SECRETARY'S REPORT. 149 



trees in its furious course. And here the charcoal and ashes on the ground, 

 after he has traversed the burnt district a short distance, and made a few 

 leaps along the trunk of a fallen tree that has been charred in the con- 

 flagration, will generally put any hounds at fault. Should no chance of 

 safety be within his reach, he does not despair, but exerting his powers 

 of flight to the utmost, increases his distance from the pursuing pack, 

 and following as intricate and devious a path as possible, after many a 

 weary mile has been run over, he reaches a long-fallen trunk of a tree, 

 on which he may, perchance, at some previous time, have baffled the 

 hunters, as he is now about to do. He leaps on it, and hastily running 

 to the farther end, doubles and returns to the point from which he gained 

 the tree, and after running backward and forward repeatedly on the 

 fallen trunk, he makes a sudden and vigorous spring, leaping as high up 

 into a tree some feet distant, as he can. He then climbs to its highest 

 branches, and, closely squatted, watches the movements of his pursuers. 

 The dogs are soon at fault, for he has already led them through many a 

 crooked path ; the hunters are dispirited and weary, and perhaps the 

 density of the woods, or the approach of night, favors him. The hunts- 

 men call off their dogs from the fruitless search, and give up the chase ; 

 and shortly afterwards the escaped marauder descends leisurely to the 

 earth, and wanders off in search of food, and to begin a new series of 

 adventures." 



The wild cat, in capturing its prey, usually crawls stealthily to within 

 four or five yards, and with a sudden spring seizes it, and retires to the 

 bushes to eat it. His lair is sometimes in a hollow tree that has fallen, 

 sometimes beneath a shelving rock. The female brings forth from two 

 to four young at a birth. A very fine specimen before me that was shot 

 this fall (1861) in the town of Leyden, in this State, furnishes the following 



Description. — Head broad and rounded; ears pointed, nearly triangular, 

 superior margins yellowish brown; behind each ear is an irregular-shaped 

 patch of grizzled white, bordered with black ; eyes surrounded by a white 

 border, which is broken at the inner angle by a small patch of black ; 

 canines, long, powerful, and somewhat curved ; whiskers, long and stiff; 

 fur above, and each side of the head yellowish brown at the base, then 

 black, and tipped with yellowish white. There ai-e many irregular waving 

 lines on the top and sides of the head, caused by the fur being terminated 

 with, or entirely black. Beneath the chin and throat the fur is yellowish 

 white, with a patch of brownish black on each side. At the base of the 

 jaw the fur is lengthened into a short ruff; fur above, and on each side 

 of the body, grayish at the base, and about half its length, then yellowish 

 ash, tipped on the sides generally with white, but along the dorsal line 

 with black ; beneath the body yellowish white, with scattered brownish 

 black blotches ; limbs long, paws large and muscular ; fur on the limbs 



