4 AN AMERICAN HUNTER 



storms had a beauty of their own. The keen, cold air, 

 the wonderful scenery, and the interest and excitement of 

 the sport, made our veins thrill and beat with buoyant 

 life. 



In cougar hunting the success of the hunter depends 

 absolutely upon his hounds. As hounds that are not per- 

 fectly trained are worse than useless, this means that 

 success depends absolutely upon the man who trains and 

 hunts the hounds. Goff was one of the best hunters with 

 whom I have ever been out, and he had trained his pack 

 to a point of perfection for its special work which I have 

 never known another such pack to reach. With the ex- 

 ception of one new hound, which he had just purchased, 

 and of a puppy, which was being trained, not one of the 

 pack would look at a deer even when they were all as 

 keen as mustard, were not on a trail, and when the deer 

 got up but fifty yards or so from them. By the end of 

 the hunt both the new hound and the puppy were entirely 

 trustworthy; of course, Goff can only keep up his pack 

 by continually including new or young dogs with the 

 veterans. As cougar are only plentiful where deer are 

 infinitely more plentiful, the first requisite for a good 

 cougar hound is that it shall leave its natural prey, the 

 deer, entirely alone. GofFs pack ran only bear, cougar, 

 and bobcat. Under no circumstances were they ever per- 

 mitted to follow elk, deer, antelope or, of course, rabbit. 

 Nor were they allowed to follow a wolf unless it was 

 wounded ; for in such a rough country they would at once 

 run out of sight and hearing, and moreover if they did 

 overtake the wolf they would be so scattered as to come 



