Chapter Four.The Passenger-Pigeons.After an early breakfast we lit our pipes and cigars, and took to the road. The sun was very bright, and in less than two hours after starting we were sweltering under a heat almost tropical. It was one of those autumn days peculiar to America, where even a high latitude seems to be no protection against the sun, and his beams fall upon one with as much fervour as they would under the line itself. The first part of our journey was through open woods of black-jack, whose stunted forms afforded no shade, but only shut off the breeze which might otherwise have fanned us.While fording a shallow stream, the doctor’s scraggy, ill-tempered horse took a fit of kicking quite frantical. For some time it seemed likely that either the doctor himself, or his saddle-bags, would be deposited in the bottom of the creek, but after a severe spell of whipping and kicking on the part of the rider, the animal moved on again. What had set it dancing? That was the question. It had the disposition to be “frisky,” but usually appeared to be lacking in strength. The buzz of a horse-fly sounding in our ears explained all. It was one of those large insects—the “horse-bug,”—peculiar to the Mississippi country, and usually found near watercourses. They are more terrible to horses than a fierce dog would be. I have known horses gallop away from them as if pursued by a beast of prey.There is a belief among western people that these insects are propagated by the horses themselves; that is, that the eggs of the female are deposited upon the grass, so that the horses may swallow them; that incubation goes on within the stomach of the animal, and that the chrysalis is afterwards voided. I have met with others who believed in a still stranger theory; that the insect itself actually sought, and found, a passage into the stomach of the horse, some said by passing down his throat, others by boring a hole through his abdomen; and that in such cases the horse usually sickened, and was in danger of dying!After the doctor’s mustang had returned to proper behaviour, these odd theories became the subject of discussion. The Kentuckian believed in them—the Englishman doubted them—the hunter-naturalist could not endorse them—and Besançon ignored them entirely.Shortly after the incident we entered the bottom lands of a considerable stream. These were heavily-timbered, and the shadow of the great forest trees afforded us a pleasant relief from the hot sun. Our guides told us we had several miles of such woods to pass through, and we were glad of the information. We noticed that most of the trees were beech, and their smooth straight trunks rose like columns around us.The beech (Fagus sylvatica) is one of the most beautiful of American forest trees. Unlike most of the others, its bark is smooth, without fissures, and often of a silvery hue. Large beech-trees standing by the path, or near a cross road, are often seen covered with names, initials, and dates. Even the Indian often takes advantage of the bark of a beech-tree to signalise his presence to his friends, or commemorate some savage exploit. Indeed, the beautiful column-like trunk seems to invite the knife, and many a souvenir is carved upon it by the loitering wayfarer. It does not, however, invite the axe of the settler. On the contrary, the beechen woods often remain untouched, while others fall around them—partly because these trees are not usually the indices of the richest soil, but more from the fact that clearing a piece of beech forest is no easy matter. The green logs do not burn so readily as those of the oak, the elm, the maple, or poplar, and hence the necessity of “rolling” them off the ground to be cleared—a serious thing where labour is scarce and dear.We were riding silently along, when all at once our ears were assailed by a strange noise. It resembled the clapping of a thousand pairs of hands, followed by a whistling sound, as if a strong wind had set suddenly in among the trees. We all knew well enough what it meant, and the simultaneous cry of “pigeons,” was followed by half a dozen simultaneous cracks from the guns of the party, and several bluish birds fell to the ground. We had stumbled upon a feeding-place of the passenger-pigeon (Columba migratoria).Our route was immediately abandoned, and in a few minutes we were in the thick of the flock, cracking away at them both with shot-gun and rifle. It was not so easy, however, to bring them down in any considerable numbers. In following them up we soon strayed from each other, until our party was completely scattered, and nearly two hours elapsed before we got back to the road. Our game-bag, however, made a fine show, and about forty brace were deposited in the waggon. With the anticipation of roast pigeon and “pot-pie,” we rode on more cheerily to our night-camp. All along the route the pigeons were seen, and occasionally large flocks whirled over our heads under the canopy of the trees. Satiated with the sport, and not caring to waste our ammunition, we did not heed them farther.In order to give Lanty due time for the duties of thecuisine, we halted a little earlier than usual. Our day’s march had been a short one, but the excitement and sport of the pigeon-hunt repaid us for the loss of time. Our dinner-supper—for it was a combination of both—was the dish known in America as “pot-pie,” in which the principal ingredients were the pigeons, some soft flour paste, with a few slices of bacon to give it a flavour. Properly speaking, the “pot-pie” is not a pie, but a stew. Ours was excellent, and as our appetites wore in a similar condition, a goodly quantity was used up in appeasing them.Of course the conversation of the evening was the “wild pigeon of America,” and the following facts regarding its natural history—although many of them are by no means new—may prove interesting to the reader, as they did to those who listened to the relation of them around our camp-fire.The “passenger” is less in size than the house pigeon. In the air it looks not unlike the kite, wanting the forked or “swallow” tail. That of the pigeon is cuneiform. Its colour is best described by calling it a nearly uniform slate. In the male the colours are deeper, and the neck-feathers present the same changeable hues of green, gold, and purple-crimson, generally observed in birds of this species. It is only in the woods, and when freshly caught or killed, that these brilliant tints can be seen to perfection. They fade in captivity, and immediately after the bird has been shot. They seem to form part of its life and liberty, and disappear when it is robbed of either. I have often thrust the wild pigeon, freshly killed, into my game-bag, glittering like an opal. I have drawn it forth a few hours after of a dull leaden hue, and altogether unlike the same bird.As with all birds of this tribe, the female is inferior to the male, both in size and plumage. The eye is less vivid. In the male it is of the most brilliant fiery orange, inclosed in a well-defined circle of red. The eye is in truth its finest feature, and never fails to strike the beholder with admiration.The most singular fact in the natural history of the “passenger,” is their countless numbers. Audubon saw a flock that contained “one billion one hundred and sixteen millions of birds!” Wilson counted, or rather computed, another flock of “two thousand two hundred and thirty millions!” These numbers seem incredible. I have no doubt of their truth. I have no doubt that they areunderrather thanoverthe numbers actually seen by both these naturalists, for both made most liberal allowances in their calculations.Where do these immense flocks come from?The wild pigeons breed in all parts of America. Their breeding-places are found as far north as the Hudson’s Bay, and they have been seen in the southern forests of Louisiana and Texas. The nests are built upon high trees, and resemble immense rookeries. In Kentucky, one of their breeding-places was forty miles in length, by several in breadth! One hundred nests will often be found upon a single tree, and in each nest there is but one “squab.” The eggs are pure white, like those of the common kind, and, like them, they breed several times during the year, but principally when food is plenty. They establish themselves in great “roosts,” sometimes for years together, to which each night they return from their distant excursions—hundreds of miles, perhaps; for this is but a short fly for travellers who can pass over a mile in a single minute, and some of whom have even strayed across the Atlantic to England! They, however, as I myself have observed, remain in the same woods where they have been feeding for several days together. I have also noticed that they prefer roosting in the low underwood, even when tall trees are close at hand. If near water, or hanging over a stream, the place is still more to their liking; and in the morning they may be seen alighting on the bank to drink, before taking to their daily occupation.The great “roosts” and breeding-places are favourite resorts for numerous birds of prey. The small vultures (Cathartes auraandAtratus), or, as they are called in the west, “turkey buzzard,” and “carrion crow,” do not confine themselves to carrion alone. They are fond of live “squabs,” which they drag out of their nests at pleasure. Numerous hawks and kites prey upon them; and even the great white-headed eagle (Falco leucocephalus) may be seen soaring above, and occasionally swooping down for a dainty morsel. On the ground beneath move enemies of a different kind, both biped and quadruped. Fowlers with their guns and long poles; farmers with waggons to carry off the dead birds; and even droves of hogs to devour them. Trees fall under the axe, and huge branches break down by the weight of the birds themselves, killing numbers in their descent. Torches are used—for it is usually a night scene, after the return of the birds from feeding,—pots of burning sulphur, and other engines of destruction. A noisy scene it is. The clapping of a million pair of wings, like the roaring of thunder; the shots; the shouts; men hoarsely calling to each other; women and children screaming their delight; the barking of dogs; the neighing of horses; the “crashes” of breaking branches; and the “chuck” of the woodman’s axe, all mingled together.When the men—saturated with slaughter, and white with ordure—have retired beyond the borders of the roost to rest themselves for the night, their ground is occupied by the prowling wolf and the fox; the racoon and the cougar; the lynx and the great black bear.With so many enemies, one would think that the “passengers” would soon be exterminated. Not so. They are too prolific for that. Indeed, were it not for these enemies, they themselves would perish for want of food. Fancy what it takes to feed them! The flock seen by Wilson would require eighteen million bushels of grain every day!