Hunting in Many Lands 



to crush the Hfe out of the dainty Httle flowers 

 that hold up their heads to the New Mexico 

 sunshine. 



Without warning, my bronco, which was 

 travehng along at a fox -trot, stopped sud- 

 denly, and looking up I saw, not more than 

 fifty yards away, about as large a mountain 

 lion as I had ever encountered, standing mo- 

 tionless and looking at us with utmost com- 

 placency. To throw myself out of the saddle 

 and draw my Sharps-forty from the saddle 

 holster was the work of a very few seconds. 

 Throwing the bridle rein over my arm, I 

 slipped in a cartridge, and was just pulling 

 down on him when the cougar started off at a 

 swinging trot to one side at right angles to 

 where he had stood, and through some small 

 quaking aspens. Without thinking of the 

 bridle being over my arm, I knelt quickly in 

 order to get a better sight of the animal, and 

 almost simultaneously pressed the trigger. 



As I did so my bronco threw up his head, 

 which spoiled my aim, and, instead of sending 

 the ball through the cougar's heart, as I had 

 hoped to do, it went through the top of his 

 shoulders, making a superficial wound — not 

 sufficiently severe to interfere with his loco- 



243 



