THE MOUNTAIN LION 201 



of these proved to be an invention; in most 

 cases not a lion or even lion track had been seen. 



Two instances of lion attacks are worth 

 mentioning. One night in California a lion 

 leaped from a cliff, struck a man, knocked him 

 down, and then ran away. Out of this inci- 

 dent have come numerous stories of lion fero- 

 city. The lion was tracked, however, and the 

 following day the pursuing hunter saw it cross- 

 ing an opening. It suddenly clawed and hit at 

 a boulder. Then, going on, it apparently ran 

 into a tree, and fought that. As it started on 

 the hunter shot it. This beast was badly 

 emaciated, had a swollen face from an ulcerated 

 tooth, and was nearly, if not entirely, blind. 



Another instance apparently was of a weak- 

 minded lion. As though to attack, it came 

 toward a little ten-year-old girl in Idaho. 

 She struck it over the head with a bridle she was 

 carrying. Her brother hurried to the rescue 

 with a willow fishing pole. Together they beat 

 the lion off and escaped with a few bad scratches. 

 Yet had this been a lion of average strength 

 and braveness he must have killed or severely 

 injured both. 



The mountain lion rivals the shark, the devil- 

 fish, and the grizzly in being the cause of fero- 

 cious tales. The fact that he takes refuge on 

 limbs as a place of lookout to watch for people 