—and it, most likely, was only one of many such that at the time were traversing the vast continent of America. Upon what do they feed? it will be asked. Upon the fruits of the great forest—upon the acorns, the nuts of the beech, upon buck-wheat, and Indian corn; upon many species of berries, such as the huckleberry (whortleberry), the hackberry (Celtis crassifolia), and the fruit of the holly. In the northern regions, where these are scarce, the berries of the juniper tree (Juniperus communis) form the principal food. On the other hand, among the southern plantations, they devour greedily the rice, as well as the nuts of the chestnut-tree and several species of oaks. But their staple food is the beech-nut, or “mast,” as it is called. Of this the pigeons are fond, and fortunately it exists in great plenty. In the forests of Western America there are vast tracts covered almost entirely with the beech-tree.As already stated, these beechen forests of America remain almost intact, and so long as they shower down their millions of bushels of “mast,” so long will the passenger-pigeons flutter in countless numbers amidst their branches.Their migration is semi-annual; but unlike most other migratory birds, it is far from being regular. Their flight is, in fact, not a periodical migration, but a sort of nomadic existence—food being the object which keeps them in motion and directs their course. The scarcity in one part determines their movement to another. When there is more than the usual fall of snow in the northern regions, vast flocks make their appearance in the middle States, as in Ohio and Kentucky. This may in some measure account for the overcrowded “roosts” which have been occasionally seen, but which are by no means common. You may live in the west for many years without witnessing a scene such as those described by Wilson and Audubon, though once or twice every year you may see pigeons enough to astonish you.It must not be imagined that the wild pigeons of America are so “tame” as they have been sometimes represented. That is their character only while young at the breeding-places, or at the great roosts when confused by crowding upon each other, and mystified by torch-light.Far different are they when wandering through the open woods in search of food. It is then both difficult to approach and hard to kill them. Odd birds you may easily reach; you may see them perched upon the branches on all sides of you, and within shot-range; but thethickof the flock, somehow or other, always keeps from one to two hundred yards off. The sportsman cannot bring himself to fire at single birds. No. There is a tree near at hand literally black with pigeons. Its branches creak under the weight. What a fine havoc he will make if he can but get near enough! But that is the difficulty; there is no cover, and he must approach as he best can without it. He continues to advance; the birds sit silent, watching his movements. He treads lightly and with caution; he inwardly anathematises the dead leaves and twigs that make a loud rustling under his feet. The birds appear restless; several stretch out their necks as if to spring off.At length he deems himself fairly within range, and raises his gun to take aim; but this is a signal for the shy game, and before he can draw trigger they are off to another tree!Some stragglers still remain; and at them he levels his piece and fires. The shot is a random one; for our sportsman, having failed to “cover” the flock, has become irritated and careless, and in all such cases the pigeons fly off with the loss of a few feathers.The gun is reloaded, and our amateur hunter, seeing the thick flock upon another tree, again endeavours to approach it, but with like success.
After an early breakfast we lit our pipes and cigars, and took to the road. The sun was very bright, and in less than two hours after starting we were sweltering under a heat almost tropical. It was one of those autumn days peculiar to America, where even a high latitude seems to be no protection against the sun, and his beams fall upon one with as much fervour as they would under the line itself. The first part of our journey was through open woods of black-jack, whose stunted forms afforded no shade, but only shut off the breeze which might otherwise have fanned us.
While fording a shallow stream, the doctor’s scraggy, ill-tempered horse took a fit of kicking quite frantical. For some time it seemed likely that either the doctor himself, or his saddle-bags, would be deposited in the bottom of the creek, but after a severe spell of whipping and kicking on the part of the rider, the animal moved on again. What had set it dancing? That was the question. It had the disposition to be “frisky,” but usually appeared to be lacking in strength. The buzz of a horse-fly sounding in our ears explained all. It was one of those large insects—the “horse-bug,”—peculiar to the Mississippi country, and usually found near watercourses. They are more terrible to horses than a fierce dog would be. I have known horses gallop away from them as if pursued by a beast of prey.
There is a belief among western people that these insects are propagated by the horses themselves; that is, that the eggs of the female are deposited upon the grass, so that the horses may swallow them; that incubation goes on within the stomach of the animal, and that the chrysalis is afterwards voided. I have met with others who believed in a still stranger theory; that the insect itself actually sought, and found, a passage into the stomach of the horse, some said by passing down his throat, others by boring a hole through his abdomen; and that in such cases the horse usually sickened, and was in danger of dying!
After the doctor’s mustang had returned to proper behaviour, these odd theories became the subject of discussion. The Kentuckian believed in them—the Englishman doubted them—the hunter-naturalist could not endorse them—and Besançon ignored them entirely.
Shortly after the incident we entered the bottom lands of a considerable stream. These were heavily-timbered, and the shadow of the great forest trees afforded us a pleasant relief from the hot sun. Our guides told us we had several miles of such woods to pass through, and we were glad of the information. We noticed that most of the trees were beech, and their smooth straight trunks rose like columns around us.
The beech (Fagus sylvatica) is one of the most beautiful of American forest trees. Unlike most of the others, its bark is smooth, without fissures, and often of a silvery hue. Large beech-trees standing by the path, or near a cross road, are often seen covered with names, initials, and dates. Even the Indian often takes advantage of the bark of a beech-tree to signalise his presence to his friends, or commemorate some savage exploit. Indeed, the beautiful column-like trunk seems to invite the knife, and many a souvenir is carved upon it by the loitering wayfarer. It does not, however, invite the axe of the settler. On the contrary, the beechen woods often remain untouched, while others fall around them—partly because these trees are not usually the indices of the richest soil, but more from the fact that clearing a piece of beech forest is no easy matter. The green logs do not burn so readily as those of the oak, the elm, the maple, or poplar, and hence the necessity of “rolling” them off the ground to be cleared—a serious thing where labour is scarce and dear.
We were riding silently along, when all at once our ears were assailed by a strange noise. It resembled the clapping of a thousand pairs of hands, followed by a whistling sound, as if a strong wind had set suddenly in among the trees. We all knew well enough what it meant, and the simultaneous cry of “pigeons,” was followed by half a dozen simultaneous cracks from the guns of the party, and several bluish birds fell to the ground. We had stumbled upon a feeding-place of the passenger-pigeon (Columba migratoria).
Our route was immediately abandoned, and in a few minutes we were in the thick of the flock, cracking away at them both with shot-gun and rifle. It was not so easy, however, to bring them down in any considerable numbers. In following them up we soon strayed from each other, until our party was completely scattered, and nearly two hours elapsed before we got back to the road. Our game-bag, however, made a fine show, and about forty brace were deposited in the waggon. With the anticipation of roast pigeon and “pot-pie,” we rode on more cheerily to our night-camp. All along the route the pigeons were seen, and occasionally large flocks whirled over our heads under the canopy of the trees. Satiated with the sport, and not caring to waste our ammunition, we did not heed them farther.
In order to give Lanty due time for the duties of thecuisine, we halted a little earlier than usual. Our day’s march had been a short one, but the excitement and sport of the pigeon-hunt repaid us for the loss of time. Our dinner-supper—for it was a combination of both—was the dish known in America as “pot-pie,” in which the principal ingredients were the pigeons, some soft flour paste, with a few slices of bacon to give it a flavour. Properly speaking, the “pot-pie” is not a pie, but a stew. Ours was excellent, and as our appetites wore in a similar condition, a goodly quantity was used up in appeasing them.
Of course the conversation of the evening was the “wild pigeon of America,” and the following facts regarding its natural history—although many of them are by no means new—may prove interesting to the reader, as they did to those who listened to the relation of them around our camp-fire.
The “passenger” is less in size than the house pigeon. In the air it looks not unlike the kite, wanting the forked or “swallow” tail. That of the pigeon is cuneiform. Its colour is best described by calling it a nearly uniform slate. In the male the colours are deeper, and the neck-feathers present the same changeable hues of green, gold, and purple-crimson, generally observed in birds of this species. It is only in the woods, and when freshly caught or killed, that these brilliant tints can be seen to perfection. They fade in captivity, and immediately after the bird has been shot. They seem to form part of its life and liberty, and disappear when it is robbed of either. I have often thrust the wild pigeon, freshly killed, into my game-bag, glittering like an opal. I have drawn it forth a few hours after of a dull leaden hue, and altogether unlike the same bird.
As with all birds of this tribe, the female is inferior to the male, both in size and plumage. The eye is less vivid. In the male it is of the most brilliant fiery orange, inclosed in a well-defined circle of red. The eye is in truth its finest feature, and never fails to strike the beholder with admiration.
The most singular fact in the natural history of the “passenger,” is their countless numbers. Audubon saw a flock that contained “one billion one hundred and sixteen millions of birds!” Wilson counted, or rather computed, another flock of “two thousand two hundred and thirty millions!” These numbers seem incredible. I have no doubt of their truth. I have no doubt that they areunderrather thanoverthe numbers actually seen by both these naturalists, for both made most liberal allowances in their calculations.
