TWENTY YEARS IN THE ROCKIES. 189 



came tumbling down from overhead and, looking up quickly, 

 I saw a large mountain lion, with eyes gleaming, his tail 

 swinging, as was his custom when getting ready for a leap. 

 None too soon I sent a ball on its massion, and beheld him 

 drop dead in front of his lair. 



Pressing still farther into the cave, I found a full-grown 

 elk lying dead, and from fifteen to twenty pairs of antlers 

 close to the mouth of the den. There were, besides, the 

 heads of mountain sheep and carcasses of antelopes. Some 

 of the horns were badly decayed, showing that the work 

 of destruction had been going on for a long time. Others 

 looked fresh, and the animals had evidently been the victims 

 of mountain lions. 



This kind of lion is from eight to eleven feet in length, 

 low in stature, having powerful limbs, and jaws capable of 

 tearing into pieces almost any animal. They secure their 

 game in much the same manner as the Indian practices war- 

 fare ; by either lying in ambush or crouched upon a rock in 

 the shadow of a tree over some watering-place or mountain 

 pass, and, while their victims are refreshing themselves, or 

 passing quickly from one district to another, they leap upon 

 them with a force which crushes them to the earth, never to 

 rise again. They seldom attack man unless wounded. 



The shortest road to camp proved to be the longest, so 

 long did I linger by the way, and it was almost dark when I 

 reached that most desirable of all spots to the tired hunter. 

 But my hunger was soon appeased, and ere long I was far 

 away in dreamland. 



Very early next morning I saddled my ponies and set 

 out to bring in my game. The ponies could not be induced 

 to go near the carcess of the bear, so I tied them up and first 

 went to take care of the elk. What a sight to meet the gaze 

 of a hungry man ! The elk had been torn to pieces and nicely 



