Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-12-08

the impossibility Of jumping cougar with
out dogs, even when iii general way. its
haunt is known. We rode along the hillside,
and quartcred it TO and fro, on the last occa-
4 sion coming down spur where we passed
within two or three rods of the brush in
which the cougar was actually lying; but she
never moved and it was impossible to see
her. When we finally reached the bottom.
the dogs had disentangled the trail; and they
passed behind us at good rate, going up
almost where we had come down. Even as
we looked we saw the cougar rise from her
lair, only 50 yards or so ahead of them, her
red hide showing bright in the sun.
Shooting Cougar in a Pinyon.
1t was very pretty run to watch while it
lasted. She left them behind at first, but
after quarter of mile they put her up
pinyon. Approaching cautiously-for the
climbing was hard work and did not wish
to brighten her out of the tree if it could be
avoided lest she might make such run as
that of the preceding evening" was able
to shoot her through the heart. She died in
the branches, and climbed the tree to
throw her down.
Thinking that we had probably exhausted
spent the next fortnight off on trip. The
first day we rode to the Mathes brothers
ranch. There was good deal of snowy
weather while we were at the Mathes ranch,
but we had fair luck, killing two cougars. 1t
was most comfortable, for the ranch was
clean and warm and the cooking delicious
1t does not seem to me that | ever tasted
better milk and butter, hot biscuits, rice, 20
tatoes, pork and mulberry and wild plum
jam; and, of course, the long days on horse
back in the cold weather gave an edge to our
appetites..
On February Il we rode back to the Key
stone ranch, carrying the three cougar skins
behind our saddles. 1t was again very cold,
and the snow on the divides was so deep
that our horses wallowed through it up to
their saddle girths. 1 supposed that my
hunt was practically at an end, for had but
three days left but as it turned out these
were the three most lucky days OF the whole
trip.
Kills Bobcat
On the first of the three DAYS, February
II, we had not ridden half an hour from the
ranch before we came across the trail of
very big bobcat. | killed it before any Of
the dogs saw it, and at the shot they all ran
in the wrong direction. After we had
brought them in we rode across one or two
ridges, and up and down the spurs without
finding anything, until about noon we struck
up long winding valley where we came
across one or two old cougar trails The
pack were following in our footsteps behind
the horses, except Jim, who took off to one
side by himself Suddenly he began to show
signs that he had come across traces of
game; and in another moment he gave
tongue and all the hounds started toward
him.
They quartered around in the neighbour
hood of little gulch for short while, and
then streamed off up the mountainside and
before they had run more than a couple of
minutes we heard them barking freed BY
making slight turn we rode almost up to
the tree and saw that their quarry was a
young cougar AS we came up, it knocked
Jimmie right out of the tree. On seeing lis
it jumped down and started to run. but it
was not quite quick enough Turk seized it
and in minute the dogs had it stretched
out. 1t squawled, Kissed and made such a