122 HISTORY OF PASADRNA. 



clump of bushes and slaked our thirst from the clear, beautiful stream. A 

 few moments elapsed when the Mexican, who sat next to the bush, sud- 

 denly jumped up, and turning around, exclaimed " What animal is that ?" 

 I had also risen to my feet, and turning, saw within reach of a buggy whip, 

 the biggest lion I have ever seen. He did not seem a bit scared, and walked 

 off leisurely, keeping his head turned so that he could watch us. I had 

 nothing but a tin cup to defend myself with in the event he had felt aggres- 

 sive. I even held my hands behind me to convince him I was a non-com- 

 batant. But this interview did not end our acquaintance. Some days later 

 one of my gentle driving horses was missing, and after a brief search, I 

 found her not far from where the Allen house now stands, dead — the bod}' 

 still warm. There were evidences in the disturbed earth around that there 

 had been a violent struggle. He had evidently sprung upon her while 

 sleeping, sunk his teeth in her flank, and never relaxed his hold until she 

 surrendered. There was no question as to the cause of her death ; for the 

 lion, as is their custom, had dragged up grass and rubbish in an attempt to 

 cover up the carcass. Knowing full well that he would return at night to 

 finish his feast, I sea.soned the body with strychnine. He did not come 

 back but once. I saw no more of his tracks in the canyon ; and six months 

 afterward one of my boys discovered his carcass about a half mile distant 

 from where he took his last supper. 



The next year I had quite a lot of hogs and a litter of fine shoats that 

 I kept in a pen not far from the house, and they began to disappear one by 

 one. Of course I knew pretty well where they had gone ; and considering 

 them an insecure piece of propert}' in that region, I disposed of all but one 

 fine, fat animal that I had reserved to put into ham and sausage about 

 Christmas time. I had thought that as she would weigh about 250 or 300 

 pounds, she would be too much of a load for the wild animals to pack awa^', 

 and was therefore safe. I reckoned without my host, for one morning she 

 was gone and had not even given a squeal. 



I learned from some Mexican wood choppers about that time that there 

 was a she-lion with hvo cubs living in one of the deep ravines that lead up to 

 where the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel now stands. After cleaning me out of 

 ray hog-meat, she turned her attention to horse-flesh, first killing a colt, and 

 afterward a lame mule belonging to Mr. Wilson. She also caught one of 

 my horses and wounded three of his legs, but he was young and strong and 

 escaped from her. I finall}' disposed of her by dosing that dead mule's 

 carcass with strychnine. 



That was about the last of bear and lion on the ranch, unless I mention 

 a laughable incident which occurred about 1870. A man by the name of 

 Orr had a bee ranch on what is now the Elms place, aliove Altadena. 

 Absenting himself for awhile from home, he found on his return that bears 

 liad been there and upset eleven stands of bees, robbing them of all the 

 honey. Hot for revenge, he went over to old man Seabury's (now Kinneloa) 

 and got the old gent to go with him and kill the thieves. They hunted 

 three or four days through the mountains, and finally returned worn out, 

 and slept at Orr's ranch. That same night the bears came in .silently and 

 helped themselves to the contents of three more stands, and retired without 

 alarming the hunters. This impudent behavior so disgusted Orr that he 

 abandoned the place and never returned. 



One year after my vineyard commenced bearing, the bears ate off" all the 

 grapes from a remote corner of it. The coyotes were formerly abundant 



