife plunged INFO ~
oid cats body. But he got a sorry hire on
tle mana Tor his trouble. Then he tried
70 roll over on the creature but this aid
not work, as the cat was quicker than he
Was Mas anu II only dug its claws deep into
the re-, newly exposed part of his body.
Then something unexpected hammered
Just as Ross was about to push himsaIf
out all the way he heard the yefping of
MS dog, and the next instant there was an
awful yowl from the cat, then a roI,eb
and tumble battle between it ana The AZ
on the ground. The dog is a DowArf1i11
beast and the wounded cat put UP but a
was the work of but a few minutes up+ti
the mangled body. of the old cat Law helm
less on the ground. Then Ross with blood
trickling from a dozen wounds. mons Of
them serious, however, just waded into
that litter of kittens. Instead of gettine
a pair he gobbled the entire five ana
"toted' them away in his bag. The catch
brought him $45 in cold cash. and this sun1
cat gave him.
-Paradoxical-Extra Son: Of
course. / keen q ru0niOg account