202 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
I asked my kind host what had induced him to remove to 
this wild and solitary spot. “ The people are growing too 
numerous now to thrive in New-England,” was his an- 
swer. I thought of the state of some parts of Europe, and 
calculating the denseness of their population compared 
with that of New England, exclaimed to myself, “ How 
much more difficult must it be for men to thrive in those 
populous countries!” The conversation then changed, and 
the squatter, his sons and myself, spoke of hunting and 
fishing, until at length tired, we laid ourselves down on 
pallets of bear skins, and reposed in peace on the floor of 
the only apartment of which the hut consisted. 
Day dawned, and the squatter’s call to his hogs, which, 
being almost in a wild state, were suffered to seek the 
greater portion of their food in the woods, awakened me. 
Being ready dressed, I was not long in joining him. The 
hogs and their young came grunting at the well known 
call of their owner, who threw them a few ears of corn, 
and counted them, but told me that for some weeks their 
number had been greatly diminished by the ravages com- 
mitted upon them by a large Panther , by which name 
the Cougar is designated in America, and that the raven- 
ous animal did not content himself with the flesh of his 
pigs, but now and then carried off one of his calves, not- 
withstanding the many attempts he had made to shoot it. 
The Painter, as he sometimes called it, had on several 
occasions robbed him of a dead deer; and to these exploits 
the squatter added several remarkable feats of audacity 
which it had performed, to give me an idea of the formi- 
dable character of the beast. Delighted by his description, 
I offered to assist him in destroying the enemy, at which 
he was highly pleased, but assured me that unless some of 
his neighbours should join us with their dogs and his own, 
the attempt would prove fruitless. Soon after, mounting 
a horse, he went off to his neighbours, several of whom 
lived at a distance of some miles, and appointed a day of 
meeting. 
The hunters, accordingly, made their appearance, one 
fine morning, at the door of the cabin, just as the sun was 
emerging from beneath the horizon. They were five in 
number, and fully equipped for the chase, being mounted 
on horses, which in some parts of Europe might appear 
sorry nags, but which in strength, speed and bottom, are 
better fitted for pursuing a cougar or a bear through woods 
and morasses than any in that country. A pack of large 
ugly curs were already engaged in making acquaintance 
with those of the squatter. He and myself mounted his 
two best horses, whilst his sons were bestriding others of 
inferior quality. 
Few words were uttered by the party until we had 
reached the edge of the Swamp, where it was agreed that 
all should disperse and seek for the fresh track of the 
Painter, it being previously settled that the discoverer 
should blow his horn, and remain on the spot until the rest 
should join him. In less than an hour, the sound of the 
horn was clearly heard, and, sticking close to the squatter, 
off we went through the thick woods, guided only by the 
now and then repeated call of the distant huntsman. We 
soon reached the spot, and in a short time the rest of the 
party came up. The best dog was sent forward to track 
Ibe Cougar, and in a few moments the whole pack were 
observed diligently trailing, and bearing in their course 
for the interior of the Swamp. The rifles were immedi- 
ately put in trim, and the party followed the dogs, at sepa- 
rate distances, but in sight of each other, determined to 
shoot at no other game than the Panther. 
The dogs soon began to mouth, and suddenly quickened 
their pace. My companion concluded that the beast was 
on the ground, and putting our horses to a gentle gallop, 
we followed the curs, guided by their voices. The noise 
of the dogs increased, when all of a sudden their mode of 
barking became altered, and the squatter, urging me to 
push on, told me that the beast was treed, by which he 
meant that it had got upon some low branch of a large tree 
to rest fora few moments, and that should we not succeed 
in shooting him when thus situated, we might expect a 
long chase of it. As we approached the spot, we all by 
degrees united into a body, but on seeing the dogs at the 
foot of a large tree, separated again and galloped off to 
surround it. 
Each hunter now moved with caution, holding: his gun 
ready, and allowing the bridle to dangle on the neck of 
his horse, as it advanced slowly towards the dogs. A shot 
from one of the party was heard, on which the Cougar 
was seen to leap to the ground, and bound off with such 
velocity, as to show that he was very unwilling to stand 
our fire longer. The dogs set off in pursuit with great 
eagerness and a deafening cry. The hunter who had fired 
came up and said that his ball had hit the monster, and had 
probably broken one of his fore-legs near the shoulder, 
the only place at which he could aim. A slight trail of 
hlood was discovered on the ground, but the curs proceed- 
ed at such a rate that we merely noticed this, and put 
spurs to our horses, which galloped on towards the centre 
of the Swamp. One bayou was crossed, then another still 
larger and more muddy; but the dogs were brushing for- 
ward, and as the horses began to pant at a furious rate, we 
judged it expedient to leave them and advance on foot. 
These determined hunters knew that the Cougar being 
wounded, would shortly ascend another tree, where in all 
probability he would remain for a considerable time, and 
that it would be easy to follow the track of the dogs. We 
