192 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER. 



In the high mountain forest into which the 

 wapiti has been driven, the large, heavily 

 furred northern lynx, the lucivee, takes the 

 place of the smaller, thinner-haired lynx of 

 the plains and of the more southern districts, 

 the bobcat or wildcat. On the Little Missouri 

 the latter is the common form ; yet I have 

 seen a lucivee which was killed there. On 

 Clarke's Fork of the Columbia both occur, 

 the lucivee being the most common. They 

 feed chiefly on hares, squirrels, grouse, fawns, 

 etc. ; and the lucivee, at least, also occasion- 

 ally kills foxes and coons, and has in its turn 

 to dread the pounce of the big timber wolf. 

 Both kinds of lynx can most easily be killed 

 with dogs, as they tree quite readily when 

 thus pursued. The wildcat is often followed 

 on horseback, with a pack of hounds^, when 

 the country is favorable ; and when chased in 

 this fashion yields excellent sport. The skin 

 of both these lynxes is tender. They often 

 maul an inexperienced pack quite badly, in- 

 flicting severe scratches and bites on any 

 hound which has just resolution enough to 

 come to close quarters, but not to rush in 

 furiously ; but a big fighting dog will readily 

 kill either. At Thompson's Falls two of 

 Willis' hounds killed a lucivee unaided, though 

 one got torn. Archibald Rogers' dog Sly, a 

 cross between a greyhound and a bull mastiff, 

 killed a bobcat single-handed. He bayed the 

 cat and then began to threaten it, leaping from 

 side to side ; suddenly he broke the motion, 

 and rushing in got his foe by the small of the 

 back and killed it without receiving a scratch. 



The porcupine is sure to attract the notice 



