THE COUGAR. 



129 



the brute knocked the dog endways, and at 

 the same instant the man split open its head 

 with the axe. Great was his astonishment, 

 and greater still the astonishment of the 

 neighbors next day when it was found that 

 he had actually killed a cougar. These great 

 cats often take to trees in a perfectly foolish 

 manner. My friend, the hunter Woody, in 

 all his thirty years' experience in the wilds 

 never killed but one cougar. He was lying 

 out in camp with two dogs at the time ; it was 

 about midnight, the fire was out, and the 

 night was pitch-black. He was roused by 

 the furious barking of his two dogs, who had 

 charged into the gloom, and were apparently 

 baying at something in a tree close by. He 

 kindled the fire, and to his astonishment 

 found the thing in the tree to be a cougar. 

 Coming close underneath he shot it with his 

 revolver ; thereupon it leaped down, ran some 

 forty yards, and climbed up another tree, 

 where it died among the branches. 



If cowboys come across a cougar in open 

 ground they invariably chase and try to rope 

 it as indeed they do with any wild animal. 

 I have known several instances of cougars 

 being roped in this way ; in one the animal 

 was brought into camp alive by two strapping 

 cowpunchers. 



The cougar sometimes stalks its prey, and 

 sometimes lies in wait for it beside a game- 

 trail or drinking pool very rarely indeed does 

 it crouch on the limb of a tree. When excited 

 by the presence of game it is sometimes very 

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