A COUGAR HUNT 15 



skeleton of one of the saddle-horses. It was 

 killed when snow was on the ground, and when 

 Uncle Jim first saw the carcass the marks of 

 the struggle were plain. The cougar sprang on 

 its neck, holding the face with the claws of one 

 paw, while his fangs tore at the back of the 

 neck, just at the base of the skull; the other 

 fore paw^ was on the other side of the neck, and 

 the hind claws tore the withers and one shoulder 

 and flank. The horse struggled thirty yards or 

 so before he fell, and never rose again. The 

 draft-horse was seized in similar fashion. It 

 went but twenty yards before faUing; then in 

 the snow could be seen the marks where it had 

 struggled madly on its side, plunging in a 

 circle, and the marks of the hind feet of the 

 cougar in an outside circle, while the fangs and 

 fore talons of the great cat never ceased tearing 

 the prey. In this case the fore claws so ripped 

 and tore the neck and throat that it was doubt- 

 ful whether they, and not the teeth, had not 

 given the fatal wounds. 



We came across the bodies of a number of 

 deer that had been killed by cougars. Gen- 

 erally the remains were in such condition that 

 we could not see how the kilhng had been done. 

 In one or two cases the carcasses were sufficiently 

 fresh for us to examine them carefully. One 



