IN THE FAR IVEST. 89 



foot by clinging around the trunk of the tree ; and dropping 

 the captives, he made a tremendous downward kick at her 

 head. She rose on her hind legs to parry the blow, so 

 he missed her, but he struck the light branch on which she 

 was sitting with such force that he almost severed it from the 

 trunk, and caused the outer part to point directly downward. 

 The result was much better than he anticipated, for the cougar 

 lost her balance, and went crashing through the branches to 

 the ground, a distance of perhaps thirty or more feet, and 

 struck it with such vehemence that she was stunned. As soon 

 as he saw her shooting downward, he scrambled to the broken 

 branch, and seizing it with both hands, threw his full weight 

 on it, and swinging himself sideways, tore it from its fastenings, 

 and was soon on the grass, armed with an unwieldy but most 

 effective battering-ram. Before the cougar could get ready 

 for another spring at him, for the shock had evidently knocked 

 much of the courage out of her, if it had not seriously injured 

 her, he gave her two or three swinging blows on the head, to 

 expel any remaining pluck, then ran for his shot-gun, a few 

 feet away. Seizing that hurriedly, he took aim at her eyes, 

 which glowed so much with rage and hate that they were 

 of a reddish-emerald hue, and planted two loads of No. 

 6 shot in them. The closeness of the range sent the pellets 

 into the brain, and she fell dead where she crouched. 

 Feeling assured of her fate, he went up after the kittens, 

 which were mewing terribly, and brought them safely down, 

 notwithstanding their many protests with tooth and nail. As 

 he could not carry both the kittens and their dam at the same 

 time, he was compelled to leave the latter and go to an Indian 

 encampment close by, and get a couple of siwankes to bring her 

 in. While awaiting the return of the messengers, he felt the 

 stocking of one foot getting wet, and on looking to see what 

 was the matter, found that his leg was bleeding profusely from 

 a wound which the slain animal had inflicted on him with lici- 

 t-laws when lie kicked at her. Binding that up, lie engaged 

 a canoe to take him home, and as soon as he received his 

 trophy, he started oil' amid the highest expressions of admira- 

 tion that the Indians could give, as they looked upon his feat as a 



