MAMMALIA. 
3§ 
has ever heard a wild Panther scream. This is negative evidence it 
o 
is true, but it is by no means without value ; and it is certainly safe 
to assert that at least ninety-nine per cent, of the so-called “ Panther 
screams ” emanate from a widely different source. 
4-th. Concerning the Size of the Panther. 
In talking with border hunters of a certain type, and in perusing the 
literature of the subject, one is every now and then confronted with the 
most fabulous statements concerning the size of the beast now under 
consideration. Some would have us believe that Panthers have been 
killed and measured with a “ two-foot rule ” that were eleven, 
twelve, and even thirteen feet in length. Formidable beasts, in- 
deed ! No less an authority than fames De Kay tells us, in appar- 
ent good faith, that one was killed on an island in Fourth Lake (of 
the Fulton Chain) in Herkimer County, that, when recently killed, 
“ had a total length of eleven feet three inches.”* To those that are 
inclined to credit such statements I have only to say : measure off 
eleven feet on your floor ; place the largest Panther you ever saw on 
this measured line, and then tell me on what part of the beast you 
would “ annex ” or “ splice on ” the three or more additional feet. 
5th. Concerning the way a Panther carries its Prey. 
We often see statements to the effect that a Panther has killed a 
deer or a young bullock, “ slung it over his back,” and marched off 
(perhaps up an embankment, or even climbed a tree) with it. A 
Panther drags a deer along the ground just as a dog drags a sheep, 
or a cat a big piece of meat, and if he is a large one he may be able 
to lift the deer so high that only its hinder parts drag. 
* Zoology of New York, Part I, Mammals, 1842, p. 48. 
