82 THE BIOLOGICAL' REVIEW. 



The panther came nearer, and once we saw the wicked 

 glitter of his eyes, about fifty feet from the tent. He was trotting 

 around us, and trying to get at the pork, with which the tent 

 was stored. When he stopped near the door of the tent, we 

 were both seized with the idea that we had better let him know 

 that there was someone at home, and simultaneously we fired. 

 Crash went the woods, and for over half a mile we could hear 

 him getting out of the country. We did not stop much longer 

 in that locality, and never saw that individual lion again. 



During the following season ('84), while up the Bow River at 

 the mouth of Cascade River, where the National Park now is, 

 we fell in with a party of railway navvies, who were just 

 returning from an unsuccessful lion hunt. While at work on 

 the track repairing, etc., they had seen a pair of mountain lions 

 a short distance away to the north, and they sallied forth to kill 

 them. The navvies were armed with axes, spades, picks, etc., 

 and were led by a courageous Englishman, who was determined 

 to have a skin to take " ome t'owd country." It was well 

 they did not come to close quarters, for perhaps some would 

 never have seen " ome " again. 



The next experience we had with the panther was on a 

 small lake on the Morley Indian Reserve, within a mile of the 

 Kananaskis River. One evening we were awakened by the 

 same shrieks and cries, but this time knew their source. Ad. 

 and I crawled out, armed, and sat under a cart for nearly an 

 hour waiting his approach, but did not get a chance at him. 

 The ground was grown with clumps of willow, and our horses 

 were pasturing near, so that we dare not chance anything. He 

 came several times quite close (we afterwards found), but we 

 could not tell but it might be a pony browsing, and did not dare 

 to fire. We retired disgusted with our luck. In the morning 

 his tracks were found in the snow which had fallen in the early 

 night while we watched for him. He had been within twenty- 

 five or thirty feet of the tent, and tramped all around the carts 

 and through the willows. I did not measure his tracks, but 

 remember that my hand, fingers closed at the second joints, 

 would not cover one of them. 



