Jackson County journal. (Sylva, N.C.) 19??-19??, 1919-08-01
At Sixty-Five He Leads All Uncle
Sans Professional
TrapperS.
SAVES ST0CKNEN HUGE sum
, the Last Six Years "Old Ben" Has
KILLED 1877 Mountain Lions and IS
Bears, Including Several
Grizzlies.

Washington, d. C.-Uncle Sam EN-
nIoys approximately three hundred
professional hunters and trappers to
.x.erminate predatory animals in the
range country. Among these, the
champion lion hunter is "Old Man Ben
LUIy," who at siXty-tive years of age
sin leads all the rest. He remains
an.yc, rs daring and as certain in
Drawing Il bead as any Of his asso-
GATES, some of whom are young enough
20 be his grandchildren. Lilly is
-j&at for work. He is able daily to
ire out two or three sets of dogs in
rounding up some range warmth"
According to the bureau of biological
survey, under which this determination
work is done, Old Man Lilly in the last
.iv years has killed 167 mountain lions
and 50 bears. including several grz-
zlics. The official account, just issued,
concludes: MIR. Lilly is unassuming
ana disinclined to talk about his expe-
rieuceS, and on that account no ac-
curate record Is available concerning
his total number of scalps, but it is
very large"
Leads Temperate Life.
Mr.. Lilly attributes his physical
prCwess and activity to his outdoor
life and to the fact that he never used
tobacco or intoxicants Of any kind. He
furthermore has followed a fixed rule
Of never hunting on Sunday. This rule
has given many wild animals being
pursued new lease of life through
being able to make their getaway"
on the Sabbath. On one OCCASION
however, he tracked huge mountain
Lon for weeks through three states
and finally cornered him. His hounds
were beaten off and the beast attacked
Lilly. His rifle was knocked from his
hand. Armed only with a 4-inch peck
ct knife. he battled for some time until
one desperate plunge of this weapon
at the animals heart reached it jus
as the hunter became so exhausted
that he fell beside the dead lion.
The records assert that Mr.. Lii.
knows the range country so we'll ant
Is SO familiar with the routes. habit:
and h2unts of the lions that occasion
ally he kills three within half an hour
He knows just where to set traps il
the canyons and coves, while he is abb
to pick out the most advantageou
spots to lie In ambush awaiting tn
approach Of prowling beasts. Born o
good family enjoying prosperity, Lii
in his teens responded to the call o
the wild and became q freelance hun,
err Loaded with a 60-pound pack, h
broke his way through the LouSian
canebrakes in search of game, fror
time his rifle cracked some animc
dropped, and his fame as sure She
has spread throughout Louisiana, TIE,
as, Arizona, New Mexico and norther
Mexico. He was one Of the guide
selected to accompany the late Colont
which made the Teddy Bear" famou
His circle of friends among westel
ranchers Is extensive and appreciativ
Saves Stockmen Huge Sum.
On the accepted basis that wo
Kills $1,000 worth of stock year.
bear and mountain lion $500 each, ar
that coyote and bobcat each do s;
worth Of damage, Lilly has saved IL
western stockmen q substanti
amount Altogether these predatol
animal hunters have killed 7O,713 SUI
beasts in the last three years. tt
direct saving thereby is estimated
nearly $5,5OO,0O0 a year to the stoc
men of the Rocky Mountain sectio
The total kill consisted of 6O,473 co
oteS, 1904 bobcats, 1S9 wolves, q
mountain lions and 1877 bears. II
petS of these animals sold for appro
lmately 100000. which was used