The Portland daily press., 1898-01-12
HUNTING THE LEOPARD CAT.
Feline of the Rio Grande Country That
Is Full of Fight.

(From the Chicago Times Herald.)
Far as the eye can reach on either hand
stretches a.sea of mesquite, billow upon
b1llow. The foam of these waves is light
green in color and moves erratically in
the wind and is tossed wildly toward the
sky. Huge cacti, twenty, twenty-five feet
high, rear ungainly formsIamid the foil
age. The broad leaved cactus, which
bears an edible fruit that gives a person
ohills and fever after the first. eating and
leaves an eternal hankering for more; the
Ginger cactus, that stands straight and
slender; the "snake" ..cactus,a that j is
trained like aLvine; the ''rock'' cactus,
that grows in limestone crevioes; the
"Spanish dagger the most cruel of
plants; the "pitaya" cactus, whose
e'apple" is of @ delioiousness past descrip-
tion, and the "nigger-head" cactus,
round, wooliy, and clumplike, help to
make ND the tangle. Woven in with
them. massed around them IN wondrous
profusion, is the ''ohaparral,' OF "cat-
claw" wild sage, ratama, husiache,
blackthorn, and hundred different varie-
ties of shrubs. Every growing thing
"a IL,
berbed vegetation the hunters are to force
their wey. When the chase is ended the
chests and knees of the horses will drip
blood. II broad stirrnps are not used the
yery soles of mems boots will be ripped
away. The country is the Rio Grande
country, and the quarry is the leopard
c at.
The wild cats of that section are of two
kinds-the ordinary dirtily colored "bob-
tail,' which. Is o sneak. thief and robber
and the beautifully marked leopard, -
which is warrior born. There is moth
ing in nature to exceed the ferocity of
this small animal when it turns in the
battle for its life. The skin is almost a
reproduction of the leopard from which
1t Is named, black spots upon brilliant
ly tawny}ground. 1t is about three feet
from tip to tip, and will weigh thirty
pounds, 1t is.exceedingly swift of foot,
and, owing to its habitat, always in the
DEEPEST of the tangled wilderness, is diff
cult of capture. Its food Is birds, rabbits
andasuoh things. AS it is a lifelong
enemy of the blue quail, the people hunt
it savagely. 1t goes without saying that
the man who phrsues it must be part
of his horse The city rider, with twelve
inches of..f1at pigskin under him, would
be ''Ieft at the post" The horses are
trained to the work, wonderfully active
and enduring Driven at Iull speed l1to
q mass of cactus, they will stop, throw
their heads down, Sarch 9their backs and
deliberately buck out of 1t. Any
one who has sat bucking pony will
know that he was kept too busy to think
of anything other than sticking on. When
a horse of this kind dies and is skinned,
as sometimes happens, the forelegs from
knee to hoof show a yellow network of
cactus needlesssan eighth Of an inch thick
three or four. millions of them, more or
less.
The-only hound ia the Southwest is a
mongrel. The straight bred deer hound
is practically unknown. Deer are "still
hunted.' The "cat dogs, as they are
called, are of small value. Anybody can
up in ferocity and noise what they lack
in nose. Sensitive nostrils are not OF
great worth, as the cat leaves strong
trail. The dogs are of all sizes and ages.
sham bling, ill.built, ill-conditioned
creatures, but hardy, speedy and OF good
tongue. There is not great ditference
between them and the cactus wolf. The
music that they make in full cry is the
best part of them. In one pack, owned
by 81 Wilkinson of La Sale county, was
q dog named Ranger, who had heavy
basso BAY, and female named Mollie,
whose voice was high, clear tenor
These two when they struck trail really
and truly sang. Their notes harmonized
and the effect was odd and bewitchinR.
1t is early morning Of q summer day
and the riders and dogs are gathered at
thesedge OF the ocean of "brush, " which
rolls for league on league westward to
the bank of the turbid river. Slowly they
work into tho wall Of thorns, and the
dogs hurry to and fro, whining. half
mile is traversed, the horsemen keeping
as we'll up as possible. suddenly the
" s,,x.~ frrn and iE
The cat has jumped. BY the speed of the
hound it more than quarter mile in
advance, and we hall have short, sharp
run. The hores crash into the unders
growth and follow fast. Each of the mon
Sits in the high-horned Texas saddle. The
tlrrups are six inches wide at the bottom
and made OF wood. The legs of every man
are incased in heavy leathern waistless
trousers as a protection from the barbs of
the plants. The horses. which know their
business, are given free rein. There ls
little effort to guide them. They will
keep up with the dogs, or nearly SO. The
man who finds goat path parallel with
| the chase is lucky. The ground is out
with dry ravines, creek beds that the
Mexicans name '9arroyas' The mesquite
stretches scrawny arms with OBTAINING
| fingers.
There is crash in the underground. A
| horse has fallen and rolled upon his rider.
| Neither can be seen. The man may be
dead, or he may be in at the death. The
chase sweeps on. Inquiry will be made
for the unlucky one at the end Of the hunt
and if he is missing he will be found.
dead or alive. Such things are common.
One of the men yells wildly. He has
caught glimpse of tawny object shoot
| ing through the tangle. 1t is the "leop'
ard, - not fifty yards from the dogs They
know that the end Is near, and their CRY
changes to the short, snappy yolp of the
wild animal. A little further on and 9
riderlessihorse plunges to the front. He ii
running free and as intent upon the CHASE
as at the start His owner has been swept
from the saddle by an everhanging limb
Wonderful to relate, small open space ii
found. 1t is not quarter of an acre In
extent, but the cat has turned, tired O.
running, Sand is fighting desperately annie
anaoverbearing mass of dogs. His innat,
ferocity has got the better of him, and h'
would rather die than flee another step
He is on his back, as the wounded hawi
turns to do battle and every claw Is
curved scimetar with which to rip flesh
Time and again his foes are beaten off
to return to the unequal contest; AS We
there is not mark on him. The brusl
hound, like the wolf, is poor fighter
He snaps and jumps back, afraid to han,