WITH THE COUGAR HOUNDS 45 



could get out by the same route. However, it either 

 could not or would not bolt; coming down close to the 

 entrance where we had built the sage-brush fire, there 

 it stayed until it was smothered. We returned to the 

 ranch carrying its skin, but not over-pleased, and the 

 pack much the worse for wear. Dr. Webb had to sew 

 up the wounds of three of the dogs. One, Tony, was 

 sent back to the home ranch, where he died. In such 

 rough hunting as this, it is of course impossible to pre- 

 vent occasional injuries to the dogs when they get the 

 cougar in a cave, or overtake him on the ground. All 

 that can be done is to try to end the contest as speedily 

 as possible, which we always did. 



Judging from the experience of certain friends of 

 mine in the Argentine, I think it would be safe to crawl 

 into a cave to shoot a cougar under normal circumstances; 

 but in this instance the cave was a long, winding hole, 

 so low that we could not get in on hands and knees, hav- 

 ing to work our way on our elbows. It was pitch dark 

 inside, so that the rifle sights could not be seen, and the 

 cougar was evidently very angry and had on two or three 

 occasions charged the dogs, driving them out of the en- 

 trance of the hole. In the dark, the chances were strongly 

 ' against killing it with a single shot; while if only 

 wounded, and if it had happened to charge, the man, in 

 his cramped position, would have been utterly helpless. 



The day after the death of the smoked-out cougar 

 Stewart and Webb started home. Then it snowed for two 

 days, keeping us in the ranch. While the snow was fall- 

 ing, there was no possibility of finding or following 



