The Cougar 161 



twitching. Snatching up his rifle, he killed 

 her when she was barely twenty yards dis- 

 tant. 



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 hun- 

 ger, 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. Jaguars, on the contrary, 

 were very dangerous antagonists. 