Where do these immense flocks come from?
The wild pigeons breed in all parts of America. Their breeding-places are found as far north as the Hudson’s Bay, and they have been seen in the southern forests of Louisiana and Texas. The nests are built upon high trees, and resemble immense rookeries. In Kentucky, one of their breeding-places was forty miles in length, by several in breadth! One hundred nests will often be found upon a single tree, and in each nest there is but one “squab.” The eggs are pure white, like those of the common kind, and, like them, they breed several times during the year, but principally when food is plenty. They establish themselves in great “roosts,” sometimes for years together, to which each night they return from their distant excursions—hundreds of miles, perhaps; for this is but a short fly for travellers who can pass over a mile in a single minute, and some of whom have even strayed across the Atlantic to England! They, however, as I myself have observed, remain in the same woods where they have been feeding for several days together. I have also noticed that they prefer roosting in the low underwood, even when tall trees are close at hand. If near water, or hanging over a stream, the place is still more to their liking; and in the morning they may be seen alighting on the bank to drink, before taking to their daily occupation.
The great “roosts” and breeding-places are favourite resorts for numerous birds of prey. The small vultures (Cathartes auraandAtratus), or, as they are called in the west, “turkey buzzard,” and “carrion crow,” do not confine themselves to carrion alone. They are fond of live “squabs,” which they drag out of their nests at pleasure. Numerous hawks and kites prey upon them; and even the great white-headed eagle (Falco leucocephalus) may be seen soaring above, and occasionally swooping down for a dainty morsel. On the ground beneath move enemies of a different kind, both biped and quadruped. Fowlers with their guns and long poles; farmers with waggons to carry off the dead birds; and even droves of hogs to devour them. Trees fall under the axe, and huge branches break down by the weight of the birds themselves, killing numbers in their descent. Torches are used—for it is usually a night scene, after the return of the birds from feeding,—pots of burning sulphur, and other engines of destruction. A noisy scene it is. The clapping of a million pair of wings, like the roaring of thunder; the shots; the shouts; men hoarsely calling to each other; women and children screaming their delight; the barking of dogs; the neighing of horses; the “crashes” of breaking branches; and the “chuck” of the woodman’s axe, all mingled together.
When the men—saturated with slaughter, and white with ordure—have retired beyond the borders of the roost to rest themselves for the night, their ground is occupied by the prowling wolf and the fox; the racoon and the cougar; the lynx and the great black bear.
With so many enemies, one would think that the “passengers” would soon be exterminated. Not so. They are too prolific for that. Indeed, were it not for these enemies, they themselves would perish for want of food. Fancy what it takes to feed them! The flock seen by Wilson would require eighteen million bushels of grain every day!—and it, most likely, was only one of many such that at the time were traversing the vast continent of America. Upon what do they feed? it will be asked. Upon the fruits of the great forest—upon the acorns, the nuts of the beech, upon buck-wheat, and Indian corn; upon many species of berries, such as the huckleberry (whortleberry), the hackberry (Celtis crassifolia), and the fruit of the holly. In the northern regions, where these are scarce, the berries of the juniper tree (Juniperus communis) form the principal food. On the other hand, among the southern plantations, they devour greedily the rice, as well as the nuts of the chestnut-tree and several species of oaks. But their staple food is the beech-nut, or “mast,” as it is called. Of this the pigeons are fond, and fortunately it exists in great plenty. In the forests of Western America there are vast tracts covered almost entirely with the beech-tree.
As already stated, these beechen forests of America remain almost intact, and so long as they shower down their millions of bushels of “mast,” so long will the passenger-pigeons flutter in countless numbers amidst their branches.
Their migration is semi-annual; but unlike most other migratory birds, it is far from being regular. Their flight is, in fact, not a periodical migration, but a sort of nomadic existence—food being the object which keeps them in motion and directs their course. The scarcity in one part determines their movement to another. When there is more than the usual fall of snow in the northern regions, vast flocks make their appearance in the middle States, as in Ohio and Kentucky. This may in some measure account for the overcrowded “roosts” which have been occasionally seen, but which are by no means common. You may live in the west for many years without witnessing a scene such as those described by Wilson and Audubon, though once or twice every year you may see pigeons enough to astonish you.
It must not be imagined that the wild pigeons of America are so “tame” as they have been sometimes represented. That is their character only while young at the breeding-places, or at the great roosts when confused by crowding upon each other, and mystified by torch-light.
Far different are they when wandering through the open woods in search of food. It is then both difficult to approach and hard to kill them. Odd birds you may easily reach; you may see them perched upon the branches on all sides of you, and within shot-range; but thethickof the flock, somehow or other, always keeps from one to two hundred yards off. The sportsman cannot bring himself to fire at single birds. No. There is a tree near at hand literally black with pigeons. Its branches creak under the weight. What a fine havoc he will make if he can but get near enough! But that is the difficulty; there is no cover, and he must approach as he best can without it. He continues to advance; the birds sit silent, watching his movements. He treads lightly and with caution; he inwardly anathematises the dead leaves and twigs that make a loud rustling under his feet. The birds appear restless; several stretch out their necks as if to spring off.
At length he deems himself fairly within range, and raises his gun to take aim; but this is a signal for the shy game, and before he can draw trigger they are off to another tree!
Some stragglers still remain; and at them he levels his piece and fires. The shot is a random one; for our sportsman, having failed to “cover” the flock, has become irritated and careless, and in all such cases the pigeons fly off with the loss of a few feathers.
The gun is reloaded, and our amateur hunter, seeing the thick flock upon another tree, again endeavours to approach it, but with like success.
Chapter Five.Hunt with a Howitzer.When the conversation about the haunts and habits of these birds began to flag, some one called for a “pigeon story.” Who could tell a pigeon story? To our surprise the doctor volunteered one, and all gathered around to listen.“Yes, gentlemen,” began the doctor, “I have a pigeon adventure, which occurred to me some years ago. I was then living in Cincinnati, following my respectable calling, when I had the good fortune to set a broken leg for one Colonel P—, a wealthy planter, who lived upon the bank of the river some sixty miles from the city. I made a handsome set of if, and won the colonel’s friendship for ever. Shortly after, I was invited to his house, to be present at a great pigeon-hunt which was to come off in the fall. The colonel’s plantation stood among beech woods, and he had therefore an annual visitation of the pigeons, and could tell almost to a day when they would appear. The hunt he had arranged for the gratification of his numerous friends.“As you all know, gentlemen, sixty miles in our western travel is a mere bagatelle; and tired of pills and prescriptions, I flung myself into a boat, and in a few hours arrived at the colonel’s stately home. A word or two about this stately home and its proprietor.“Colonel P— was a splendid specimen of the backwoods’ gentleman—you will admit therearegentlemen in the backwoods.” (Here the doctor glanced good-humouredly, first at our English friend Thompson, and then at the Kentuckian, both of whom answered him with a laugh.) “His house was the type of a backwoods mansion; a wooden structure, both walls and roof. No matter. It has distributed as much hospitality in its time as many a marble palace; that was one of its backwoods’ characteristics. It stood, and I hope still stands, upon the north bank of the Ohio—that beautiful stream—‘La belle rivière,’ as the French colonists, and before their time the Indians, used to call it. It was in the midst of the woods, though around it were a thousand acres of ‘clearing,’ where you might distinguish fields of golden wheat, and groves of shining maize plants waving aloft their yellow-flower tassels. You might note, too, the broad green leaf of the Nicotian ‘weed,’ or the bursting pod of the snow-white cotton. In the garden you might observe the sweet potato, the common one, the refreshing tomato, the huge water-melon, cantelopes, and musk melons, with many other delicious vegetables. You could see pods of red and green pepper growing upon trailing plants; and beside them several species of peas and beans—all valuable for the colonel’scuisine. There was an orchard, too, of several acres in extent. It was filled with fruit-trees, the finest peaches in the world, and the finest apples—the Newton pippins. Besides, there were luscious pears and plums, and upon the espaliers, vines bearing bushels of sweet grapes. If Colonel P— lived in the woods, it cannot be said that he was surrounded by a desert.“There were several substantial log-houses near the main building or mansion. They were the stable—and good horses there were in that stable; the cow-house, for milk cattle; the barn, to hold the wheat and maize-corn; the smoke-house, for curing bacon; a large building for the dry tobacco; a cotton-gin, with its shed of clap-boards; bins for the husk fodder, and several smaller structures. In one corner you saw a low-walled erection that reminded you of a kennel, and the rich music that from time to time issued from its apertures would convince you that itwasa kennel. If you had peeped into it, you would have seen a dozen of as fine stag-hounds as ever lifted a trail. The colonel was somewhat partial to these pets, for he was a ‘mighty hunter.’ You might see a number of young colts in an adjoining lot; a pet deer, a buffalo-calf, that had been brought from the far prairies, pea-fowl, guinea-hens, turkeys, geese, ducks, and the usual proportion of common fowls. Rail-fences zigzagged off in all directions towards the edge of the woods. Huge trees, dead and divested of their leaves, stood up in the cleared fields. Turkey buzzards and carrion, crows might be seen perched upon their grey naked limbs; upon their summit you might observe the great rough-legged falcon; and above all, cutting sharply against the blue sky, the fork-tailed kite sailing gently about.”Here the doctor’s auditory interrupted him with a murmur of applause. The doctor was in fine spirits, and in a poetical mood. He continued.“Such, gentlemen, was the sort of place I had come to visit; and I saw at a glance that I could spend a few days there pleasantly enough—even without the additional attractions of a pigeon-hunt.