Actg. 2, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



25 



THE PANTHER'S SCREAM. 



L)EADING in July 19 number of Forest and Stream 

 1 a short item about panthers by your British Columbia 

 urrespondent, reminds me of a circumstance in my own 

 Lmting days about thirty-five years ago. 

 CI was camping alone in an open camp near the head of 

 holryclmnkeniunk Lake, say about twenty rods from the 

 Core, in the woods, on a dark and stormy night in the 

 Lll of the year. I had worked hard the day bef ore trainp- 

 rjg* through the woods, over mountains and through 

 L-ainps, tending traps and doing some shooting, being 

 Liefly in pursuit of fur game. I was very tired, had got 

 ^carnp just at dark, and gathered in some wood, cooked 

 ' d ate my supper, and lay down on my balsam bed, and 

 > e is soon sound asleep. When I came to myself, I was 

 imy knees, with my gun in my hands, peering out into 

 |U darkness, and the rain was pouring in torrents. 

 My fire was nearly out and it was a fearful night. I 

 ■jaew I had been awakened by some noise, for I had done 

 W same thing once before/and I was in a frightened 

 u te. of mind. On coming to myself my first effort was 

 U start up my fire; and as luck would have it, there were 

 Xue dry sticks by my side. While I was thus engaged 

 ; ,;re went out into the tempest and darkness one of the 

 l. 1st unearthly screeches or yells I ever heard, a pro- 

 go 'jred vehement howl, sounding as nearly as I can 

 * pcribe like a woman in distress. 



My hair straightened and my hat came off, and I jumped 

 I ok into camp, and there was lively work kindling that 

 j. e. 



, The animal, when I heard him, was on the shore of the 

 ,ke, not more than one hundred yards from me. No 

 '.•ubt be had screeched before, which brought me out of 

 , eep, on to my knees, with my gun ready to shoot; but a 

 fin then and there was about as good a weapon as a stick 



fi wood, for nothing could be seen outside, and a panther 

 JL mid have crushed me at one leap had he started a scrirn- 



I ,ge. No doubt he smelled me, but at the same time 

 p some spark of fire, which kept him back and caused 

 ■ „ a give the frightful yell. 



" 3e that as it may, I soon had a bright fire burning, but 

 if $re was no more sleep for me that night. I sat with my 

 J?*, a in my grip ready to lire, and, as St. Paul when he 

 f' s shipwrecked, '"wished for day." The beast made off 

 ?'to the mountains to the east, every few mi tmtes uttering 

 ™ parting vehement yell, which grew less and less dis- 

 'Ppt as he receded, until all was still except the dripping 

 ithe rain. 



Jl: a the morning I went to the shore of the lake and 

 "2, ud the animal's tracks — a large round footprint with 

 ? 5 ' ij claws that settled into the sandy shore as he traveled 

 jg, and when he came to a broak, which was about 

 fty feet wide, he seemed to leap it with the greatest 

 rui. This was what I presume to be a large panther. 

 1 ^ J. G>. Rich. 



y£ :thel, Maine. 



's-TER BURRO DEER IN OLD MEXICO. 



B P * NE bright, clear, warm morning early in , December, 

 onti 1884, Joe, Steve and the writer bowled out of Tomb- 

 1 ne 'e, Arizona Territory, on our way to Ramsay's ranch, 

 ^gr;he Mexican line, a distance of about 58 miles. There 

 expected to find John L., who rejoiced in the nick- 

 . ^.e of Bill Hadden. It was on his advice that we 

 c ;rsc te j on our tri p_ He jj a( j bunted a t Ramsay's before, 

 reported that the surrounding country was full of 

 E lm S;0 deer of the biggest kind. Tombstone was soon left 

 F*rfhd and we came to a wooden building on one side of 

 i y^t' 11 was stretched a huge cloth sign on which was 

 if ^ ted in letters four feet high the words '"Last Chance." 

 j '. me >>e other side was another sign with letters equally as 

 1 . which read "First Chance." A short distance 

 9 jx u er on we caught a glimpse of the white quarters at 

 Huachuca, distant about twenty-four miles, where 

 . intended to stop the first day. We passed a number 

 leirti , e wa g 01is on their way to the smelter and stamp 

 W. e 8 at Charlestown, distant from Tombstone twelve 

 tbiou^ Each team consisted of sixteen mules, and each 

 ,ocCe hauled two wagons, a lead and trail. They were 

 svc e\ (( j wit h from twenty to thirty tons of ore. Ten tons 

 ts he , va g orL W as called a light load. There were two men 

 ' ,Lch team, one to drive and the other to brake, kelp 



W c ^ss, water, etc. All these teams were owned by Mr. 

