Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1899-05-26


Il TIE bay lynx, or wildcat" said
Judge Crane. of Port Jar
Wis. SIS not striking example
Of domestic devotion. Unlike the
hero of the popular ballad, he loves
to wander from his own fircside. and
lie is more fortunate than most fellows
in the ability to indulge his hayward
propensity. Most animals OF our woods
are extremely local i'm their habits.
The wildcat isa tramp. ltiscustomary
for him to have two iairs. a dozen way
side hauuts and perhaps IS many more
occasional stopping places. His two
homes are frequently ten or dozen
miles apart. and mark TWO points on
the circumference of an approximate
circle which incloses his stamping
ground.
lie starts from one of his habita-
tious ON his lonely iauut, covering in
the first ~ hours five or six miles or
the main Line of his route while his cN-
cursious to the right and left through
thckct and swamp comprise many
more miles. His route seems 10 he com
posed Of innumerablc small circles and
eccentric figures. When he reaches
his second residence he hunts the ad-
iaccnt covers until his hayward fancy
AGAIN asserts itself Then he strikes
of home. which he reaches by an alto
oetbcr new route or rather series OF
routes lie is not creature Of habit.
Occasionally he curls himself mp like
house cat and sleeps on the ground.
hunting usually by night. and some
times two weeks may elapse before he
rceain~ his starting point. Without
doubt he keeps his rowing up all the
time. although il is only during the
the winter months when the snow
holds the record OF his wanderingS.
that we can be sure Of his movements.
For this reason. too. the winter Is the
only time we can hunt him scientifical-
Is. If he is disturbed by man he will
pike off for the more distant home. per-
haps running for eight miles in a per
fectly straight line. If Won can set
dog upon his hot track he will take 10
the nearest swamp or patch or brlers.
and wind and twist ard turn until he
almost unscats the reason OF the calm
est and most calculating old hound
TINT ever followed trail. He will not
take 10 water or resort 10 the other
methods Of obltcrating his trail that
y deer adopts. He simply goes around
and around in the thickest brush he
can find. depending all the time on
mere strength of grit and endurance
10 win out and throw Oft the FOSTERING
hound. He j. not afraid Of the dog. but
the latter borcs him by his persistency,
and he resorts TO the same measures
adopted by the man who owes you ten
dollars II is very difficult 10 tree n
wildcat. Sometimes. after being hunt
ed for hours in the way | have indi-
Gated. a fresh and fast hound might
make him climb n tree. but this is rare.
The man who shoots a wildcat with
out understanding these principles Is
lucky.
Last week Lew Boyd, the presiding
genius Of the hunt at HARDWOOD. tele-
phoned 10 me that he had found the
fresh track of cat.
THAT cats come back from Eden,
was the way Lew put it-Edeu was
the second place OF residence OF this
particular cat-'and he's on this side
Of the Monticello road, now
$50 telcphoned TO Miles Sturtevant
70 come down from HARDWOOD the next
morning 10 meet me. ! met his wagon
on the road four miles from town. We
| bumped our way over the turnpike 20
! the top Of Sullivan county, and then
turned into the old Texas road. picking
up Lew Boyd and his hound on the
way. Three miles further on the GRAY
road strikes out TO the east at right
angles. Here we dismissed the wagon
chained the bound, and walked on in
the direction Of Gray swamp. At the
head Of Gray swamp we found the
tracks Of a big cat pointing toward thu
swamp, and a few yards further on we
came upon similar track crossing
the road in the opposite direction. Lew
asserted confidently that the two
tracks were made that day, and by the
same animal. and the question re
manned 10 be decided on which side Of
the road he was at that moment. III
was Of the opinion that the cat was ir
Long swamp. So we trudged through
The woods for three miles along the tor
OF low ridge.
1--WE passed innumerable deer tracks
on the way. Aswe ncare5 Long ,wamT