THE COUGAIi AND LYNXES. 123 



procession advanced toward the grave, which was dug 

 amidst the matted undergrowth of the forest, all com- 

 menced intoning a hymn in their native tongue, and that 

 to me was the most pleasing, or, rather, the most pictu- 

 resque, I had ever heard, as the weak and senile voice of 

 the aged was contrasted with the deep bass of the young 

 men and the clear tones of the squaws. When the grave 

 was reached another prayer was uttered, another sad hymn 

 for the repose of the soul of the deceased was sung, and 

 the rude casket was placed in the earth amidst the drip- 

 ping shrubbery. When the last sod was thrown on, the 

 procession reformed and marched back to the hamlet, wail- 

 ing the tribal song of death in prayerful words. The con- 

 trast between the solemn funeral ceremony of this Chris- 

 tian tribe and the barbarous Diggers made a marked im- 

 pression on me, and caused me to remember the cougar- 

 hunt of the two occasions in the most vivid manner. 



After leaving the reservation, I engaged a canoe and two 

 Indians to take me to the Falls ; and as the trip was to oc- 

 cupy several days, I placed a store of provisions and arms 

 aboard, in order to be prepared for all emergencies. We 

 had to work hard during the day to pass over brawling 

 cascades and to stem strong currents ; hence, when night 

 came, we were glad to go ashore and camp under the shel- 

 ter of a gigantic spruce or fir. While I was soundly sleep- 

 ing one night, an Indian jumped up suddenly, awoke me, 

 and called my attention to an animal that was stealthily ad- 

 vancing toward us. Its movements were light and cat-like ; 

 and recognizing at once what it was, I seized the loaded 

 rifle which laid beside me, and fired when I caught it in a 

 position where the glare of the camp-fire fell full upon it. 

 Not being more than thirty or forty feet away, I hit it in 

 the shoulder, and the ball went crashing through it from 

 side to side. One of the Indians then fired at it with a re- 

 volver, and he also succeeded in hitting it, the ball entering 

 the skull. When we approached it the last gasp of life was 

 leaving the body — a fact of which we were very glad, as I 

 did not care to have any more shots in its coating than was 



