1883. ] Zoology. 1189 
follow them there, no dogs could track them there, no white 
hunter with his rifle could reach their inaccessible retreat. In 
these cliffs they were safe. 
t is my impression that the panther, finding so safe a retreat 
there, and one that is at the same time so near their food, make 
these limestone cliffs their home, and rear their young there. At 
all events the panthers’ tracks that lead to our houses come from 
these cliffs, and the tracks that lead from our houses return to 
the cliffs. 
It would seem that a panther’s life when he does not volun- 
tarily risk it by excessive boldness must be extremely free from 
danger. No denizen of the mountains or forests is his equal. In 
California he is called a lion, and he is well named, for like the 
lion he is monarch of the forest. It is generally believed that the 
grizzly bear is the most powerful of the wild animals of America, 
but the McCloud River Indians say that the panther always kills 
the grizzly when they have a fight. They say that the grizzly bears 
are afraid of the panthers, and that the panthers spring on their 
shoulders and cut their throats with their teeth. I imagine, how- 
arrows. 
will merely add in conclusion, that in consequence of ti 
culty of killing the panthers, they are likely to main M 
old for many years yet in the limestone cliffs bordering the ! a 
Cloud river, for although settlers are now beginning to come into 
