The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-03-06
Mountain Lions Scream

To the New York Herald It was with inter ested surprise that I read in an editorial article in your paper that there are scientific men who have doubts as to the cry of the mountain lion. I am no partisan defender of the novelists who, it seems, thrillingly have mentioned this hair raising yell of the giant panther-like creature of the western mountains. My personal knowl- edge of mountain lions and their cries ante dates by many years any of these novels of western romance and adventure.
 Mountain lions were a dreaded pest on my fathers mountain ranch in California when l very little boy, and especially during the two years that had band of about 400 Angora goats and their seasonal kids as an experiment in raising fleece for what, that early promised to produce a sort of Persian shawl industry. I recall vividly my fathers graphic description of the leap of the lion upon a kid outside the corral one night just as my father fired charge of buckshot The leaden pellets must have struck the huge animal in it's flight, because it instantly turned from the kid and with terrible shriek of anger and pain tore at it's own flank, and then, to my fathers great relief, departed into the shadowy dark ness of the nearby mountain side.
 When I was a youngster of II I was out hunting one day till long after nghtfall. I was traversing a mountain side road that was closely skrted by thick underbrush, when sud denly I was startled by the unfnistakable and terrifying cry of a mountain lion seemingly within few rods to the rear. At the sound my younger brother rushed close and clung to me We walked on, with both hammers of the muzzle loader up and anxiously and repeat edly peering back into the dense darkness hop ing to shoot barrel of the small No shot right into the animals eyes soon as might see them and trusting to the other barrel to save us by binding him completely. For about 200 yards that trailing continued with four or five repetitons of that awful cry, and then we emerged into the open and the moon light, and the cries were not repeated nor was the animal seen.
 have seen too many mountain lions, and I know that western country too well to suppose that thefe is any other big or any little animal in those parts capable of making any such sound.
 As lately as 12 years ago I heard unmis- takabe cries of a mountain lion night up in the sierra of the deeply ravined Yuba river country during drive between midnight and a. m. over dangerous roads. And when we finally reached the livery stable at the famous old mining town of Nevada City and the drow- sing office watcher came out with his lantern we saw stretched out on the entrance floor a large mountain lion that some men fortunately had seen in broad daylight on. the very road we had just traversed and had been able to get bead on with rifle.
 This old stage driver of six-horse days and wild rides pointed out to me one day the spot and the peculiar surroundings where a noun tain lion suddenly rushed and leaped upon the shoulders and withers of running doe, strik- ing with claws and jaws and bearing the deer down with tremendous force and instantly thereafter slaughtering the defenseess animal l judged the indicated final leap to- have been fully 15 feet, but from side and little above where. the deer passed.
 That mountain lion ever attacked human being do not know. I never heard of case But I recall wildcat leaping from an over hanging oak tree upon the shoulders of stage driver and saVagely attacking him. The wild eat utters a catlike cry, but it is feeble utterance compared with the power and volume of the mountain lions yell.
 The old shotgun with which my father wounded that mountain lion and with which was ready to repel the expected attack of the yelling one that followed us two little boys is interestingly historical of itself, as it was given to my father by General Custer in their early wild west days, With it I learned to shoot
 The mountain lion, really a huge member of the cat family, is chiefly nocturnal animal,
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