 7 i - m i >y Carr, of Charlestown, who has immense stables 

 g 71 B< stock there. Mr. Carr was at one time the largest 

 vt UE iter in the world. At that time he owned 200 wagons 



111 ; !'.,i.;00 mules and horses, and had teams all over 

 ielveri: na> j3 U t the railroads came and almost ruined bis 

 offl* s %ss. Mr. Carr is unable to write, but keeps his 

 r t, "io\ bnginess j n his head. 



isj 1 - 8 soon reached Charlestown, which is very prettily 

 the as ^ on tne g an pedro River. It had been very lively 

 igbt W8 rosperous at one time and lots had been staked off 

 Q th ' > hundred, while speculation in real estate ran high, 

 ntrior^.y was p as t, however, for the mines at Tombstone 

 ec i out and. then there was nothing for their mills to 

 uld - r We reached Huachuca early in the afternoon. 

 i La irt Euachuca is beautifully situated in a canon of the 

 I in fe. jame in the Huachuca Mountains. It is built near 

 '. Tr ■ cr rmth of the canon, where it is wide enough to give 

 „ppea t e p ara de ground. The sides of the canon protect it 

 .11. do v the heavy winds that sometimes prevail, and the 

 ids t/ f \ oaks that grow all over the post make it cool and 

 ears- n during the warmest weather. The men's quarters 

 alwo ?» wood, two stories high, and are models of comfort 

 iishec J mvenience. The officers' row is built of adobe, two 

 yond high, the outside of them being covered with a 

 larsh. rayish cement. The cavalry stables are the best 

 I lear convenient tliat I have ever seen in the army. 



was chosen by Gen. Sherman as being the most 

 [or ! T P in the Territory for a large post. The post con- 

 figv. ■} i,ne system of waterworks, and its great eleva- 

 way -i^Sjf 5,000ft- 'we sea level — makes it cool and 

 g&-e<i 1 Jf b'^immui. r'rs only seven miles from the New 

 , a >" > 'o^Arfzona R.aR., and at the time I write was gar- 

 1 1 1 - y i :iree companies of cavalry and one of infantry. 

 ; stranger at the post, as I used to go over fre- 

 ;' or ',*<,». ; t>^\have a run after jack rabbits with some of 

 , u ..'^- ■ fellows stationed there. They had some 

 ff,*o y.rh 6 !^ 10 ^'-^- ^ n d many a good chase I have had after 

 t>a' ■ .^.iti&f* 1 * the prairie near the fort. 

 it ' u' ! ;v,*tTa early start next morning and as the greater 

 easure our road lay over a very rough and mountainous 

 rafcit shy> If was late before we reached Mr. Ramsey's. 

 I ',3sed through a part of the Huachuca range, a re- 



gion once famous for elk, deer, bear and wild turkeys, 

 but the game has nearly all been killed off. Steve man- 

 aged to bag a wild turkey, a big gobbler, and Joe knocked 

 tlie heads off a half dozen California quail during the 

 day. Mr. Ramsey's range is bordered on one side by the 

 road which separates Mexico from the U. S., and joins 

 the famous ranch owned by Senator Dob Cameron of 

 Pennsylvania, and Mr. Colin Cameron of Tucson, on the 

 other. Our idea was to camp on the American side and 

 hunt in Mexico. We were forced to do this by the ab- 

 surd regulations of the Mexican customs house, which 

 makes it difficult to get a hunting outfit into the country 

 and still more difficulty to get it out again. 



