S6 WILD NEIGHBORS chap. 



dragging it to death, unless they prefer to end its 

 life with their six-shooters. The moment a lasso 

 is round its neck it gives up, and even, it is said, 

 "sheds tears, as if it knew and dreaded its fate." 



In the Adirondacks, where they have been nearly 

 exterminated to obtain the bounty (^20), they are 

 hunted almost exclusively in winter, on snowshoes, 

 the following of one often lasting several days. On 

 the Pacific Coast, where many are poisoned, most 

 of them are killed at an accidental meeting, a single 

 ball, or even a charge of large shot, being usually 

 sufiScient for their quietus. Everywhere dogs are 

 regarded as indispensable to success in regularly 

 hunting them, — any sort of a cur will do. 



Having reason to suspect the presence of a 

 cougar, the hunter moves about until his dog goes 

 away upon a scent, when he follows as best he can. 

 It will not be long, usually, before the barking will 

 tell him that his cur has discovered the quarry ; 

 and by the time he can overtake it he is pretty 

 sure to find that the animal has taken to a tree, as 

 this cat will almost invariably do as soon as it 

 notices the approach of the dog, which seems to 

 terrify it to a degree comical when we consider 

 the difference in size. Many stories are told of 

 how persons have supposed themselves saved from 

 being torn to pieces by a puma by the courageous 

 behavior of some small dog, that diverted the 

 monster's attention. The jaguar, on the other 

 hand, while hating a dog above all other creatures, 



