Jones on Cougars 



same, weird and wild, like the scream of a terrified 

 woman. He did not understand the significance of 

 the cry, unless it meant hunger, or the wailing mourn 

 of a lioness for her murdered cubs. 



The destructiveness of this savage species was mur 

 derous. Jones came upon one old Tom s den, where 

 there was a pile of nineteen elk, mostly yearlings. 

 Only five or six had been eaten. Jones hunted this 

 old fellow for months, and found that the lion killed 

 on the average three animals a week. The hounds 

 got him up at length, and chased him to the Yellow 

 stone River, which he swam at a point impassable for 

 man or horse. One of the dogs, a giant bloodhound 

 named Jack, swam the swift channel, kept on after 

 the lion, but never returned. All cougars have their 

 peculiar traits and habits, the same as other creatures, 

 and all old Toms have strongly marked characteris 

 tics, but this one was the most destructive cougar 

 Jones ever knew. 



During Jones s short sojourn as warden in the 

 park, he captured numerous cougars alive, and killed 

 seventy-two. 