Bill joined us a short time after our arrival and we 

 made preparations for an early start on the morrow. 

 We had our breakfast long before daylight, and after 

 talking the matter over we concluded to try our luck on 

 the American side for the first day, as quite a number of 

 deer had been killed there recently. We all hunted in 

 the same general direction, but kept about a half mile 

 apart. I tramped until pretty late in the afternoon but 

 did not see a single deer, nor could I. find any very fresh 

 signs. The place must have been a regular" paradise for 

 game at one time for in all my hunting I never saw any 

 strip of country that was better adapted to game than 

 this, nor was I mistaken, for I met a ranchman by the 

 name of Smith who had lived near there for several 

 years and he told me that when he first settled there he 

 never pretended to hunt with anything but his Colt's 

 army pistol, arid that he could go out any day and knock 

 over two or three deer with it. 



I had eaten nothing since breakfast and had got pretty 

 hungry by this time, so I shaped my course for camp, I 

 was huiTying along on the Cameron ranch, when I heard 

 a most piteous bawling up in a little ravine to my right; 

 and in about a half minute a small bunch of cattle came 

 out with heads down and tails up, on a dead run. I 

 thought that one of them must have fallen into a hole or 

 something, and started up the ravine to find out what 

 the matter was. I had only gone a short distance, when 

 the bleating ceased entirely. About twenty rods from 

 the month the ravine made a sharp turn to the west, and 

 I noticed quite a clump of trees growing just beyond the 

 bend. I had no sooner rounded the bend that) I found 

 out what was the matter, for there on the ground, about 

 50ft. from me, with his teeth buried in the neck of a 

 good-sized steer was a big Mexican lion. We recognized 

 eacn other at the same instant and were probably both 

 equally surprised. He gave me no time to think, how- 

 ever, for quick as a flash he let go his hold, gave a hoarse 

 growl, crouched down, and with his belly touching the 

 ground and his long tail lashing the air, he commenced 

 to creep toward me. I had been thinking at the rate of 

 a hundred miles a minute and had come to the conclusion 

 that if I intended to do anything or take a hand in the 

 little game it was time I was about it, for the Hon had 

 tasted blood, his temper was up, he thought he had a win- 

 ning hand and was bound to call me. I cocked my 

 Winchester, brought it to my shoulder, sighted and fired, 

 the whole business being done in one time and one 

 motion. With a yell almost human in its agony the lion 

 tried to raise himself from the ground and leap, but his 

 hindquarters dragged, and it was evident that my shot 

 had taken effect and broken his back. He tried and did 

 drag himself toward me, his mouth was wide open, his 

 ears drawn back so as to show the full length of his long, 

 shining white teeth, whde he emitted shrieks and yells 

 that were simply earsplitting. He would run his long- 

 nails into the hard ground and then make a convulsive 

 movement as though he was going to spring toward me, 

 but he could only move his body a few inches at a time. I 

 did not wait to watch him very long, for I kept my gun 

 at my shoulder, took deliberate aim at his chest and gave 

 him another shot. By this time he was only about B5ft. 

 from me and I could hardly have missed him had I tried. 

 My second shot settled him forever, for after a slight 

 struggle he stretched himself out dead. I was busy ex- 

 amining him, when I heard some one running, and Joe 

 came in sight over a little ridge that was in front of me. 

 He was very pale and completely out of breath. 



"I was about a quarter of a mile from you," said he, 

 "and was trying to get a shot at a big deer, when I heard 

 you shoot. I recognized the report of your gun, and 

 when that infernal cougar commenced to howl and 

 scream, I thought you might be in trouble, and so I hur- 

 ried over so as to give you a hand if you needed it. I 

 have had a couple of very unpleasant encounters with 

 cougars, and I never hear one scream without feeling a 

 kind of a shiver pass over me. He screamed and I tell 

 you I felt considerably relieved when you fired the second 

 time and everything grew quiet, for I knew from the 

 time that elapsed between your shots that you were not 

 hard pressed," 



While we were talking Steve came flying up the ravine. 

