1 1 o SPOR TING A D VENTURES 



body and extremities the fur is hoary, most of the hairs being 

 tipped with white, but on the middle of the buck, on the 

 crown of the head, and on the sides and legs, it is a pale wood 

 brown ; and the tail is of the same colour, except that it is 

 tipped with black. The fur is close and fine on the back, but 

 it is longer and paler beneath than above. The ordinary 

 length of an adult is about thirty-eight inches, the height 

 about seventeen inches, the tuft on the ears one and a half 

 inches, and the tail, inclusive, about four and a half inches. 

 Its colour changes according to the seasons, so that one may 

 be deceived in its appearance if he goes by hue alone. 



If aroused by anger, it spits like a domestic cat, and sets its 

 hair up like a hyena. Its gait is by bounds, and with its 

 back somewhat arched ; and when it alights it comes down on 

 all fours at once. It is not swift, and any ordinary dog can 

 overtake it in a short time. It swims well when forced to 

 take to the water, but it avoids that element if possible, as it 

 has all the objections of its race to a wetting. Its flesh, 

 although white and tender, is flavourless, yet it is highly prized 

 by some of the Northwestern tribes, and not a few pretend to 

 think it superior to hare. Some of the French voyageum 

 and half-breeds call it the loup ccri'lcr, but why they do so I 

 could never surmise, as it does not resemble the wolf either in 

 looks, habits, or tones of voice. Neither is it dangerous to 

 anything larger than a bird or a small quadruped, so all the 

 tales told about its attacking men and killing them must be 

 considered as approaching the fabulous. In the first place, 

 one good blow on its back with a walking stick would kill 

 it immediately, and a rifle-ball or a dose of buck- shot is 

 sufficient to send the spirit of the strongest to the feline 

 world beyond this at once. Large numbers are shot or 

 trapped annually for the sake of their skins, which command 

 a fair price in the fur market; but they are not utili/ed as 

 objects of the chase to any extent, as their first move is to seek 

 safety in a tree, whence they are easily dislodged with a rifle 

 or a bow and arrow. 



A wounded catamount may sometimes turn on a man, but 

 it cannot inflict much greater injury than giving him a severe 



