Volume XIII. 



RECREATION 



OCTOBER, 1900. 

 G. 0. SHIELDS (COQUINA), Editor and Manager. 



Number 4. 



DEPREDATIONS OF A MOUNTAIN LION. 



G. T. MC CULLOUGH, M. D. 



In a secluded canyon on the East 

 side of the Bitter Root river, about 

 15 miles from Missoula, in Western 

 Montana, are an old sheep corral and 

 a log cabin, where sheep have been 

 ranged for years past. On the 14th 

 of last December the man in charge of 

 a herd found 7 sheep had been killed 

 in the corral during the night by some 

 wild animal, probably a mountain lion, 

 from the sign. Two of the carcasses 

 were mutilated and partly eaten. The 

 remaining 5 were not torn nor did 

 they give evidence of much strug- 

 gling. All had been caught by the 

 back of the neck and the life had been 

 crushed out of them. There was some 

 snow in places, and the tracks showed 

 the animal had come down the moun- 

 tain side, walked around the cabin, 

 gone to a small log chicken house, 

 climbed on the dirt roof from the up- 

 per side of the hill, jumped off the 

 lower side of the building — a spring 

 of about 8 feet — made a bee-line from 

 there to the corral, and played havoc 

 with the sheep. The tracks left the 

 corral ascending the mountain side in 

 a different direction from whence they 

 came. 



There was much speculation and 

 divers opinions were given by old 

 hunters and those familiar with moun- 

 tain life about the character of the 

 beast that had made such a marauding 

 expedition. All agreed if it was a 

 mountain lion it would surely return. 

 In that prediction they were correct, 

 but it did not come back for nearly 2 

 weeks. 



The herder had a good .38 caliber 

 revolver, which he always kept with 

 him, and he frequently carried a .40- 

 82 Winchester, as he was on the look- 

 out for the mountain lion or whatever 

 it was. Besides, the coyotes were 

 quite troublesome at that season, and 

 would frequently kill a small sheep or 

 a lamb in the daytime. 



On the 27th of December, 1898, as 

 the herder approached the corral in 

 the early morning, for the purpose of 

 taking out the band, he noticed many 

 of the sheep crowding to one corner 

 across a little gulch and seeming much 

 frightened. He advanced toward the 

 part of the corral where their atten- 

 tion seemed directed and noticed 2 

 sheep had been killed, badly mutilated 

 and partly eaten. At that instant a 

 companion ejaculated, 



"Look ! Look! A lynx, a lynx!" 



Crouched low to the ground, close 

 beside the fence, tail slowly waving, 

 but 30 steps away, was the animal that 

 had just killed and partly devoured the 

 2 sheep. No time to back out then or 

 to go for his rifle; so, taking careful 

 aim with his 6-shooter the herder 

 fired. With a shriek and a sudden and 

 powerful bound, the lion cleared the 

 fence and started rapidly up the 

 mountain side, with 3 shepherd dogs 

 in hot pursuit. At about 60 yards' 

 distance the oldest and most faithful 

 dog, Dick, closed in on the lion and 

 instantly received a violent stroke 

 from its paw that tumbled him over 

 and over down the mountain. He fell 

 40 feet and was stunned so badly he 



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