THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 113 
elected leader or superintendent during the journey, I proposed fol- 
lowing the ranges between the headwaters of the creeks mentioned 
westward, which was readily sanctioned by my companions. We 
journeyed on through snow sometimes two or three feet deep and an 
undergrowth of brush almost impossible at times to penetrate, but 
we traveled on in pursuit, and selected a camp for the night where the 
snow had melted and left the ground quite dry, and after the usual 
formality of cutting fir boughs to recline upon for the night, and night 
wood cut and piled near by, supper was the next consideration, and 
with three “tolerable” clean cooks was soon prepared and sooner 
partaken of. Tobacco and cigarette papers are next in order and a 
snooze and turn about keeping the fire going until another day arrives, 
which finds us early wending our way across ridges, through brush 
and across numerous mountain streams, which the melting snow had 
caused to become, like our spirits, temporarily expanded, for we have 
found a cougar track, the dogs have their noses near the ground and 
are at work on the track, but after several hours’ following, perspiring 
and waiting, the track proves to be too old for the dogs to work out; 
next we find the carcass of a deer, which the cougar had killed and 
partly devoured, perhaps a week previously. We travel up creeks 
and down ravines for two days, finding a cougar track occasionally 
and where deer had been killed by them, but all signs appeared older 
than the first seen, two days before, and as some of our supplies 
were getting low I proposed to the boys that we go down to the 
creek’s confluence, where it empties into Sucker Creek. There we 
could get lodging, replenish our supplies and hunt a day or so from 
that point. We arrived at the Grand Prize Mining Company’s placer 
claims and find George Rasmussen and partner in charge, and through 
their hospitality succeed in again sitting down with our feet under a 
kitchen table with edibles thereon sufficient to satisfy even predatory 
animal hunters, and a real bed with mattress and springs to sleep 
upon. After a good night’s rest Mr. McTimmons and I again hit for 
the hills with a lunch in our pockets, intending to return to our lux- 
urious surroundings for the night. Again we were disappointed. We did 
not go far up the mountain until the dogs were again giving tongue on 
another cougar track, which looked to have been made the day before, 
but sufficiently fresh for the dogs to make fair progress, they having 
to do much maneuvering at times to continue on the trail. After about 
four or five hours of this cold trailing, uphill and down, through brush 
thickets where at times we men were compelled to travel on our 
hands and knees, began to fatigue both dogs and ourselves, as the 
day was very warm. However, after crossing another canyon, we 
came upon another deer recently killed by the cougar, and from there 
the chase began in earnest, and within 30 minutes the dogs were 
barking, “treed,” across in another canyon. We (Jim and I) soon 
reached the scene and found a fair sized female cougar perched upon 
a branch of the tree, apparently feeling at home and in a place of 
safety, but with all of its endowments it failed to reckon that nature 
had created man with an instinct to master. McTimmons empties his 
pack sack at the trunk of the tree, which contained ropes, both wire, 
manila and cotton, and taking one selected for the occasion, is soon 
scaling up that tan oak tree. Mrs. Cougar attempts to bluff her 
disturber by hissing and snarling, but up he climbs to within seven 
or eight feet of her, coils his rope and lets fly, misses, and up goes the 
cougar to higher branches with man in hot pursuit. Again the animal 
makes a stand, the rope is again thrown at the beast, which im- 
mediately changes its tactics, grabs the rope with its paws as it is 
thrown, and with its sharp teeth cut the rope in two in less time than 
