THE PENNSYLVANIA LION OR PANTHER. 11 



ter Valley, in 1893. Of all the animals of Pennsylva- 

 nia the panther is by far the most picturesque, and has 

 been treated in the most fantastic manner by early 

 writers. In an old history of the Lenni-Lenape, pub- 

 lished nearly a century ago, a writer states : "There 

 are many animals which the Indians in Pennsylvania 

 were accustomed to hunt, some on account of their 

 value, and others because of the mischief they did. 

 Among these the panther is a terrible animal. Its 

 cry resembles that of a child, but this is interrupted 

 by a peculiar bleating like that of a goat, which be- 

 trays it. It gnarls over its prey like a cat. It pos- 

 sesses astonishing strength and swiftness in leaping 

 and seizing hogs, deer and/ other animals. When 

 pursued, even with a small dog, it leaps into a tree, 

 from which it darts upon its enemy. If the first shot 

 misses, the hunter is in imminent danger. They do 

 not, in common, attack men, but if hunters or travelers 

 approach a covert, in which the panther has its young, 

 their situation is perilous. Whoever flies from it is 

 lost. It is, therefore, necessary for those threatened 

 with an attack to withdraw gently, walking backward, 

 and keeping their eyes fixed on the animal, and even if 

 they miss an aim in shooting at it, to look at it stead- 

 fastly." It was these early inaccurate accounts which 

 caused the public clamor against the Pennsylvania lion, 

 resulting in the enactment of bounty laws and speedy 

 extermination. In 1850, John Hamilton, a surveyor, 

 encountered a female panther and two cubs crossing 

 the Coudersport pike, going in the direction of Little 