“On my arrival I found the party assembled. It consisted of a score and a half of ladies and gentlemen, nearly all young people. The pigeons had not yet made their appearance, but were looked for every hour. The woods had assumed the gorgeous tints of autumn, that loveliest of seasons in the ‘far west.’ Already the ripe nuts and berries were scattered profusely over the earth offering their annual banquet to God’s wild creatures. The ‘mast’ of the beech-tree, of which the wild pigeon is so fond, was showering down among the dead leaves. It was the very season at which the birds were accustomed to visit the beechen woods that girdled the colonel’s plantation. They would no doubt soon appear. With this expectation everything was made ready; each of the gentlemen was provided with a fowling-piece, or rifle if he preferred it; and even some of the ladies insisted upon being armed.“To render the sport more exciting, our host had established certain regulations. They were as follows:—The gentlemen were divided into two parties, of equal numbers. These were to go in opposite directions, the ladies upon the first day of the hunt accompanying whichever they chose. Upon all succeeding days, however, the case would be different. The ladies were to accompany that party which upon the day previous had bagged the greatest number of birds. The victorious gentlemen, moreover, were endowed with other privileges, which lasted throughout the evening; such as the choice of partners for the dinner-table and the dance.“I need not tell you, gentlemen, that in these conditions existed powerful motives for exertion. The colonel’s guests were theéliteof western society. Most of the gentlemen were young men or bachelors; and among the ladies there werebelles; three or four of them rich and beautiful. On my arrival I could perceive signs of incipient flirtations. Attachments had already arisen; and by many it would have been esteemed anything but pleasant to be separated in the manner prescribed. A strongesprit du corpswas thus established; and, by the time the pigeons arrived, both parties had determined to do their utmost. In fact, I have never known so strong a feeling of rivalry to exist between two parties of amateur sportsmen.“The pigeons at length arrived. It was a bright sunny morning, and yet the atmosphere was darkened, as the vast flock, a mile in breadth by several in length, passed across the canopy. The sound of their wings resembled a strong wind whistling among tree-tops, or through the rigging of a ship. We saw that they hovered over the woods, and settled among the tall beeches.“The beginning of the hunt was announced, and we set forth, each party taking the direction allotted to it. With each went a number of ladies, and even some of these were armed with light fowling-pieces, determined that the party of their choice should be the victorious one. After a short ride, we found ourselves fairly ‘in the woods,’ and in the presence of the birds, and then the cracking commenced.“In our party we had eight guns, exclusive of the small fowling-pieces (two of those), with which a brace of our heroines were armed, and which, truth compels me to confess, were less dangerous to the pigeons than to ourselves. Some of our guns were double-barrelled shot-guns, others were rifles. You will wonder at rifles being used in such a sport, and yet it is a fact that the gentlemen who carried rifles managed to do more execution than those who were armed with the other species. This arose from the circumstance that they were contented to aim at single birds, and, being good shots, they were almost sure to bring these down. The woods were filled with straggling pigeons. Odd birds were always within rifle range; and thus, instead of wasting their time in endeavouring to approach the great flocks, our riflemen did nothing but load and fire. In this way they soon counted their game by dozens.“Early in the evening, the pigeons, having filled their crops with the mast, disappeared. They flew off to some distant ‘roost.’ This of course concluded our sport for the day. We got together and counted our numbers. We had 640 birds. We returned home full of hope; we felt certain that we had won for that day. Our antagonists had arrived before us. They showed us 736 dead pigeons. We were beaten.“I really cannot explain the chagrin which this defeat occasioned to most of our party. They felt humiliated in the eyes of the ladies, whose company they were to lose on the morrow. To some there was extreme bitterness in the idea; for, as I have already stated, attachments had sprung up, and jealous thoughts were naturally their concomitants. It was quite tantalising, as we parted next morning, to see the galaxy of lovely women ride off with our antagonists, while we sought the woods in the opposite direction, dispirited and in silence.“We went, however, determined to do our best, and win the ladies for the morrow. A council was held, and each imparted his advice and encouragement; and then we all set to work with shot-gun and rifle.“On this day an incident occurred that aided our ‘count’ materially. As you know, gentlemen, the wild pigeons, while feeding, sometimes cover the ground so thickly that they crowd upon each other. They all advance in the same direction, those behind continually rising up and fluttering to the front, so that the surface presents a series of undulations like sea-waves. Frequently the birds alight upon each other’s backs, for want of room upon the ground, and a confused mass of winged creatures is seen rolling through the woods. At such times, if the sportsman can only ‘head’ the flock, he is sure of a good shot. Almost every pellet tells, and dozens may be brought down at a single discharge.“In my progress through the woods, I had got separated from my companions, when I observed an immense flock approaching me after the manner described. I saw from their plumage that they were young birds, and therefore not likely to be easily alarmed. I drew my horse (I was mounted) behind a tree, and awaited their approach. This I did more from curiosity than any other motive, as, unfortunately I carried a rifle, and could only have killed one or two at the best. The crowd came ‘swirling’ forward, and when they were within some ten or fifteen paces distant, I fired into their midst. To my surprise, the flock did not take flight, but continued to advance as before, until they were almost among the horse’s feet. I could stand it no longer. I drove the spurs deeply, and galloped into their midst, striking right and left as they fluttered up round me. Of course they were soon off; but of those that had been trodden upon by my horse, and others I had knocked down, I counted no less than twenty-seven! Proud of my exploit, I gathered the birds into my bag, and rode in search of my companions.“Our party on this day numbered over 800 head killed; but, to our surprise and chagrin, our antagonists had beaten us by more than a hundred!“The gentlemen of ‘ours’ were wretched. The belles were monopolised by our antagonists; we were scouted, and debarred every privilege.“It was not to be endured; something must be done. What was to be done? counselled we. If fair means will not answer, we must try the opposite. It was evident that our antagonists were better shots than we.“The colonel, too, was one of them, and he was sure to kill every time he pulled trigger. The odds were against us; some plan must be devised; somerusemust be adopted, and the idea of one had been passing through my mind during the whole of that day. It was this:—I had noticed, what has been just remarked, that, although the pigeons will not allow the sportsman to come within range of a fowling-piece, yet at a distance of little over a hundred yards they neither fear man nor beast. At that distance they sit unconcerned, thousands of them upon a single tree. It struck me that a gun large enough to throw shot among them would be certain of killing hundreds at each discharge; but where was such a gun to be had? As I reflected thus, ‘mountain howitzers’ came into my mind. I remembered the small mountain howitzers I had seen at Covington. One of these loaded with shot would be the very weapon. I knew there was a battery of them at the Barracks. I knew that a friend of mine commanded the battery. By steamer, should one pass, it was but a few hours to Covington. I proposed sending for a ‘mountain howitzer.’“I need hardly say that my proposal was hailed with a universal welcome on the part of my companions; and without dropping a hint to the other party, it was at once resolved that the design should be carried into execution. It was carried into execution. An ‘up-river’ boat chanced to pass in the nick of time. A messenger was forthwith, despatched to Covington, and before twelve o’clock upon the following day another boat on her down trip brought the howitzer, and we had it secretly landed and conveyed to a place in the woods previously agreed upon. My friend, Captain C—, had sent a ‘live corporal’ along with it, and we had no difficulty in its management.“As I had anticipated, it answered our purpose as though it had been made for it. Every shot brought down a shower of dead birds, and after one discharge alone the number obtained was 123! At night our ‘game-bag’ counted over three thousand birds! We were sure of the ladies for the morrow.“Before returning home to our certain triumph, however, there were some considerations. To-morrow we should have the ladies in our company; some of the fair creatures would be as good as sure to ‘split’ upon the howitzer. What was to be done to prevent this?“We eight had sworn to be staunch to each other. We had taken every precaution; we had only used our ‘great gun’ when far off, so that its report might not reach the ears of our antagonists; but how about to-morrow? Could we trust our fair companions with a secret? Decidedly not. This was the unanimous conclusion. A new idea now came to our aid. We saw that we might dispense with the howitzer, and still manage to out-count our opponents. We would make a depository of birds in a safe place. There was a squatter’s house near by: that would do. So we took the squatter into our council, and left some 1500 birds in his charge, the remainder being deemed sufficient for that day. From the 1500 thus left, we might each day take a few hundred to make up our game-bag just enough to out-number the other party. We did not send home the corporal and his howitzer. We might require him again; so we quartered him upon the squatter.“On returning home, we found that our opponents had also made a ‘big day’s work of it;’ but they were beaten by hundreds. The ladies were ours!“And we kept them until the end of the hunt, to the no little mortification of the gentlemen in the ‘minority:’ to their surprise, as well; for most of them being crack-shots, and several of us not at all so, they could not comprehend why they were every day beaten so outrageously. We had hundreds to spare, and barrels of the birds were cured for winter use.“Another thing quite puzzled our opponents, as well as many good people in the neighbourhood. That was the loud reports that had been heard in the woods. Some argued they were thunder, while others declared they must have proceeded from an earthquake. This last seemed the more probable, as the events I am narrating occurred but a few years after the great earthquake in the Mississippi Valley, and people’s minds were prepared for such a thing.“I need not tell you how the knowing ones enjoyed the laugh for several days, and it was not until the colonel’sreunionwas about to break up, that our secret was let out, to the no small chagrin of our opponents, but to the infinite amusement of our host himself, who, although one of the defeated party, often narrates to his friends the story of the ‘Hunt with a Howitzer.’”
