FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 9, 190 
neighbor receives no profit from the squirrels, 
but he enjoys having them about him. 
Here is a suggestion for the farmer. There 
is no reason why you should not have in your 
woodland coverts partridge, quail and other 
game birds and squirrels, from which you could 
receive a profit by allowing hunters to shoot in 
your reserves after paying a good round price 
for the privilege. If there is a brook on your 
farm you can make a pond and fill it with trout 
and other fish and make money by selling 
priviliges to fish in your pond. 
Charles A. Green. 
Attacked by a Cougar. 
Capitola, Cal., Sept. 28 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: I inclose a clipping that may be of 
interest to you. The story about the mountain 
lion is true. I knew the parties who lost their 
lives. This tragedy happened within twenty-five 
miles of here. I have resided all my life in 
California and have never had any more fear 
of a panther than of a cat. I have killed sev¬ 
eral and saw one no later than last Thursday, 
Sept. 23, and a friend of mine saw one a few 
days before. I have always considered them 
very cowardly and not to be feared except when 
wounded and cornered. 
Walter R. Welch. 
[The clipping referred to is from the Santa 
Cruz Surf of Sept. 13. The death of Miss 
Isola Kennedy is announced and its cause 
stated, as follows: 
“On July 7, with Earl Wilson, of this city, 
and Walter Layne, of Morgan Hill, lads aged 
ten and eight respectively, Miss Kennedy went 
on a quiet little picnic to Coyote Creek, near 
Glen Willis. She drove with the boys to a spot 
some 700 or 800 yards above the bridge near 
Glen Willis, and leaving the rig took a seat 
upon the bank while the youngsters waded in 
the creek a little distance away. She was sud¬ 
denly horrified to see an immense California 
lion jump from the bank and alight upon the 
back of the Wilson boy. The boy fell into the 
shallow water and the lion at once left him and 
ferociously attacked Miss Kennedy, who fought 
him as best she could with her only weapon, a 
large hatpin. The lion at first seized his victim 
by the leg and dragged her down, then tried to 
get at her throat. She struggled to her feet 
and clasped her arms across her face, holding 
them there in spite of the beast’s attempts to 
claw them away. 
“The boys lost no time in running to the 
camp of the Bay Cities Water Co. and giving 
the alarm. Their appeal was answered by John 
Conlon and a Mr. Fletcher, employees of the 
water company. Mr. Conlon armed himself with 
a* shotgun, and with this he fired four shots at 
the ferocious beast. The animal did not seem 
to notice the shots and never for an instant 
ceased its onslaught on Miss Kennedy. 
“In the meantime Mr. Fletcher, realizing the 
ineffectiveness of the shotgun, had gone for a 
rifle. Mr. Conlon, after receiving the rifle, was 
forced to wait some minutes before he could 
get an opening to shoot without danger of kill¬ 
ing the young woman, so close was the lion’s 
assault. The opening finally came, but three 
bullets were necessary before the animal ceased 
to struggle, and almost with its dying gasp it 
was still clawing at the prostrate girl. The 
struggle between the girl and the lion lasted 
fully fifteen minutes.” 
Miss Kennedy’s arm was badly torn, and her 
shoulder and sca’p lacerated, while the boy lost 
an ear and suffered from scalp wounds. He 
partially recovered but suffered from nervous 
attacks, was finally taken with tetanus and died. 
In September Miss Kennedy died from her in¬ 
juries. It is stated that the cougar which at¬ 
tacked these persons measured eight feet in 
length and weighed 150 pounds. 
Apparently this occurrence is well authenti¬ 
cated. The action of the cougar can possibly 
be explained, if at all, as an extremely rare case 
in which the cat may have taken the boy in the 
water for some mammal; and, startled by the 
young woman’s voice, attacked her in a frenzy 
of fear.— Editor.] 
Encounter with a Rattlesnake. 
St. Augustine, Fla., Sept. 27. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: I inclose a snake story from the 
Evening Record which seems well authenticated. 
Mr. Dupont is a member of the State Legis¬ 
lature. 
"Stepping upon a six-foot diamondback rat¬ 
tlesnake and getting out of the way of the rep¬ 
tile by leaping up on the top of a cypress fence 
post was the thrilling and unpleasant experience 
of Marion Joseph, a thirteen-year-old boy at 
Matanzas a Couple of days ago, according to 
news received in the city to-day. 
