Jones on Cougars 



she made coming down the mountain. And the cubs 

 are very careful to follow suit, and not to leave 

 marks of their trail in the soft snow. No doubt this 

 habit is practiced to keep their deadly enemies in 

 ignorance of their existence. The old Toms and 

 white hunters are their only foes. Indians never kill 

 a lion. This trick of the lions has fooled many a 

 hunter, concerning not only the direction, but par 

 ticularly the number. 



The only successful way to hunt lions is with 

 trained dogs. A good hound can trail them for 

 several hours after the tracks have been made, and 

 on a cloudy or wet day can hold the scent much 

 longer. In snow the hound can trail for three or 

 four days after the track has been made. 



When Jones was game warden of the Yellowstone 

 National Park, he had unexampled opportunities to 

 hunt cougars and learn their habits. All the cougars 

 in that region of the Rockies made a rendezvous of 

 the game preserve. Jones soon procured a pack of 

 hounds, but as they had been trained to run deer, 

 foxes and coyotes he had great trouble. They would 

 break on the trail of these animals, and also on elk 

 and antelope just when this was farthest from his 

 wish. He soon realized that to train the hounds was 

 a sore task. When they refused to come back at his 

 call, he stung them with fine shot, and in this man- 



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