The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1919-06-20
LILLY, WHO HUNTS
LIONS FOR A LIVING

Thousands court notoriety, while a
select minority prefer to remain I'M
noticed in the darkened background
but have fame thrust upon them.
The latter class holds Benjamin V.
Lilly, champion lion hunter.
Born Of a good and prosperous
family, Lilly, while still in his teens,
responded to the call of the wild and
became freelance hunter. Loaded
with a GO-pound pack, he broke his
way through the Louisiana cane
brakes in search of game-no varie-
ties or species barred, from bears to.
wildcats. Adeptness with firearms
and courage were his resources. As
a rule, every time his rifle cracked
some animal dropped or flopped its
way into the underbrush badly
wounded, and for the last half centu-
ny Lilly's rifle has been splitting fire
and his fame as a sure shot" has
spread through Louisiana, Texas, Ari-
IONA, New Mexico and northern Mex
leo.
Ben Lilly was one of the guides
who accompanied the late Col Roose-
welt in his hunt through the louisiana
canebreaks, at the time when the
term TEDDY Bear" attained populari-
ty. Subsequently Lilly collected
specimens OF wild animals for the BIZ
illogical Survey OF the United States
Department of Agriculture, and at
various times during the last six years
he has been in the service of this
bureau as a professional hunter. AL
though he now is IS years old, he is
as active, as daring, and as certain
in drawing a bead" as any of his as
sociates, some of whome are young
enough to be his grandchildren. Lii
ly is a giant for work, and even at
present is able to tire out two or three
sets of dogs in rounding up some
range varmint. His circle of friends
among the western ranchers is ex-
tensive.
Much Saved For StOcIxmen.
On the basis that the wolf kills ST.
600 worth of live stock a year, the
bear and mountain lion $500 each Of
live stock, and the coyote and bobcat
each do $50 worth of damage, Lilly
has saved the western stockmen enor-
nous amounts. In the last six years
he has killed 1877 mountain lions and
65 bears, including several grizzlies.
Mr. Lilly is unassuming and disin-
clined to talk about his experiences,
and on this account no accurate re-
cord is available concerning his total
number Of scalps.
MIR Lilly attributes his physical
poweTess and activity to his out-of
door life and to his abstemious ma
turc, as he has never used tobacco OF
intoxicants of any description. He
Furthermore has followed a fixed rule
of never hunting on Sunday, and &C
COlulHS " IuluOl III SCStlOllS VI LuS
country over which he has hunted
this resolution has given many wild
animals a new lease of life, as they
were able to make a getaway" on
the Sabbath. One interesting story
is told of how Lilly followed bear
through three States before he final
ly cornered the animal and was able
to kill him.
80 hounds once so enraged
mountain lion that she finally at
tackled Lilly. who was unarmed ex
cept for a 4-inch pocket knife. With
his fragile weapon he killed the beast
after a strenuous encounter.
Knows Range Well.
Mr.. Lilly knows the range country
SO well and is so familiar with the
routes, habits and haunts of the lions
that occasionally he kills as many as
lions in half an hour. He knows |
just where to set traps in the canyons
and coves, while he is able to pick
out the most desirable spots to lie !
in ambush awaiting the approach of |
beasts.
Uncle Sam employs approximately |
800 professional trappers and hunt
ers to assist western stockmen in ex-
terminating wild predatory animals
rom the range country. These hunt
ers hare killed 1918 predatory an
mals in the last three years, which |
has resulted in a direct saving esti-
mated at nearly S5,500,000 year to
he stockmen of the Rocky Mountain
section. The total kill consisted of
so, 473 coyotes, S,094 bobcats, 1929
wolves, POI mountain lions and 1877
bears. The pelts of the animals kill
I'd were sold for approximately $780,
200 which, of course. is of considera-
Die aid to the Government in financ-
ng the work. In addition to animals