216 ‘NOTES TAKEN. 
yellow and the black—the blue being the swiftest, the yellow 
largest and strongest, and the black the most courageous, 
He presented us with the skin of a full grown Texas lion or 
Puma, six feet six from tip to tip, shot by himself, and very 
perfectly preserved and stuffed. 
The chase and capture of this animal was very exciting. 
Lieutenant Givins was chasing a jackass rabbit, (which on 
the high and open plains afford fine runs and excellent sport, ) 
when his dogs opened upon this trail, and by their animation 
showed they were in pursuit of no ordinary animal. After a 
hot run for a mile they bayed at the foot of a post oak, in 
the crotch of which the lion was perched, looking as large as 
a mule, and displaying a formidable set of teeth and claws. 
While in this position he was shot through the body, and 
making a long leap escaped into a thicket from which he was 
soon routed by the dogs, and after a short run took to another 
tree, where he was shot through the shoulder, bringing him 
down, preventing him from climbing. again, and allowing the 
dogs a chance to worry him. 
The whole pack, together with the horsemen, now closed in, 
and just as he was in the act of crouching to spring, Lieuten- 
ant Givins shot him in the right eye, which finished him, 
In the fight, one of the dogs had his skull broken in by a 
stroke of the lion’s claws, and another had his leg torn open; 
but it was a right royal hunt, and a glorious triumph to the 
Lieutenant’s skill and good training. 
The puma resembles the African lion in ferocity and 
