114 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



of a reddish-emerald hue, and planted two loads of No. 6 

 shot in them. The closeness of the range sent the pellets 

 through the eyes into the brain, and she fell dead where 

 she crouched. Feeling assured of her fate, he went up af- 

 ter the kittens, which were mewing terribly, and brought 

 them safely down, notwithstanding their many protests 

 with tooth and nail. As he could not carry both the kit- 

 tens and their dam at the same time, he was compelled to 

 leave the latter and go to an Indian encampment close by, 

 and get a couple of siwashes to bring her in. While await- 

 ing the return of the messengers he felt the stocking of 

 one foot getting wet, and, on looking to see what was the 

 matter, found that his leg was bleeding profusely from a 

 wound which the slain animal had inflicted on him with 

 her claws when he kicked at her. Binding that up, he en- 

 gaged a canoe to take him home, and, as soon as he re- 

 ceived his trophy, started off amidst the highest expres- 

 sions of admiration that the Indians could give, as they 

 looked upon his feat as a most remarkable one, and him- 

 self as a hero of no small magnitude. 



The kittens were carefully housed and petted in every 

 possible manner ; but though playful when young, as soon 

 as they became old enough to display their natural temper 

 they were anything but playful or pleasant companions. 

 They would bear no familiarity ; and whenever they es- 

 caped, as they sometimes did, they would destroy fowls in 

 the most indiscriminate manner, and apparently without, 

 any other purpose than to satisfy their bump of destruc- 

 tiveness, for they did not attempt to eat them. They were 

 attached to no person, not even to him who fed them ha- 

 bitually; and as all the feeding and kindness in the world 

 could not arouse a spark of affection in them, or overcome 

 their propensity to destroy everything they could seize, 

 even to the house -cat, they were shot before they were 

 eighteen months old. 



One of them escaped on one occasion, but its absence 

 being detected in a few moments after, the dogs were sent 

 in pursuit. They espied it heading for a copse some few 



