446 



METHODS OF CATCHING GAME. 



Wildcats hunt both bj day and night; but, like thp 

 great majority of thieves and murderers, they appear 

 to select the darkness as the most auspicious time to 

 rommit their deeds of violence. When a Wildcat dis 

 covers a flock of Wild Turkeys, Pheasants or a Rabbit 

 running on the' ground, he will follow tbem for some 

 distance, and when he ascertains the direction in which 

 they are going, will make a quick detour and, conceal- 

 ing himself behind a log, in the brush, or on a low 

 branch of a tree, will hide, and, like an assassin, wait 

 patiently until his prey comes within reach. I once, 

 when hunting "white rabbits" in Cameron county, saw 

 a Wildcat run into a clump of laurel and lie in ambush 

 until a Rabbit, which he had been chasing, approached 

 within springing distance. The Rabbit ran up a nar- 

 row roadway and when within a few feet of the laurel 

 bed suddenly stopped. Instantly the cat sprang upon 

 it and seizing it in his mouth ran directly up the moun- 

 tain side, where my companions shot him. 



COWARDLY ANIMALS. 



Romancing newspaper correspo-n dents and hunters 

 with fertile imaginations have been instrumental in 

 creating an impression, which seems to be generally 

 accepted by the common mass of people who are not 

 acquainted with tie true nature of Wildcats, that these 

 animals are daring, ferocious and always on the out- 

 look to spill human gore, and that they will not hesitate 

 an instant to attack human beings, no matter how big 

 or ugly the latter may be. This, however, is not the 

 case. Wildcats are cowardly and will flee from their 

 pursuers, but if wounded and unable to escape, or if 

 surprised in a place where they cannot get away and 