 "Are you all right?" he asked. "You see I was on a hill 

 way back yonder; I heard you shoot and the lion yell, 

 and in about a minute I saw J oe tearing along on top of 

 the ridge, and I certainly thought you were in trouble, 

 so I put on a full head of steam and here I am. Well, 

 you are in luck," he continued, "I have spent ten years in 

 Calif ornia, Texas and Arizona, and have hunted a great 

 deal, but I have never been able to kill a Hon, while this 

 is the third one that you have put out of the way. I have 

 seen several, but it was when I had nothing but a pistol, 

 and I did not dare to tackle them with that." 



"I wish we had some way of measuring him," I said. 

 "Oh, I can do that for you easy enough," said Joe, "the 

 blade of my hunting knife is eight and the handle just 

 four inches long. Each inch on the handle is notched, so 

 there need be no guess work." 



We stretched the lion out at full length, and Joe meas- 

 ured him twice carefully. It was a trifle over ten feet 

 eight inches from the tip of his nose to the end of his 

 tail. He was a perfect specimen, and I have always 

 regretted that I did not have a tapeline so we could have 

 taken exact measurements of all parts of his body. We 

 took his skin off and carried it to camp. I intended to 

 save it and have it tanned with the hair on, but the very 

 first night the coyotes came and tore it all to rjieces. To 

 square matters we put out the head and neck of a deer 

 which we got from Ramsay the next night, and when 

 about fifty coyotes came barking and snarling about it, 

 we opened fire on them and killed seven of the gaunt, 

 hungry-looking cowardly creatures. Our camp was 

 pitched about thirty rods from , Ramsay's house, and we 

 used to get fresh milk, eggs arid butter from his wife 

 every day, which made a great addition to our fare. Joe 



was elected cook long before we started by a unanimous 

 vote, and as he was our artist in that line and liked to do 

 it, everybody was satisfied. 



That night, while all reclined about our bright camp 

 fire, and Bill and Steve blew great clouds of smoke into 

 the clear, cold air, I related to Bill how I chanced to meet 

 the cougar. He had killed no less than thirteen of them, 

 and had one chained up in his yard for a long time. He 

 used to watch it and study its habits closely until it killed 

 a pet setter for him , when he sold it to a Mexican showman. 



"I caught that little lion when it was very small," said 

 Bill, "and tried to tame and make a pet of it, but failed. 

