THE PENNSYLVANIA LION OR PANTHER. 35 



writing about 1869, says that the panther of the 

 "Xurth Woods" often measured twelve feet from tip 

 to tip. Simon Pfouts, of L,eidy township, Clinton 

 county, caught a record panther in a trap near the 

 mouth of 1 leaver Dam run which measured eleven 

 feet six inches from tip to tip. This is mentioned in 

 Alaynard's "Historical \'iew of Clinton County." Dr. 

 Merriam believes eight feet to be a good average size. 

 This woukl indicate a close similarity in dimensions 

 between the panthers of the Adirondacks, Pennsylva- 

 nia and the West. Colonel Roosevelt killed six 

 cougars in Colorado in ]901 which averaged a trifle 

 over eight feet apiece. If anything the Pennsylvania 

 panthers, like the Pennsylvania trees, were larger on 

 the average than those of the Adirondacks. It was the 

 ideal location for them to thrive, for as Prof. J. A. 

 Allen said : "The maximum physical development of 

 the individual is attained where the conditions of en- 

 vironment are most favorable to the life of the spe- 

 cies." The panthers which George G. Hastings, of 

 Bufifalo Run, Centre county, killed on December 30 

 and 31, 1871, measured nine feet and eight feet nine 

 inches, respectively. The larger was the female, and 

 ]\Ir. Hastings believed it was the mother of the smaller 

 one. George Shover killed a giant male panther on 

 Little Miller Run, Lycoming county, in January, 1865, 

 which measured eleven feet from tip to tip. For some 

 reason male panthers were much more numerous in 

 Pennsylvania than female. The opposite was the 

 case in the Adirondacks, according to Dr. Merriam. Of 



