THE COUGAE. 411 



The gait of a Cougar is the same as that of the domestic 

 cat — either a trot or a plunging run. They are not very- 

 swift, and will easily tree to even a small cur dog. There 

 is nothing tliat the Cougar fears so much as a dog, and 

 they will take to the nearest tree at the sight of one. They 

 can climb with the greatest facility. 



Sometimes, when the hunter is stalking the Deer in the 

 deep recesses of the forest, he is startled by a fiendish cry — 

 a cry so unearthly and so weird that even the man of 

 stoutest heart will start in affright; a cry that can only be 

 likened to a scream of demoniac laughter. This is the cry 

 of the male Cougar. If it is answered by the female, the 

 response will be similar to the wail of a child in terrible pain. 



The method usually employed in hunting the Cougar is 

 chasing them with dogs. Any dog that will chase a cat 

 will pursue a Cougar. Tlie best dogs I ever used in hunt- 

 ing the Cougar were Collies. I once hunted a season with 

 a wise old Deer-hound, who was infallible when on the trail 

 of a Cougar; but when he had succeeded in "treeing" 

 the animal, and I would prepare to shoot, he would mod- 

 estly retire. After hearing the report of my Winchester, 

 he would sedately return and inspect the dead Cougar with 

 solemn gravity. He was a scarred hero of the wilderness, 

 and no doubt in his youth had waged so many battles with 

 the " big kitty " that he had grown cautious in his old age. 



Concerning the tenacity of life, I do not think that there 

 is an animal of its size that is so easily killed as that under 

 discussion. I have known them to be killed with a shot- 

 gun and No. 6 shot. The gun that I have always used in 

 hunting these animals was a Model '73 Winchester, 44 

 caliber; but to the novice or amateur who desires to hunt 

 these animals, I would recommend the Model '86 Win- 

 chester repeater, in any caliber above 38. In a recent hunt- 

 ing-trip I used an '86 Model, 50-110, and found it to be the 

 most paralyzing rifle I ever used, killing Deer and Cinna- 

 mon Bears as if tliey had been struck by lightning. 



There is no systematic manner of hunting tlie Cougar. 

 When still -hunting the Deer, the hunter often observes a 



