COUGAR HUNTING IN SONORA 257 



spared the life of one and taken that of an- 

 other. The cougar of Black Canon was dead. 



This lion, though a few inches shorter than the 

 one I had killed in the early part of the hunt, 

 was an older animal, and bore several scars on his 

 flanks, which, no doubt, were inflicted during 

 some of his attacks upon animals that did not 

 succumb any too readily. 



His teeth were much worn down, and two of 

 the large carnivores were badly broken. The 

 head impressed me as being unusually large, and 

 Hi, referring to it afterwards, spoke of it as the 

 "bull-headed lion," which expression conveyed a 

 very good idea of its conformation. 



The next few days nothing of interest fell to 

 our lot, but one morning we rose to find the world 

 dressed in white. A film of new-fallen snow 

 covered the ground and bowed down the trees 

 with its weight, while all about stretched the si- 

 lence and mystery of the snow-filled forests. 

 This gave us encouragement for tracking, as the 

 wild folk would write plainly their ways on the 

 snow, but it was a bad omen for bear, as they 

 invariably take to their winter dens when snow 

 falls here in December, and it is April before 

 they emerge. 



The next two or three days we were busily en- 



