The Hartford republican., 1905-09-01
GREAT LION HUNT.
GpideS Get contract To Rid Vel
loWStOne Park of the
Beasts.


they threaten the extinction Of deer,
elk and other wild animals that live
an this great Government game re-
serve. SO numerous have the cou-
gars become that the Government,
through President Rooseyelt's re-
commentator. has given John and
Homer Goff, celebrated guides and
hunters at Meeker, Colo, a contract
to clear the lions out of Yellowstone
Park. John Golf is the guide who
won fame taking President Roose-
velt on his successful cougar-hunting
trip in Colorado and who was en-
gagged to guide the President on his
very recent Coloradotrip. Gotf and
his brother will have several assist
ants, all celebrated lion hunters, and
with his great pack of cougar-hunt-
ing dogs, will make a thorough bu-
siness of ridding Yellowstone Park
of its pest.
The work of hunting lions in yell
lowstone Park will, it is estimated
take several seasons, and in the
meantime there is demand for lion
hunters in Colorado, Wyoming and
other cattle states, where stockmen
are suffering great losses from these
pre- datory animals. Cougars are
said to be on the increase in the
Rocky Mountains. and unless some
thing is done to stop their ravages
they will not only make way with
much ofthe wild game, but will intiict
incalculable damage on thelive stock
industry.
Owing to the enormous number of
mountain lions in Yellowstone Park
the Government will not have to pay
a large bounty to the Goff brothers.
The hunters will receive the bounty
of $5 on each mountain lion they kill,
an addition to a salary Of S75 month
each for their work. Most of the
work is done between the spring and
fall, for the winters are very severe
in Yellowstone Park, the climatic
conditions being almost arctic, owing
to the moisture generated by many
geysers. The work will be done
Systematically, and there is no one
else in the country equipped to carry
on the business Of exterminating
cougars in such wholesale fashion.
The Golf brothers have the largest
and finest pack of cougar hounds in
the world. A good cougar hound
costs $35 to 500 as puppy, but this is
a mere bagatelle in comparison with
the work Of training the hounds.
The animals have 10 BE- trained con-
Stantly in the work Of trailing and
freeing cougars. and in learning how
to close with them when they have
been brought to the ground desper-
ately wounded. And then, after
months of training. deg may de-
Velop yellow streak and prove
utterly wothless for cougar work.
Owing to the great expense and
enormous amount of work necessary
in securing a well-trained pack of
cougar hounds. there are few pro-
fesSional hunters of mountain lions
in the country. Without dogs it is
an almost hopeless task To hunt lions.
Sometime they can be trapped, but
they are very wary animal and are
possessed Of such enormous strength
that in many cases they can make
way with the traps after they have
been caught. Occasionally a cowboy
shoots a mountain lion as the animal
is found eating the carcass of colt
or q calf which it had killed. but
the,e are rare instance. and usually
the mountain lion makes its kill and |
gets successfully away Most of the
calves killed by the lion, are under
SIX months old. If they would con-
tent themselves with eating the car
casses of the animal, they kill the
loss to stockmen void not be so
heavy, but cougars develop a taste
which is fairly eplcurcan and will
have nothing but the blood Of calves. .
Frequently a stockmar finds on the
range, close together, the carcasses
of three on four calves. all killed by
The same animal.
An Arizona stockmar recently re-
ported that the lion WAS traced to
his lair and killed. Seattle about