The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-25
RUNNING LEOPARD CATS.
4 SPORT PECULIAR 10 1HE LOWER
mo GR4NDE COUNTRY IN TEXAS.


Mongrel Dogs That Revert to Savagcry.
ENcINAL. Tex. June 2O.-The man OF the
lower Rio Grande country who Inns a liking
Tor sport cau shoot deer only during the open
season. This is true. too. Of ducks. geese.
snipe and quail In this region there 10 no
fishing at all. except fishing for bulheads In
the muddy frontier river which 10 not eXhil-
arating At any and all seasons. however. he
can run cats He s doing that now though
insulation would como swiftly to any North
erner who exposed himself to tho fierce heat.
The cat which 10 run is not the bobtailed
wildcat Of the forests further east. nor yet the
long tailed gray pruwler that Is met with in
some parts Of the Southwest 1t is the Loop
ard cat. member OF tho carnivora whose
habitat does not extend eastward beyond the
Nueces River nor much further mort than the
head Of the Sabinal The beast deserves Its
name since it ia leopard in miniature. 1t
has exactly the same form. the same eyes and
the same beautifully notified or spotted skin.
Furthermore. its DISPOSITION seems to be iden-
Teal. 1t is treacherous and cowardly. save
when crowded. When escape does not ssem
lossible by flight. it will turn and do battle for
its life with an insane anger that Is a sight to
see II weighs not more than.nftsen pounds
and 10 not often longer than twenty inches
from nose tip to tail root. but it will whip any
two dogs to he found in these parts and will
battle tor u half hour sometimes against half
dozen. 1t is able.to make itself respected in
jaw.to-jaw encounter because tits extremely
active. has short powerful foreegs. is armed
with curved claws out OF all proportion TO Its
size and is very rapid In movement. 1t Ia fast
of foot and will lead pa,k OF good dogs
chase Of ten miles even when it jumps not
quarter OF mile from the leader. 1t Ia easily
followed. as. even over the hot and hard ground
of the chaparral. it leaves n strong scent.
which has a peculiar tenacitv. remaining Tor
hours after the animal has passed. Its mark
inRs are black irregular spots white
ground as to the legs and belly and strong
irregular stripes OF black on the back. which
Is a yellowish gray. These markings are ex
ceedinGly lustrOus and the Leopard cat Ia
genuinely beautiful animal Of the tcerish type.
Slipping through the Lass of dark green
vegetation. intent upon the capture OF the blue
Mexican quail. it's white belly within an inch
OF tho ground. its short ears laid closely back
In readiness for ASPIRING. each velvet football
absolutely inaudible to the keenest ear, a very
Incarnation of s,oathy murder in little. it
seems brilliantly hued ghost passing on
ward upon some mission Of terror. 1t is
rare hunter who sees tho Leonard cat upon its
oues!. but 1t is to be done If a man possessed
the bower OF so merging himself into his sur
roundings that he is practically invisible.
Again. with the dogs bayng deep upon the
trail. aud with every musCe.of its 1.-the body
strained 10 the utmost in the endeavor to nut
distance bet Heen itself and LIS relentless pur.
suers. the cat will shoot past with the speed Of
light. 1t is believed that this animal Is the
only member Of tho feline family that has tho
stamina and the wind to cover ten miles at
top speed. Differing from other wildcats OF
America. it will take to a tree only upon rare
occasions. Though it is able to climb. Of course.
with speed and certainty. For escape 1t trusts
almost wholly to its ability to cover ground
Rpd TO n certain habit Of doubling. III which i:
Is much like-the fox. 1t will enter a burrow
or b. hollow tree or a disused rattlesnake
densonly when all other hope is gone. and. like
every member Of its tribe. 1t has a horror of
water. often turning to is death upon the bank
OF a small stream rather than wet its feet.
Its habitat Il peculiar to this region. There
10 chaparral all over the Southwest and over
much OF Mexico. but It is not the lower Rio
Grande chaparral. There is more Of 1t down
here. Its growth il not checked by ANYTHING.
There are no mountains to lar its progress.
nor are there elevated plains. as in the ri Paso
neiGhUorhood. whore the nights are SO odd all
the year round that tro!ic vegetation cannot
flourish. The piants which go to make up chap
arral like a hot, dry. leve! and sandy country.
and hero all of the conditions are fulfilled. Far
as the eye can. reach oneither hand stretches "a
sea Of mesquite. bi!low upon biliow. 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 forms
amid the foliage. The broad lraved cactus.
which bears an edible fruit that gives IA man
chills and fever after tho first eating and
IA ha, |, ri fnr : h. O,
ger cactus. standing straight and slender; the
snake cactus, trained like "a vine; the rock cac-
tus. which grows in limestone crevces; the
Spanish dagger cactus. most cruel OF plants
the petallo cactus, VIII ose ample is Of deli
c;ousnsss past expression; the niger head
cactus, round and woody. help TO maze up the
tangle.
Woven in with them. masoed around them
In enormous profusi1n. are cat claw. wild
sage, ratama. huisache and u hundred differ
ing varieties Of shrubs, each OF which bears n
thorn. Through this mass OF barbed veGeta-
ton he who PUSHES the LEONARD eat must force
his way. When the chase ends the chests and
knees OF the horses drip blood. II broad
etirrups are not used the very solss OF the
mems boots will be ripped away. 1t goes
without saving that.in such n country the
hunter must he nart Of his steed. The city
rider. with twelve inches Of fiat pigsk in under
him. belongs on the boulcvards not where the
chaparral grows The Southwestern saddle.
which weighs thirty pounds and has a high
cnntle and pommel. has been evolved from the
nece Isities OF its environment. 1t il unbreak-
able. 1t is double girthsd. so that it will not
slide forward upon the withers nor slip back
ward toward the tail. and it heips a man
nightly in sticking on. The horses are
trained to the work. active enduring. and they
have almost the camel's capacity of going long
distances without water, Driven at full speed
into a mass OF cactus they will stop. throw
down their heads and deliberatelv buck out OF
It. ANY one who has sat a bucking pony will
RENE her that he was kept too busy staying
with the machine 20 think OF anything else.
When a horse OF this kind dies and is skinned
as sometimes happens. though not often
the forelegs from knee to hoot show yellow
network of cactus needles an eighth OF an inch
thick lying next to the bone-three or four
millions OF them. more or less.
The only hound in the lower Rio Grande
section is q mongrel. The straight bred deer
hound Is unknown. He would be OF no use
Il there. because deer are still hunted. The
sportsman in this country would hold himself
dlsR-Acel IL he slew a deer in any fashion save