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

T
running trail, and when we finally got up
tolerably close we found that they were all
scattered out. Boxer was far behind, and
Nellie, whose feet had become sore, was So
berly accompanying him, no longer giving
tongue. The others were separated one
from the other, and we finally made out
Tree-em all by himself, and not very far
away
Leaving our horses we scrambled up the
canyon until we got in sight Of large pin
yon on the hillside, underneath which Tree
EN- was standing, with his preposterous tail
arched like pump handle, as he gazed sol
emily up in the tree. now and then uttering
bark at hugh cougar, which by this time
we could distinctly make out standing in the
branches. Turk and Queen had already left
us and were running hard to Join Tree-em,
and in another minute or two all of the
hounds, except the belated Boxer and Nellie,
had also come up The cougar having now
recovered his wind, jumped down and can
tered OFT. He had been running for three
hours before the dogs and evidently had
been overtaken again and again, but had
either refused to tree, or if he did tree had
soon come down and continued his flight,
the hounds not venturing to NEEDLE with
him, and he paying little heed to them 1t
was different matter however, with Turk
and Queen along. He went up the hill and
came to bay on the top of the cliffs, where
we could see him against the sky line.
The hounds surrounded him, but neithet
they nor Turk came to close quarters.
Queen, however, as soon as she arrived
rushed straight in, and the cougar knocked
her dozen feet off. Turk tried to seize him
as soon as Queen had made her rush; the
cougar broke bay, and they all disappeared
over the hill top, while we hurried after
them. A quarter of a mile beyond, on the
steep hillside, they again had him up pin-
yon tree. approached as cautiously as pos
sibe SO as not to alarm him. He stood in
such an awkward position that | could not
get fair shot at the heart, but the bullet
broke his back, and the dogs seized him as
he struck the ground.
There was still any amount OF fight in him,
and ran in as fast as possible, jumping and
slipping over The rocks and the bushes as the
cougar and dogs rolled and slid down the
steep mountain side--for, of course. every
minutes delay meant the chance of a dog
being killed OF crippled 1t was day of mis-
fortune for Jim, who was knocked COM
pletely out of the fight by single blow.
The cougar was too big for the dogs to mas
ter, even crippled as he was; but when I
came up close Turk ran in and got the great
beast by one ear, stretching out the cougar
head, while he kept his own forelegs tucked
away back SO that the cougar could not get
hold OF them. This gave me nv chance and
| drove the knife home, leaping back before
the creature could get round at me-
1t was very large cougar, fat and heavy,
and the men at the ranch believed it was the
same one which had at intervals haunted the
place for two or three years, killing on one
occasion mich COW, on another steer,
and on yet another a big work horse. Golf
stated that he had on two or three occasions
killed cougars that were quite as long, and
he believed even an inch or two longer, but
that he had never seen one as large or as
heavy. Its weight was 227 pounds, and as it
lay stretched out it looked like small Afri-
can lioness. 1t would be impossible to wish
better ending to hunt.
The next day Golf and cantered 80 miles
into Meeker. and my holiday was over.