When the conversation about the haunts and habits of these birds began to flag, some one called for a “pigeon story.” Who could tell a pigeon story? To our surprise the doctor volunteered one, and all gathered around to listen.
“Yes, gentlemen,” began the doctor, “I have a pigeon adventure, which occurred to me some years ago. I was then living in Cincinnati, following my respectable calling, when I had the good fortune to set a broken leg for one Colonel P—, a wealthy planter, who lived upon the bank of the river some sixty miles from the city. I made a handsome set of if, and won the colonel’s friendship for ever. Shortly after, I was invited to his house, to be present at a great pigeon-hunt which was to come off in the fall. The colonel’s plantation stood among beech woods, and he had therefore an annual visitation of the pigeons, and could tell almost to a day when they would appear. The hunt he had arranged for the gratification of his numerous friends.
“As you all know, gentlemen, sixty miles in our western travel is a mere bagatelle; and tired of pills and prescriptions, I flung myself into a boat, and in a few hours arrived at the colonel’s stately home. A word or two about this stately home and its proprietor.
“Colonel P— was a splendid specimen of the backwoods’ gentleman—you will admit therearegentlemen in the backwoods.” (Here the doctor glanced good-humouredly, first at our English friend Thompson, and then at the Kentuckian, both of whom answered him with a laugh.) “His house was the type of a backwoods mansion; a wooden structure, both walls and roof. No matter. It has distributed as much hospitality in its time as many a marble palace; that was one of its backwoods’ characteristics. It stood, and I hope still stands, upon the north bank of the Ohio—that beautiful stream—‘La belle rivière,’ as the French colonists, and before their time the Indians, used to call it. It was in the midst of the woods, though around it were a thousand acres of ‘clearing,’ where you might distinguish fields of golden wheat, and groves of shining maize plants waving aloft their yellow-flower tassels. You might note, too, the broad green leaf of the Nicotian ‘weed,’ or the bursting pod of the snow-white cotton. In the garden you might observe the sweet potato, the common one, the refreshing tomato, the huge water-melon, cantelopes, and musk melons, with many other delicious vegetables. You could see pods of red and green pepper growing upon trailing plants; and beside them several species of peas and beans—all valuable for the colonel’scuisine. There was an orchard, too, of several acres in extent. It was filled with fruit-trees, the finest peaches in the world, and the finest apples—the Newton pippins. Besides, there were luscious pears and plums, and upon the espaliers, vines bearing bushels of sweet grapes. If Colonel P— lived in the woods, it cannot be said that he was surrounded by a desert.
“There were several substantial log-houses near the main building or mansion. They were the stable—and good horses there were in that stable; the cow-house, for milk cattle; the barn, to hold the wheat and maize-corn; the smoke-house, for curing bacon; a large building for the dry tobacco; a cotton-gin, with its shed of clap-boards; bins for the husk fodder, and several smaller structures. In one corner you saw a low-walled erection that reminded you of a kennel, and the rich music that from time to time issued from its apertures would convince you that itwasa kennel. If you had peeped into it, you would have seen a dozen of as fine stag-hounds as ever lifted a trail. The colonel was somewhat partial to these pets, for he was a ‘mighty hunter.’ You might see a number of young colts in an adjoining lot; a pet deer, a buffalo-calf, that had been brought from the far prairies, pea-fowl, guinea-hens, turkeys, geese, ducks, and the usual proportion of common fowls. Rail-fences zigzagged off in all directions towards the edge of the woods. Huge trees, dead and divested of their leaves, stood up in the cleared fields. Turkey buzzards and carrion, crows might be seen perched upon their grey naked limbs; upon their summit you might observe the great rough-legged falcon; and above all, cutting sharply against the blue sky, the fork-tailed kite sailing gently about.”
Here the doctor’s auditory interrupted him with a murmur of applause. The doctor was in fine spirits, and in a poetical mood. He continued.
“Such, gentlemen, was the sort of place I had come to visit; and I saw at a glance that I could spend a few days there pleasantly enough—even without the additional attractions of a pigeon-hunt.
“On my arrival I found the party assembled. It consisted of a score and a half of ladies and gentlemen, nearly all young people. The pigeons had not yet made their appearance, but were looked for every hour. The woods had assumed the gorgeous tints of autumn, that loveliest of seasons in the ‘far west.’ Already the ripe nuts and berries were scattered profusely over the earth offering their annual banquet to God’s wild creatures. The ‘mast’ of the beech-tree, of which the wild pigeon is so fond, was showering down among the dead leaves. It was the very season at which the birds were accustomed to visit the beechen woods that girdled the colonel’s plantation. They would no doubt soon appear. With this expectation everything was made ready; each of the gentlemen was provided with a fowling-piece, or rifle if he preferred it; and even some of the ladies insisted upon being armed.
“To render the sport more exciting, our host had established certain regulations. They were as follows:—The gentlemen were divided into two parties, of equal numbers. These were to go in opposite directions, the ladies upon the first day of the hunt accompanying whichever they chose. Upon all succeeding days, however, the case would be different. The ladies were to accompany that party which upon the day previous had bagged the greatest number of birds. The victorious gentlemen, moreover, were endowed with other privileges, which lasted throughout the evening; such as the choice of partners for the dinner-table and the dance.
“I need not tell you, gentlemen, that in these conditions existed powerful motives for exertion. The colonel’s guests were theéliteof western society. Most of the gentlemen were young men or bachelors; and among the ladies there werebelles; three or four of them rich and beautiful. On my arrival I could perceive signs of incipient flirtations. Attachments had already arisen; and by many it would have been esteemed anything but pleasant to be separated in the manner prescribed. A strongesprit du corpswas thus established; and, by the time the pigeons arrived, both parties had determined to do their utmost. In fact, I have never known so strong a feeling of rivalry to exist between two parties of amateur sportsmen.
“The pigeons at length arrived. It was a bright sunny morning, and yet the atmosphere was darkened, as the vast flock, a mile in breadth by several in length, passed across the canopy. The sound of their wings resembled a strong wind whistling among tree-tops, or through the rigging of a ship. We saw that they hovered over the woods, and settled among the tall beeches.
“The beginning of the hunt was announced, and we set forth, each party taking the direction allotted to it. With each went a number of ladies, and even some of these were armed with light fowling-pieces, determined that the party of their choice should be the victorious one. After a short ride, we found ourselves fairly ‘in the woods,’ and in the presence of the birds, and then the cracking commenced.
“In our party we had eight guns, exclusive of the small fowling-pieces (two of those), with which a brace of our heroines were armed, and which, truth compels me to confess, were less dangerous to the pigeons than to ourselves. Some of our guns were double-barrelled shot-guns, others were rifles. You will wonder at rifles being used in such a sport, and yet it is a fact that the gentlemen who carried rifles managed to do more execution than those who were armed with the other species. This arose from the circumstance that they were contented to aim at single birds, and, being good shots, they were almost sure to bring these down. The woods were filled with straggling pigeons. Odd birds were always within rifle range; and thus, instead of wasting their time in endeavouring to approach the great flocks, our riflemen did nothing but load and fire. In this way they soon counted their game by dozens.
“Early in the evening, the pigeons, having filled their crops with the mast, disappeared. They flew off to some distant ‘roost.’ This of course concluded our sport for the day. We got together and counted our numbers. We had 640 birds. We returned home full of hope; we felt certain that we had won for that day. Our antagonists had arrived before us. They showed us 736 dead pigeons. We were beaten.
“I really cannot explain the chagrin which this defeat occasioned to most of our party. They felt humiliated in the eyes of the ladies, whose company they were to lose on the morrow. To some there was extreme bitterness in the idea; for, as I have already stated, attachments had sprung up, and jealous thoughts were naturally their concomitants. It was quite tantalising, as we parted next morning, to see the galaxy of lovely women ride off with our antagonists, while we sought the woods in the opposite direction, dispirited and in silence.
