THE SCREECH OF THE PANTHER. 



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the scream of a panther, when this trick of the owl occurred when 

 too dark to be seen. 



* * * 



The screech of the panther I believe to be all imagination. 

 Years ago it was an everyday occurance to hear some one tell 

 of a panther screaming in a certain locality and tell how it (the 

 panther) had followed them and how they escaped by running 

 their horses, and how the panther screamed in a tree right over 

 their head, and how they could see the panther's eyes shine. 



Now I know that one cannot see an animal's eyes shine unless 

 the animal is in the dark and a light shines directly in their eyes. 



It is not always these stories are told to misrepresent facts, 

 but it is often the case of imagination or being mistaken. One of 

 the large owls has another cry or call besides the well known 

 hoo-hoo-hoo, which the deer still-hunter often imitates when he 

 wishes to inform a companion just where he is without fear of 

 alarming the deer. The writer has often seen, just at twilight, or 

 nearly break of day, one of those large owls follow along some 

 distance in the woods, flying from tree to tree, lighting on the 

 lower branches of the trees, only a few feet above my head, ap- 

 parently doing this from curiosity. Frequently the owl would give 

 a screech which was similar to that given by a woman who has 

 been suddenly frightened. Undoubtedly this screech of the owl 

 has often been taken for that of the panther. Owing to the great 

 abundance of down or fine feathers on the quills of the wings of 

 the owl, the owl can light within six feet of a person's head, and 

 if the owl was not seen, you would not know of its presence, for 

 you could not hear the flight of the owl. 



While I have not had as much experience in the haunts of the 

 panther as some, yet I have been all through the Pacific Coast 

 States and a good part of the mountains, and have never heard 

 what I thought was the cry of a panther, or a mountain lion. 



My father often told me that he had never heard anything 

 that he called a screech of panther and did not think that a 

 panther ever made any such screeching noise as is claimed, yet 

 in my younger days it was a frequent occurence to hear some one 



