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The cougai' which you may see, very inartistically and unnaturally, 

 set up iu the glass-case before you must have been, when living, a 

 remarkably fine specimen. As nearly as possible, he must have lu usured 

 seven and a half feet from nose to end of tail. He was shot by ;i boy 

 named Bentley, upward of forty years ago, on Croil's Island, on the 

 south side of the St. Lawrence River, o])i)Osite Farran's Point, about 

 ten miles east of Morrisburgh, with an iron spike or nail. The youth 

 killed the animal with a single shot, a sporting exploit sometimes 

 found difficult of accomplishment by exjierienced hunter?. 



About one hundred years ago, the panther was found in every 

 part of Ontario and Quebec. I have been assured l)y reliable 

 authority, that about forty years ago, two large specimens weie fr.e- 

 qufutly seen near the Village of Lachute, in the Province of Quebec. 

 Since the days of of the adventurous Kentuckian, Daniel Boone, many 

 thrilling stories have been told about the size, ferocity and destructive- 

 ness of the cougar. It is well known that it has strong proclivities for- 

 the flesh of deer and smaller animals, and that, also, when pressed by 

 hunger it has been known to destroy sheep and horned cattle ; but we 

 have yet to learn fiom any authentic record that one of its char- 

 iicteristics is to attack man, except when wounded and brought to bay. 

 In the latter case, it will defend itself to the last with great fury. 

 Under such circumstance.s, valuable hounds have frequently been killed 

 in the attempt to close with it. 



On the contrary many strange stories have been told from time to 

 time, illustrative of the apparently unaccountable, friendly and even 

 affectionate feeling entertained by it for the human race. I liave read 

 an account recently which is strikingly illustrative of ihe gentleneSii of 

 of this interes'ing animal towards man. A farmer wae travelling upon 

 a lonely road in Washington Territory to a i)lace called 01ymj)ia. The 

 The road led through a thick bush for a mile or more. In the dark- 

 ness, he became sensible of somethiog rubl>ing against his leg, and at 

 the same time heard a loud i)urring sound. On looking down he was 

 territied at the sight of a large panther walking along beside him- 

 Every few yards the animal would bound off into the bush, only to 

 return and repeat the cat-like action, and continue the purring. At 



