The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-05-07
Jay Bruce Of California
Is States Official Cat
Exterminator
HAS THE SKINS OF l27
Once Had a Narrow Escape,
Facing Two Animals With
an Empty Pistol
IA Tragedy OF the woods.


of kangaroo. stopped at a bush
OF tender green deer brush and nib
bled dellcatcly An instant later n
young fnwn was at her side, also
eating the food which the rich soil, a
boaming sun and melting snow water
had permeated with life-giving vir-
! tues.
Neither tho doe nor the fawn
heard the lthc, yellow cat that
crawlcd on its stomach, closer and
/ closer. suddenly the mountain lion
sprang from cover, striking the fawn
with its great forcpaws and body,
killing the animal instantly. The
doe bounded away frantically,
stopped and ran back again toward
the slain fawn.
The lion tore out the fawn's liver
and ate 1t voraciously. AS tho doe
approached the beast rose from its
crouchinR position, snarling teeth
barred, ears flat on the head. The
doe fled before the terrifying sight,
vacillated and came back. The
mother instinct was strong. Yet she
dared not battle with this devourer.
Safety lay in her heels. She could
outrun the cougar.
Presently the lion was satlated.
scratching over II dried leaves and
twigs and crawed away in the brush
TO digest his food.
The Aycngcr Appears.
For many hours the mother deer
circled about the body OF the fawn
approaching closer and closer. The
hated odor of the cat persisted
everywhere. a noise Of cracking
] 4,
She stared curiously out OF great
brown eyes at the movement Of the
trees that swayed slightly on the
d trail.
\ A yellow dog emerged fSom the
tangle. Behind him came two others.
The coat of the mongrel was in
strange contrast to the sleek appear
. ance OF the long-earned, mild-eyed
fox hounds that shifted the ground
and nearby bushes.
, Then came two men. They drag
; ged themselves slowly up the steer
, slope. fighting the intervening
bushes that slashed their faces and
; tore at their clothes. At their heels
: were two hound pups. Both the tall
I dark man and the short, light com
: plexioned youth carried packs or
. their backs and were armed with
heavy calsber revolvers. the butts OF
Which could be seen protrudlng from
shoulder holsters.
u The hounds began to circle ex
citedly. a loud bawllng sound broke
in on the symphony OF signing cedar
: and roaring waterfall. Both OF the
: older hounds bayed as only II hounC
can. The two pups Joined in thu
G chorus. The mongrel alone wa
- silent.
o The tall man saw the deer anC
. pointed toward IT,
i Frightened, the doe bounded ava.
= and disar peared in the vastness o
10 the Sierra Nevada wilderness.
= II-Thc Aycnger.
:. Jay Bruce, state lion hunter 70
g the California fish and game com
o mission, shifted his pack and stared
Lup the steep mountainside wher
e Eli, the mongrel, and Scout and Ran
II ger, veteran hounds We're worryinj
: over a winding trail. 1 threw my
!, self upon n pile of pine needles L
u get a minutes respite.
=. For four days we had been pur
y suing a mountain lion through tn
:, wilds OF the the El Dorado nationa
/, forests in the Sierra NcVadas, wad
ling through snow in places. jumping
Itlttks, ltlulub Nluff rAlNdlllSf Fi''l
ing out in rain and sleet, grindin
up heart breaking slopes and toarin
- down into canyons on the run [
keep up with the hounds.
Now we were returning 10 camI
Even Bruce, trained mountalnecl
was fatlgued after the 60 miles G
back tracking, climbing and do
n racing. lie looked up at the stee
slope doubtfully
This man Bruce, long legged, un
couth, scraggly bearded, had tn
credit OF killing more cougars (pan
thers, pumas or mountain lions
= than any other hunter in CalifOrnii
al The records of the state commissio
A. credit him with 127 kills" on tn
,e strength OF his early reputation as
Is cougar batter he was hired by ia
as state as official lion hunter TO kl
s. the cats that destroy annually 80
sr 600 deer In the Sierras and sla
ie many hundred bead OF cattle an
ly sheep as well.
ly Statistics His Guide.
Of II was this reputation that led N
Ito follow Bruce's trail in search {
m "A "dcCrslayer." lie always gets h
~ lion" they said OF this strange MAJ
II whose official duty IL is to hunt.
~ And 80 we had come into the lio
ks country. Not by any haphazaI
ds chance, however, had he chosen Il
m Bald mountain country in the
n Dorado forest.
te Forest Supervisor Edwin Smith
ne the El Dorado national forest hn
OF called the game commission:
Lots Of lions killing deer up here
40 he said. Send up your lion tanner
.u Now jay BRUCE hunts with map
ls scales, compasses and statistics.
y" He took me over TO big map
~ the state OF California. II was stuI
~, full OF tiny holes, totaling mo
"a than $500 1 was assured, reprosen
~ ing all the cougars that have bee
" killed in the last l3 years or sim
NJ the bounty system was establishe
or Each pin marked a place whe
ia lion had been slain, So unifor
ira was the area that 1t could be d
m scribed as a curve about Is mil
he wide, extending through the Sierr
mt and coast range at am altitu
ily between 5000 and 5000 fo
M above sea level. The 3,OOO-to
he level marked the western bounda
,g- OF the lion belt" tho 5,00O-to
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