The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-03-03

In 1898, after he had mangled two men
and slain three of pack of seven hounds
that brought him to bay. The men who
were injured were Woodchoppers employ
ed by the Glass Brothers, of Basin They
were up on hillside cutting and trim
ming pines, which were then slid down
into the gulch over the hard crust of
snow runway. The runway became
damned, and one of the choppers had
started down the mountain to clear 1t.
lie was halfway down when the noun
tain lion sprang upon his back from
clump OF bushes, where 1t had lain con-
cealed, and rolled over and over with
MIN, until they brought up against the
log JAM The chopper dropped his ak
and one Of his arms was broken in the
falL He shrieked Justify for help while
struggling to free himself from the hun
cry beast, and his companion ran to aid
hlm In his haste the second man slip
ped and fell, and his ak went spinning
down the hillside. Selling a young pine
as a club, the second chopper attacked
the lion, raining blows upon the beast g
mead and back until 1t released his COM
panlon and sprang upon him. The driver
of wood wagon coming up the gulch
heard the shrieks Of the Woodchoppers
and took desperate chance to succor
them, He had a rifle on the wagon and
he hfed shot at the lion Wounding him
signify tie fired again, and at the sec
ond report the beast abandoned his prev
and skunk back into the bushes
The wood hauler took the wounded mon
on his wagon and carried them to Basin.
When the story was told there a party
was organized to Stay the lion. Nearly
every man in the place keeps a hound
ana seven of the best fighters among
these were selected to accompany the
party. These dogs took up the trail from
the scene of the encounter and followed
n hsl1f L.
the lion. They fought him for half an
hour before the party came up, and dis
patched the beast with a volley from
their guns. In that time the lion had
ripped open three of the hounds and Sc
r1ously wounded another. Out in Basin
they don't take any stock now in the
naturallst's theory that a mountain lion
won't attack a man
Another case of record out there is that
or Sam McDonald's encounter with a
Hon Sam is a miner, and he mad oeen
cleaning up at Henry Winters placer
camp, near the Porphyry dyke at the
head of Basin creek, when work shut
down for the winter A big snow came
along before Sam could move his family
down into the town of Basin, and 1t made
the mountain trail impossible for wagon
or sled, as no horse could wallow through
it.
Provisions were scarce in the camp.
and there was q. chance that all hands
would starve to death should there be
another heavy fall of snow Sam didn't
propose to see his wife and little ones
suffer If he could help it, so he yolun-
teered to shoe it down the mountains
TO town. Most of the miners out there
use skis, or Norwegian snowshoes, for
winter trips in the hills. Sam got his out.
and good stout staff as we'll, and with
gunny sack over his shoulder started for
a
Just made the turn by Winters dam.
three miles below the camp. when he
heard great "whoof' behind him. 1t
was ike the sound an exhausted man
makes when he frees his lungs of the
air pent UP in them. Sans first impress
sion was that some one had followed
him from camp with a message He
turned to greet the newcomer, and saw
an immense mountain lion crouched in
the snow not ten feet from him. The
hon had jumped from the side hill and
when his tracks were measured later it
was found that the beast had covered i
eighteen feet in that leap.
sam aimed a blow at the beast with his
staff, the only weapon he had. He said
later that the lion looked to him to be as
big as beef steer He missed it, and
the Hon crouched as If to spring Then
Sam turned tail and fed
man can travel like creased lightning
on Skis and down grade. That's the
way sam Mcdonald Travelled = and so
did that lion. Sam says it only hit the
mgh places in the trail, and that it was
following him by leaps and bounds. let
ting out 'whoof' every time it landed
In the snow at the heels of his skis
Five miles the beast followed him in that
way. and then Sam Mcdonald began to
forget his fear in his annoyance. He ]
brought up, all standing with the aid
hay he a.
vicious swing at the lion as it landed
beside him. Again the beast drew back
as II to spring, and again Sam turned
tail.
In the twelve miles that followed that
scene was repeated four times. the last
time on the very edge Of the town. Jus
t1ce OF the Peace Jerry Griffiths lived in
cab1n just there and he happened to
De o1ling his gun at the moment. He
saw Sam and he saw the lion. He
dropped his oil rag, pumped a cartridge
into his gun and fired just as Sam swung
Tor the lions head with his staff The
bullet got there first. Sam hadn't heard
the shot, and so when he saw the jus.
tice walking toward him, gun in hand,
he called out:
Don't need your burned old gun now.
Jerry. Men this things been tryin' to
scare each other to death, an I guess I
win"
1t hurt Sans feelings some to find that
the Justice was entitled to the hide But
he made record time that trip, and he's
proud of that And he doesn't travel
the mountain trails now in winter with |
out a gun
Miners out in the Rockies In winter
time are often hard up for amusement
and excitement. On such occasions they
sometimes organize lion hunts, and If
their hounds happen to be good hunt
ers and fighters there is no iivelier sport
imaginable. There is always sure to be
a lion somewhere in the neighborhood
and he is certain to fight to a finish
There are no set rules for lion hunting
The game is simply to raise your lion
and then drive him out into the open
where the dogs can get at him from all
sides. But 1t Is often hard work to get
the cunning beast to leave the brush.
and sometimes he will take to the tree
like coon. Then he is either killed off
the roost or else springs down when
the hunters come up, to mix IL up with
his two-legged foes.
Those who have hunted him saw that
the American lion Is as contrary as
mule. If you count on putting him I'D
a tree he will take an open ground on
the top Of a high hill and if YOU count OF,
getting him into the open he will take
to tree in some thick bunch of nine
or flr and throw the dogs off the scent
by .leaping from tree to tree over their
heads. He may weigh anywhere from
$50 to 300 pounds. and his short legs NAV
give you the impression that he is so
clumsy and awkward as hardly to be
able to get out of his own wav but when
he begins to fight or to run you are
likely to change your opinion and to find
that a buzzsaw isn't a circumstance to
him In ripping things and that for grace
full leaps that cover ground a flying
Sd1Iirrnl can't hold q. % tndlo 70 ,nn,,,,