“We went, however, determined to do our best, and win the ladies for the morrow. A council was held, and each imparted his advice and encouragement; and then we all set to work with shot-gun and rifle.
“On this day an incident occurred that aided our ‘count’ materially. As you know, gentlemen, the wild pigeons, while feeding, sometimes cover the ground so thickly that they crowd upon each other. They all advance in the same direction, those behind continually rising up and fluttering to the front, so that the surface presents a series of undulations like sea-waves. Frequently the birds alight upon each other’s backs, for want of room upon the ground, and a confused mass of winged creatures is seen rolling through the woods. At such times, if the sportsman can only ‘head’ the flock, he is sure of a good shot. Almost every pellet tells, and dozens may be brought down at a single discharge.
“In my progress through the woods, I had got separated from my companions, when I observed an immense flock approaching me after the manner described. I saw from their plumage that they were young birds, and therefore not likely to be easily alarmed. I drew my horse (I was mounted) behind a tree, and awaited their approach. This I did more from curiosity than any other motive, as, unfortunately I carried a rifle, and could only have killed one or two at the best. The crowd came ‘swirling’ forward, and when they were within some ten or fifteen paces distant, I fired into their midst. To my surprise, the flock did not take flight, but continued to advance as before, until they were almost among the horse’s feet. I could stand it no longer. I drove the spurs deeply, and galloped into their midst, striking right and left as they fluttered up round me. Of course they were soon off; but of those that had been trodden upon by my horse, and others I had knocked down, I counted no less than twenty-seven! Proud of my exploit, I gathered the birds into my bag, and rode in search of my companions.
“Our party on this day numbered over 800 head killed; but, to our surprise and chagrin, our antagonists had beaten us by more than a hundred!
“The gentlemen of ‘ours’ were wretched. The belles were monopolised by our antagonists; we were scouted, and debarred every privilege.
“It was not to be endured; something must be done. What was to be done? counselled we. If fair means will not answer, we must try the opposite. It was evident that our antagonists were better shots than we.
“The colonel, too, was one of them, and he was sure to kill every time he pulled trigger. The odds were against us; some plan must be devised; somerusemust be adopted, and the idea of one had been passing through my mind during the whole of that day. It was this:—I had noticed, what has been just remarked, that, although the pigeons will not allow the sportsman to come within range of a fowling-piece, yet at a distance of little over a hundred yards they neither fear man nor beast. At that distance they sit unconcerned, thousands of them upon a single tree. It struck me that a gun large enough to throw shot among them would be certain of killing hundreds at each discharge; but where was such a gun to be had? As I reflected thus, ‘mountain howitzers’ came into my mind. I remembered the small mountain howitzers I had seen at Covington. One of these loaded with shot would be the very weapon. I knew there was a battery of them at the Barracks. I knew that a friend of mine commanded the battery. By steamer, should one pass, it was but a few hours to Covington. I proposed sending for a ‘mountain howitzer.’
“I need hardly say that my proposal was hailed with a universal welcome on the part of my companions; and without dropping a hint to the other party, it was at once resolved that the design should be carried into execution. It was carried into execution. An ‘up-river’ boat chanced to pass in the nick of time. A messenger was forthwith, despatched to Covington, and before twelve o’clock upon the following day another boat on her down trip brought the howitzer, and we had it secretly landed and conveyed to a place in the woods previously agreed upon. My friend, Captain C—, had sent a ‘live corporal’ along with it, and we had no difficulty in its management.
“As I had anticipated, it answered our purpose as though it had been made for it. Every shot brought down a shower of dead birds, and after one discharge alone the number obtained was 123! At night our ‘game-bag’ counted over three thousand birds! We were sure of the ladies for the morrow.
“Before returning home to our certain triumph, however, there were some considerations. To-morrow we should have the ladies in our company; some of the fair creatures would be as good as sure to ‘split’ upon the howitzer. What was to be done to prevent this?
“We eight had sworn to be staunch to each other. We had taken every precaution; we had only used our ‘great gun’ when far off, so that its report might not reach the ears of our antagonists; but how about to-morrow? Could we trust our fair companions with a secret? Decidedly not. This was the unanimous conclusion. A new idea now came to our aid. We saw that we might dispense with the howitzer, and still manage to out-count our opponents. We would make a depository of birds in a safe place. There was a squatter’s house near by: that would do. So we took the squatter into our council, and left some 1500 birds in his charge, the remainder being deemed sufficient for that day. From the 1500 thus left, we might each day take a few hundred to make up our game-bag just enough to out-number the other party. We did not send home the corporal and his howitzer. We might require him again; so we quartered him upon the squatter.
“On returning home, we found that our opponents had also made a ‘big day’s work of it;’ but they were beaten by hundreds. The ladies were ours!
“And we kept them until the end of the hunt, to the no little mortification of the gentlemen in the ‘minority:’ to their surprise, as well; for most of them being crack-shots, and several of us not at all so, they could not comprehend why they were every day beaten so outrageously. We had hundreds to spare, and barrels of the birds were cured for winter use.
“Another thing quite puzzled our opponents, as well as many good people in the neighbourhood. That was the loud reports that had been heard in the woods. Some argued they were thunder, while others declared they must have proceeded from an earthquake. This last seemed the more probable, as the events I am narrating occurred but a few years after the great earthquake in the Mississippi Valley, and people’s minds were prepared for such a thing.
“I need not tell you how the knowing ones enjoyed the laugh for several days, and it was not until the colonel’sreunionwas about to break up, that our secret was let out, to the no small chagrin of our opponents, but to the infinite amusement of our host himself, who, although one of the defeated party, often narrates to his friends the story of the ‘Hunt with a Howitzer.’”
Chapter Six.Killing a Cougar.Although we had made a five miles’ march from the place where we had halted to shoot the pigeons, our night-camp was still within the boundaries of the flock. During the night we could hear them at intervals at no great distance off. A branch occasionally cracked, and then a fluttering of wings told of thousands dislodged or frightened by its fall. Sometimes the fluttering commenced without any apparent cause. No doubt the great-horned owl (Strix virginiana), the wild cat (felis rufa), and the raccoon, were busy among them, and the silent attacks of these were causing the repeated alarms.Before going to rest, a torch-hunt was proposed by way of variety, but no material for making good torches could be found, and the idea was abandoned. Torches should be made of dry pine-knots, and carried in some shallow vessel. The common frying-pan, with a long handle, is best for the purpose. Link-torches, unless of the best pitch-pine (Pinus resinosa), do not burn with sufficient brightness to stultify the pigeons. They will flutter off before the hunter can get his long pole within reach, whereas with a very brilliant light, he may approach almost near enough to lay his hands upon them. As there were no pitch-pine-trees in the neighbourhood, nor any good torch-wood, we were forced to give up the idea of a night-hunt.During the night strange noises were heard by several who chanced to be awake. Some said they resembled the howling of dogs, while others compared them to the screaming of angry cats. One party said they were produced by wolves; another, that the wild cats (lynxes) made them. But there was one that differed from all the rest. It was a sort of prolonged hiss, that all except Ike believed to be the snort of the black bear, lice, however, declared that it was not the bear, but the “sniff,” as he termed it, of the “painter” (cougar). This was probable enough, considering the nature of the place. The cougar is well-known to frequent the great roosts of the passenger-pigeon, and is fond of the flesh of these birds.In the morning our camp was still surrounded by the pigeons, sweeping about among the tree-trunks, and gathering the mast as they went. A few shots were fired, not from any inclination to continue the sport of killing them, but to lay in a fresh stock for the day’s dinner. The surplus from yesterday’s feast was thrown away, and left by the deserted camp—a banquet for the preying creatures that would soon visit the spot.We moved on, still surrounded by masses upon the wing. A singular incident occurred as we were passing through a sort of avenue in the forest. It was a narrow aisle, on both sides walled in by the thick foliage of the beeches. We were fairly within this hall-like passage, when it suddenly darkened at the opposite end. We saw that a cloud of pigeons had entered it, flying towards us. They were around our heads before they had noticed us. Seeing our party, they suddenly attempted to diverge from their course, but there was no other open to them, except to rise upward in a vertical direction. This they did on the instant—the clatter of their wings producing a noise like the continued roar of thunder. Some had approached so near, that the men on horseback, striking with their guns, knocked several to the ground; and the Kentuckian, stretching upward his long arm, actually caught one of them on the wing. In an instant they were out of sight; but at that instant two great birds appeared before us at the opening of the forest, which were at once recognised as a brace of white-headed eagles (Falco leucocephalus). This accounted for the rash flight of the pigeons; for the eagles had evidently been in pursuit of them, and had driven them to seek shelter under the trees. We were desirous of emptying our guns at the great birds of prey, and there was a simultaneous spurring of horses and cocking of guns: to no purpose, however. The eagles were on the alert. They had already espied us; and, uttering their maniac screams, they wheeled suddenly, and disappeared over the tree-tops.We had hardly recovered from this pleasant little bit of excitement, when the guide Ike, who rode in the advance, was seen suddenly to jerk up, exclaiming—“Painter, by God! I know’d I heard a painter.”