 I was living in southern California on a ranch at the 

 time. I killed the mother and kept her two cubs or kit- 

 tens; one of them got poisoned and died, and the other 

 grew up to be a perfect whale of a fellow. He hated all 

 dogs, and while I used to give him more than he could 

 eat, he liked to dine on fresh dog meat in preference to 

 anything I could feed him. He used to work all sorts of 

 schemes to induce them to come in reach of him. I em- 

 ployed quite a number of Mexicans, and every one of 

 them had from two to six dogs; and as is the case with, 

 all Mexican dogs, they were in a chronic state of hunger 

 all the time. After the cougar had eaten all he wanted, 

 he wotdd lay a bone or piece of meat down near the end 

 of his long chain, then he would retire back eight or nine 

 feet, lie down, cover his head nearly up with his paws 

 and feign sleep. The dogs would gather around, and 

 keep coming closer and. closer, while the cougar would 

 never move a muscle; at last one of them would pluck 

 up courage and try to seize the bone, when the cougar 

 would leap for him quick as a flash. Sometimes the dog 

 would get a.way, for the eliain was heavy and interfered 

 with the cougar considerably, bu,t the cougar would 

 usually leave his mark on him. I *>aw him jump for a 

 big dog one day : and though it seemed to me that he 

 hardly touched him with one of his paws, he took most 

 of the skin from his shoulder as well as the side of his 

 head. I was looking at him another time, when a dog 

 tried to take a bone away; the cougar leaped for him, but 

 the chain had ljecome twisted and he failed to reach the 

 spot. He seemed to be very much crestfallen and walked 

 the full length of his chain several times as though he 

 was pacing the distance. The kinks had come out of the 

 chain by this time and he could reach the bone easily 

 enough, and he was evidently puzzled to know why he 

 could not reach it when he jumped. I kept him over 

 three years, when he killed my pet setter Dash. I was 

 going to kill him, but a Mexican offered me a hundred 

 dollars and I sold him. I was out hunting quail with 

 a shotgun on the same ranch when I saw a lion kill a fine 

 young heifer for me. There was a fine grove of trees 

 about a mile from my house, and during the warm sum- 

 mer months the cattle used to resort there during the 

 middle of the day to get in the shade. It was early in 

 the forenoon. I had killed a lot of birds, and, as it was 

 very warm , I thought I wordd rest in the grove a while 

 before carrying them home. I was only a few rods from 

 a long-leaning, heavily-topped tree, under which several 

 of the choicest animals of my herd were standing, when 

 I caught sight of something moving among the branches. 

 Before I could make out what it was a cougar leaped 

 down on a good-sized heifer. He struck her with one 

 paw right back of her boras, the other one hit her on the 

 shoulder; he fastened his teeth in her neck at the same 

 time. The poor creature went down as if shot, and we 

 afterward found that her neck had been broken. I felt 

 sure that it was the blow the lion gave her behind the 

 horns that did this. I ran to where some horses were 

 grazing, caught one, rode to the house without saddle or 

 bridle, got my rifle and i - ode back, where I found the lion 

 still gorging himself, and I killed him. In those days 

 cougars were a regular nuisance round where I lived, and 

 they killed no end of cattle and sheep for ranchers." 



We started over into Mexico early the next morning, 

 and hunted all day without seeing a single deer. The 

 next day Steve killed a big burro deer; and we had 

 quite an adventure with four of the Mexican guards, who 

 ride the line to prevent smuggling:. They rode over the 

 same round twice every day. They passed our camp 

 going east about 10 A. M. , and came back about 3 P. M. 

 As a general thing they are regular vagabonds, and some 

 of them delight in causing innocent people all the trouble 

 they can. Joe was going along searching all the little 

 ravines for deer when he suddenly came out within a few 

 rods of the road that divides the two countries. He had 

 no idea that he was anywhere near the road, and as he 

 looked down it he saw four of the guards riding along. 

 As soon as they saw him they put spurs to their horses 

 and came dashing down to intercept him. Joe got to the 

 road as soon as they did and crossed over to the American 

 side. " What were you doing over here? " said one of the 

 Mexicans to him. " Hunting," was Joe's brief reply. "I 

 believe you are lying," said another, putting his hand on 

 his pistol and trying to draw it. Joe covered him with 

 his Winchester, and told him to pull his hand away or 

 he would shoot. "Ah, you are all right," said they in 

 Mexican, "we just wanted to have some fun, and find 

 out what kind of a man you were." " Well, you have 

 found out, and you had better ride on," said he. " Buona," 

 they replied, and rode on. Joe kept an eye on them 

 meanwhile, and when they had got about 150yds. away 

 one of them pulled his pistol and turned in his' saddle to 

 shoot, but Joe was too quick for him, and fired, knocking 

 his sombrero off. This took all the shoot out of the 

 Mexican, and all of them laid down on their horses' 

 necks, plunged their spurs into their sides and dashed 

 away. Joe fired two or three shots away over their 

 heads to help them along, and then came into camp. If 

 he had shown the white feather they would have held 

 him up, taken everything he had, and then told him to 

 go in all probability. 



That evening we noticed three men dodging around 

 among the trees, and we went out to investigate. We 

 found that they were three deserters from the Fourth Cav- 

 ahy at Huachuca. They had been paid there a couple of 

 days before, and they had deserted after spending most 

 of their money. I asked one of them, who seemed to be 

 very intelligent, why he deserted. " Too much First Ser- 

 geant, and not enough to eat," was his reply. 



Friday morning we went over the line again and had 

 good luck, for Steve killed a big burro, and Joe a mule 

 deer, while Bill and I got an antelope between us. We 

 ran against it almost, and both of us fired at the same 

 time. It went down in a heap, and wo found two bullet 

 holes not more than four inches apart. I have seen the 

 statement that burro deer were ever found so far south as 



