Daily Kennebec journal., 1897-04-13
A Bobcat and 4 Deer.

Since his return from Stumblow. Gregg
of Winthrop, does not care to discuss the
bobcat question in any of its bearings.
Commissioner Carleton induced him TO
go out and look for bobcats. Stories
from Hancock county were related every
day telling how plenty bobcats We're.
They robbed hen roosts. killed sheep,
and stole sucking pigs by the dozen. III
a man wanted to combine courage with
commerce the place for him TO go was
Stumblow where bobcats roasted on
every limb and where the snow on two
townships was trodden down with then
tracks. The State bounty of 81 head
would make the trip a profitable one
while the fun of killing would be the
event of a lifetime.
For four days Gregg hunted without
seeing a bobcat or the sign of one. Late
in the week he discovered the track OF a
catlike animal, which he followed Oh
Saturday and Sunday without stopping 10
rest. The animal was chasing deer run,
ming them down in the deep sho" anu
eating them where they fell.
Three mutilated and denuded carcasscS
were found between Stumblow ana Nc,
atous lake. and every animal hau i,e u,eu =
from a broken neck. 1lnls rack puZIiu "
Gregg. A bobcat an animal that seidoI'i
weighs more than uhirty-five pouhds, "'
not strong or heavy enough to break y
deer's neck Gregg looked at the trden1 n >, y
They were fully five inches across
scrutiniZed them more olosei9 ~, ~.
learned that the animal was coNeiliS
from eighteen to twenty-five feet at every
leap. No bobcat, though he was s hiI.s "
his race could make such leaps. oteoS
argued the case with himseli, anu o,,,i ~
rived at the conclusion that the aiiiiii li, !,
he was chasing was great Afleiic II II
PANTHER or Indian devil. beast Which
can kill a man as easily as rappi''
This changed the complexion oil thliss'
He had gone hunting 10 klii soiiiet ~. .. >
The notion of getting killed oy pau tlie. u
and leaving his bones in the WoouS iol
the crows and foxes to pick was not "a
agreeable one 1t We're better that az
the deer in Maine should peflsn, ana an
the hens. sheep ard poultry win theii', siii,
than to fall a victim to so sreeuS 4Lol
llnreasonng a beast. Gregg was ara lhs
a picture of the panther trying to pfeah
his neck and making ready to go nome
at once when a noise in the bushes ~
This right caused him to look IN that dl-
rection.
AS his glance fell upon a clump OF
scrub beeohes a great animal emerged
from the mass of clinginS leaves. me
animal was fully five feet tall. HIS less
were long and slim, like those OF a deer:
but his body was short and furry. ana
his head had the great round eyes ana
the black tufted ears of a bobcat. Gregg
dropped his rifle, made swivel-like turn
on his snowshoes. and fled for camp
where he told of a perilous escape from
pantnef lndt Hdu come u9'i -
through the woods and chased him for
nearly a mile The men who went out
to look for his rife found the tracks
where Gregg said the animal had gone.
There were deer tracks, and on top OF
these were the imprints of wildcat $
feet showing that the cat had jumped
on the deer's back and ridden by the
spot Where Gregg was standing. Furth-
er on the men found the body of newly
killed deer and lean bobcat making a
N1,t- IhaxH
shot the cat and brought the body in to
show to Gregg. but he had gone home
before they returned. To his friends in
Winthrop Gregg explains matters by
saying that he went out for the purpose
of earning a few dollars in bobcat boun-
ties AS the State pays no bounty on
panthers he did not care to waste his
ammunition. Meanwhile there is SiZ
rifle in Browns camp at StumbIoW
which awaits an owner.-Phillips Phono-
graph.