“Where? where?” was hurriedly uttered by several voices, while all pressed forward to the guide.“Yander!” replied Ike, pointing to a thicket of young beeches. “He’s tuk to the brush: ride round, fellers. Mark, boy, round! quick, damn you!”There was a scramble of horsemen, with excited, anxious looks and gestures. Every one had his gun cocked and ready, and in a few seconds the small copse of beeches, with their golden-yellow leaves, was inclosed by a ring of hunters. Had the cougar got away, or was he still within the thicket? Several large trees grew out of its midst. Had he taken to one? The eyes of the party were turned upwards. The fierce creature was nowhere visible.It was impossible to see into every part of the jungle from the outside, as we sat in our saddles. The game might be crouching among the grass and brambles. What was to be done? We had no dogs. How was the cougar to be started? It would be no small peril to penetrate the thicket afoot. Who was to do it?The question was answered by Redwood, who was now seen dismounting from his horse.“Keep your eyes about you,” cried he. “I’ll make the varmint show if he’s thur. Look sharp, then!”We saw Redwood enter fearlessly, leaving his horse hitched over a branch. We heard him no longer, as he proceeded with that stealthy silence known only to the Indian fighter. We listened, and waited in profound suspense. Not even the crackling of a branch broke the stillness. Full five minutes we waited, and then the sharp crack of a rifle near the centre of the copsewood relieved, us. The next moment was heard Redwood’s voice crying aloud—“Look out thur? By God! I’ve missed him.”Before we had time to change our attitudes another rifle cracked, and another voice was heard, crying in answer to Redwood—“But, by God! I hain’t.”“He’s hyur,” continued the voice; “dead as mutton. Come this a way, an’ yu’ll see the beauty.”Ike’s voice was recognised, and we all galloped to the spot where it proceeded from. At his feet lay the body of the panther quite dead. There was a red spot running blood between the ribs, where Ike’s bullet had penetrated. In trying to escape from the thicket, the cougar had halted a moment, in a crouching attitude, directly before Ike’s face, and that moment was enough to give the trapper time to glance through his sights, and send the fatal bullet.Of course the guide received the congratulations of all, and though he pretended not to regard the thing in the light of a feat, he knew well that killing a “painter” was no everyday adventure.The skin of the animal was stripped off in a trice, and carried to the waggon. Such a trophy is rarely left in the woods.The hunter-naturalist performed some farther operations upon the body for the purpose of examining the contents of the stomach. These consisted entirely of the half-digested remains of passenger-pigeons, an enormous quantity of which the beast had devoured during the previous night—having captured them no doubt upon the trees.This adventure formed a pleasant theme for conversation during the rest of our journey, and of course the cougar was the subject. His habits and history were fully discussed, and the information elicited is given below.
Although we had made a five miles’ march from the place where we had halted to shoot the pigeons, our night-camp was still within the boundaries of the flock. During the night we could hear them at intervals at no great distance off. A branch occasionally cracked, and then a fluttering of wings told of thousands dislodged or frightened by its fall. Sometimes the fluttering commenced without any apparent cause. No doubt the great-horned owl (Strix virginiana), the wild cat (felis rufa), and the raccoon, were busy among them, and the silent attacks of these were causing the repeated alarms.
Before going to rest, a torch-hunt was proposed by way of variety, but no material for making good torches could be found, and the idea was abandoned. Torches should be made of dry pine-knots, and carried in some shallow vessel. The common frying-pan, with a long handle, is best for the purpose. Link-torches, unless of the best pitch-pine (Pinus resinosa), do not burn with sufficient brightness to stultify the pigeons. They will flutter off before the hunter can get his long pole within reach, whereas with a very brilliant light, he may approach almost near enough to lay his hands upon them. As there were no pitch-pine-trees in the neighbourhood, nor any good torch-wood, we were forced to give up the idea of a night-hunt.
During the night strange noises were heard by several who chanced to be awake. Some said they resembled the howling of dogs, while others compared them to the screaming of angry cats. One party said they were produced by wolves; another, that the wild cats (lynxes) made them. But there was one that differed from all the rest. It was a sort of prolonged hiss, that all except Ike believed to be the snort of the black bear, lice, however, declared that it was not the bear, but the “sniff,” as he termed it, of the “painter” (cougar). This was probable enough, considering the nature of the place. The cougar is well-known to frequent the great roosts of the passenger-pigeon, and is fond of the flesh of these birds.
In the morning our camp was still surrounded by the pigeons, sweeping about among the tree-trunks, and gathering the mast as they went. A few shots were fired, not from any inclination to continue the sport of killing them, but to lay in a fresh stock for the day’s dinner. The surplus from yesterday’s feast was thrown away, and left by the deserted camp—a banquet for the preying creatures that would soon visit the spot.
We moved on, still surrounded by masses upon the wing. A singular incident occurred as we were passing through a sort of avenue in the forest. It was a narrow aisle, on both sides walled in by the thick foliage of the beeches. We were fairly within this hall-like passage, when it suddenly darkened at the opposite end. We saw that a cloud of pigeons had entered it, flying towards us. They were around our heads before they had noticed us. Seeing our party, they suddenly attempted to diverge from their course, but there was no other open to them, except to rise upward in a vertical direction. This they did on the instant—the clatter of their wings producing a noise like the continued roar of thunder. Some had approached so near, that the men on horseback, striking with their guns, knocked several to the ground; and the Kentuckian, stretching upward his long arm, actually caught one of them on the wing. In an instant they were out of sight; but at that instant two great birds appeared before us at the opening of the forest, which were at once recognised as a brace of white-headed eagles (Falco leucocephalus). This accounted for the rash flight of the pigeons; for the eagles had evidently been in pursuit of them, and had driven them to seek shelter under the trees. We were desirous of emptying our guns at the great birds of prey, and there was a simultaneous spurring of horses and cocking of guns: to no purpose, however. The eagles were on the alert. They had already espied us; and, uttering their maniac screams, they wheeled suddenly, and disappeared over the tree-tops.
We had hardly recovered from this pleasant little bit of excitement, when the guide Ike, who rode in the advance, was seen suddenly to jerk up, exclaiming—
“Painter, by God! I know’d I heard a painter.”
“Where? where?” was hurriedly uttered by several voices, while all pressed forward to the guide.
“Yander!” replied Ike, pointing to a thicket of young beeches. “He’s tuk to the brush: ride round, fellers. Mark, boy, round! quick, damn you!”
There was a scramble of horsemen, with excited, anxious looks and gestures. Every one had his gun cocked and ready, and in a few seconds the small copse of beeches, with their golden-yellow leaves, was inclosed by a ring of hunters. Had the cougar got away, or was he still within the thicket? Several large trees grew out of its midst. Had he taken to one? The eyes of the party were turned upwards. The fierce creature was nowhere visible.
It was impossible to see into every part of the jungle from the outside, as we sat in our saddles. The game might be crouching among the grass and brambles. What was to be done? We had no dogs. How was the cougar to be started? It would be no small peril to penetrate the thicket afoot. Who was to do it?
The question was answered by Redwood, who was now seen dismounting from his horse.
“Keep your eyes about you,” cried he. “I’ll make the varmint show if he’s thur. Look sharp, then!”
We saw Redwood enter fearlessly, leaving his horse hitched over a branch. We heard him no longer, as he proceeded with that stealthy silence known only to the Indian fighter. We listened, and waited in profound suspense. Not even the crackling of a branch broke the stillness. Full five minutes we waited, and then the sharp crack of a rifle near the centre of the copsewood relieved, us. The next moment was heard Redwood’s voice crying aloud—
“Look out thur? By God! I’ve missed him.”
Before we had time to change our attitudes another rifle cracked, and another voice was heard, crying in answer to Redwood—
“But, by God! I hain’t.”
“He’s hyur,” continued the voice; “dead as mutton. Come this a way, an’ yu’ll see the beauty.”
Ike’s voice was recognised, and we all galloped to the spot where it proceeded from. At his feet lay the body of the panther quite dead. There was a red spot running blood between the ribs, where Ike’s bullet had penetrated. In trying to escape from the thicket, the cougar had halted a moment, in a crouching attitude, directly before Ike’s face, and that moment was enough to give the trapper time to glance through his sights, and send the fatal bullet.
Of course the guide received the congratulations of all, and though he pretended not to regard the thing in the light of a feat, he knew well that killing a “painter” was no everyday adventure.
The skin of the animal was stripped off in a trice, and carried to the waggon. Such a trophy is rarely left in the woods.
