136 HUNTING THE GRISLY. 



took them into camp; they were clumsy, 

 playful, friendly little creatures. The next 

 afternoon he remained in camp with the cook. 

 Happening to look up he suddenly spied the 

 mother cougar running noiselessly down on 

 them, her eyes glaring and tail twitching. 

 Snatching up his rifle, he killed her when she 

 was barely twenty yards distant. 



A ranchman, named Trescott, who was at 

 one time my neighbor, told me that while he 

 was living on a sheep-farm in the Argentine, 

 he found pumas very common, and killed many. 

 They were very destructive to sheep and colts, 

 but were singularly cowardly when dealing 

 with men. Not only did they never attack 

 human beings, under any stress of hunger, but 

 they made no effective resistance when brought 

 to bay, merely scratching and cuffing like a big 

 cat ; so that if found in a cave, it was safe to 

 creep in and shoot them with a revolver. Jag- 

 uars, on the contrary, were very dangerous 

 antagonists. 