“The lad was going through a dense ham¬ 
mock just at dusk when he stepped over some 
brush and directly upon a rattler. He saw the 
big reptile immediately and, screaming for help, 
leaped for the cypress post in a barbed wire 
fence back of him. He made the top of the 
post all right and easily stood upon it, as it was 
broad. The snake coiled and the lad claims 
that it struck at him as he leaped, but that the 
fangs only touched his trousers. 
“The boy’s cries for help were heard by C. 
J. Dupont and some other neighbors and they 
immediately went to his assistance. The snake 
was later killed and was found to measure over 
six feet in length, although there were but two 
rattles and a button on its tail. The lad was 
still on top of the post when help arrived and 
was badly frightened as a result of his narrow 
escape.” 
Not many boys can step upon a rattler and 
live to tell the tale. The number of rattles 
seem to have little to do with the length of the 
reptile. De Witt Webb. 
Mr. Cook’s Wildfowl. 
Since the paper relating the experiences of 
Henry Cook, of Woodbury, Long Island, in the 
breeding of wildfowl, was printed in these 
columns, we have received additional data on 
this subject from A. N. Frey, also of W oodbury. 
Mr. Frey says in part: 
“It may interest you to hear about a mandarin 
duck and a woodduck that also laid a few eggs 
each this year. The mandarin laid three eggs 
several days between each. They would not 
hatch, as also the three eggs of the woodduck. 
The latter duck was discovered accidentally in 
an abandoned inclosure used only in winter. 
She wou’d not venture to her nest. These six 
eggs were distributed among nests of var; 
black ducks and did not hatch out. 
“This reminds me that once a load of -SB 
flying some three yards above a nest whei 
black duck was hatching, so frightened the jt 
that she left never to return to that spot, i 
have noted that the wilder birds in our co: 
tion are easily frightened from their nests 1 
will not go back to them again if they t 
left them for such a reason. 
"A few words about Canada geese. Asl 
as vegetation is concerned they are omnivci 
and will keep the ground bare, as you i 
noticed in Woodbury. Not so the ducks; : 
are rather fastidious in their choice of ; 
diet and will allow weeds to grow among It 
The bare ground between the two small fr 
and the bottom of the one which has drien 
in the park-like inclosure on the west er 
the farm is covered with weeds at pre 
There are no geese among these ducks. 
will not let weeds come up. It often seen 
me that they devour all greens more on ac> 
of some destructive instinct than for hunger 
fore the geese were in the larger pond in. 
numbers as now, some weeds would find,: 
which were not to the taste of the ducksA 
A Squirrel Amid Strange Surround 
According to the Times a little gray sqi 
whose address in summer is Bryant Pari 
an interested spectator of a recent land ]i 
from a corner of the platform on one d 
tall white columns of the Court of Hono 
peered over at the show and seemed to t 
joying it. , , 
How the squirrel got up there and hi 
will get down the carpenters could nc 
The columns are covered with plaste' 
smooth for a squirrel to climb. The only 
route over which he could have traveled : 
top would be the wire cables which hel 
pillars in place. It is unlikely that the sj 
could have scaled one of these wires. 
But up there he was all day and th> 
sometimes running along the cables off 
leaves, which stretched from the top : 
column to another, sometimes resting a 
tops of the columns themselves, but alw' 
parently content with his new abode, an] 
less that he would fall from the dizzy! 
There is nothing for the squirrel to‘ ; i 
there near the top of the Court of Hon,, 
something will have to be done about : 
if he does not want to starve. He wi 
there first on Monday. A tall ladder wi 
being used by the electricians to string tl 
along the columns. One of the electricid 
up some peanuts and left them, but the 
long since been exhausted and the lads 
been taken away. 
[While the Lenox avenue subway w; 
constructed we saw a gray squirrel c >1 
West Drive in Central Park via onet 
large steel cables employed in conveying* 
from the tunnel to wagons. It climbed 
jumped to the cable, crossed to the vs 
of the drive and descended another tre 
ground.— Editor.] 
The Forest and Stream may be obtain 
any newsdealer an order. Ask your n 
supply ycu regularly. 