The hunter-naturalist performed some farther operations upon the body for the purpose of examining the contents of the stomach. These consisted entirely of the half-digested remains of passenger-pigeons, an enormous quantity of which the beast had devoured during the previous night—having captured them no doubt upon the trees.
This adventure formed a pleasant theme for conversation during the rest of our journey, and of course the cougar was the subject. His habits and history were fully discussed, and the information elicited is given below.
Chapter Seven.The Cougar.The cougar (Felis concolor) is the only indigenous long-tailed cat in America north of the parallel of 30 degrees. The “wild cats” so called, are lynxes with short tails; and of these there are three distinct species. But there is only one true representative of the genus Felis, and that is the animal in question.This has received many trivial appellations. Among Anglo-American hunters, it is called the panther—in theirpatois, “painter.” In most parts of South America, as well as in Mexico, it receives the grandiloquent title of “lion” (leon), and in the Peruvian countries is called the “puma,” or “poma.” The absence of stripes, such as those of the tiger—or spots, as upon the leopard—or rosettes, as upon the jaguar, have suggested the name of the naturalists,concolor.Discolorwas formerly in use; but the other has been generally adopted.There are few wild animals so regular in their colour as the cougar: very little variety has been observed among different specimens. Some naturalists speak of spotted cougars—that is, having spots that may be seen in a certain light. Upon young cubs, such markings do appear; but they are no longer visible on the full-grown animal. The cougar of mature age is of a tawny red colour, almost uniform over the whole body, though somewhat paler about the face and the parts underneath. This colour is not exactly the tawny of the lion; it is more of a reddish hue—nearer to what is termed calf-colour.The cougar is far from being a well-shaped creature: it appears disproportioned. Its back is long and hollow; and its tail does not taper so gracefully as in some other animals of the cat kind. Its legs are short and stout; and although far from clumsy in appearance, it does not possess the gracefultournureof body so characteristic of some of its congeners. Though considered the representative of the lion in the New World, its resemblance to the royal beast is but slight; its colour seems to be the only title it has to such an honour. For the rest, it is much more akin to the tigers, jaguars, and true panthers. Cougars are rarely more than six feet in length, including the tail, which is usually about a third of that measurement.The range of the animal is very extensive. It is known from Paraguay to the Great Lakes of North America. In no part of either continent is it to be seen every day, because it is for the most part not only nocturnal in its activity, but one of those fierce creatures that, fortunately, do not exist in large numbers. Like others of the genus, it is solitary in its habits, and at the approach of civilisation betakes itself to the remoter parts of the forest. Hence the cougar, although found in all of the United States, is a rare animal everywhere, and seen only at long intervals in the mountain-valleys, or in other difficult places of the forest. The appearance of a cougar is sufficient to throw any neighbourhood into an excitement similar to that which would be produced by the chase of a mad dog.It is a splendid tree-climber. It can mount a tree with the agility of a cat; and although so large an animal, it climbs by means of its claws—not by hugging, after the manner of the bears and opossums. While climbing a tree, its claws can be heard crackling along the bark as it mounts upward. It sometimes lies “squatted” along a horizontal branch, a lower one, for the purpose of springing upon deer, or such other animals as it wishes to prey upon. The ledge of a cliff is also a favourite haunt, and such are known among the hunters as “panther-ledges.” It selects such a position in the neighbourhood of some watering-place, or, if possible, one of the salt or soda springs (licks) so numerous in America. Here it is more certain that its vigil will not be a protracted one. Its prey—elk, deer, antelope, or buffalo—soon appears beneath, unconscious of the dangerous enemy that cowers over them. When fairly within reach, the cougar springs, and pouncing down upon the shoulders of the victim, buries its claws in the flesh. The terrified animal starts forward, leaps from side to side, dashes into the papaw thickets, or breasts the dense cane-brake, in hopes of brushing off its relentless rider. All in vain! Closely clasping its neck, the cougar clings on, tearing its victim in the throat, and drinking its blood throughout the wild gallop. Faint and feeble, the ruminant at length totters and falls, and the fierce destroyer squats itself along the body, and finishes its red repast. If the cougar can overcome several animals at a time, it will kill them all, although but the twentieth part may be required to satiate its hunger. Unlike the lion in this, even in repletion it will kill. With it, destruction of life seems to be an instinct.There is a very small animal, and apparently a very helpless one, with which the cougar occasionally quarrels, but often with ill success—this is the Canada porcupine. Whether the cougar ever succeeds in killing one of these creatures is not known, but that it attacks them is beyond question, and its own death is often the result. The quills of the Canada porcupine are slightly barbed at their extremities; and when stuck into the flesh of a living animal, this arrangement causes them to penetrate mechanically deeper and deeper as the animal moves. That the porcupine can itself discharge them to some distance, is not true, but it is true that it can cause them to be easilydetached; and this it does when rashly seized by any of the predatory animals. The result is, that these remarkable spines become fast in the tongue, jaws, and lips of the cougar, or any other creature which may make an attack on that seemingly unprotected little animal. The fisher (Mustela Canadensis) is said to be the only animal that can kill the porcupine with impunity. It fights the latter by first throwing it upon its back, and then springing upon its upturned belly, where the spines are almost entirely wanting.The cougar is called a cowardly animal: some naturalists even assert that it will not venture to attack man. This is, to say the least, a singular declaration, after the numerous well-attested instances in which men have been attacked, and even killed by cougars. There are many such in the history of early settlement in America. To say that cougars are cowardly now when found in the United States—to say they are shy of man, and will not attack him, may be true enough. Strange, if the experience of 200 years’ hunting, and by such hunters too, did not bring them to that. We may safely believe, that if the lions of Africa were placed in the same circumstances, a very similar shyness and dread of the upright biped would soon exhibit itself. What all these creatures—bears, cougars, lynxes, wolves, and even alligators—are now, is no criterion of their past. Authentic history proves that their courage, at least so far as regards man, has changed altogether since they first heard the sharp detonation of the deadly rifle. Even contemporaneous history demonstrates this. In many parts of South America, both jaguar and cougar attack man, and numerous are the deadly encounters there. In Peru, on the eastern declivity of the Andes, large settlements and even villages have been abandoned solely on account of the perilous proximity of those fierce animals.In the United States, the cougar is hunted by dog and gun. He will run from the hounds, because he knows they are backed by the unerring rifle of the hunter; but should one of the yelping pack approach too near, a single blow of the cougar’s paw is sufficient to stretch him out. When closely pushed, the cougar takes to a tree, and, halting in one of its forks, humps his back, bristles his hair, looks downward with gleaming eyes, and utters a sound somewhat like the purring of a cat, though far louder. The crack of the hunter’s rifle usually puts an end to these demonstrations, and the cougar drops to the ground either dead or wounded. If only the latter, a desperate fight ensues between him and the dogs, with several of whom he usually leaves a mark that distinguishes them for the rest of their lives.The scream of the cougar is a common phrase. It is not very certain that the creature is addicted to the habit of screaming, although noises of this kind heard in the nocturnal forest have been attributed to him. Hunters, however, have certainly never heard him, and they believe that the scream talked about proceeds from one of the numerous species of owls that inhabit the deep forests of America. At short intervals, the cougar does make himself heard in a note which somewhat resembles a deep-drawn sigh, or as if one were to utter with an extremely guttural expression the syllables “Co-oa,” or “Cougar.” Is it from this that he derives his trivial name?
The cougar (Felis concolor) is the only indigenous long-tailed cat in America north of the parallel of 30 degrees. The “wild cats” so called, are lynxes with short tails; and of these there are three distinct species. But there is only one true representative of the genus Felis, and that is the animal in question.
This has received many trivial appellations. Among Anglo-American hunters, it is called the panther—in theirpatois, “painter.” In most parts of South America, as well as in Mexico, it receives the grandiloquent title of “lion” (leon), and in the Peruvian countries is called the “puma,” or “poma.” The absence of stripes, such as those of the tiger—or spots, as upon the leopard—or rosettes, as upon the jaguar, have suggested the name of the naturalists,concolor.Discolorwas formerly in use; but the other has been generally adopted.
There are few wild animals so regular in their colour as the cougar: very little variety has been observed among different specimens. Some naturalists speak of spotted cougars—that is, having spots that may be seen in a certain light. Upon young cubs, such markings do appear; but they are no longer visible on the full-grown animal. The cougar of mature age is of a tawny red colour, almost uniform over the whole body, though somewhat paler about the face and the parts underneath. This colour is not exactly the tawny of the lion; it is more of a reddish hue—nearer to what is termed calf-colour.
The cougar is far from being a well-shaped creature: it appears disproportioned. Its back is long and hollow; and its tail does not taper so gracefully as in some other animals of the cat kind. Its legs are short and stout; and although far from clumsy in appearance, it does not possess the gracefultournureof body so characteristic of some of its congeners. Though considered the representative of the lion in the New World, its resemblance to the royal beast is but slight; its colour seems to be the only title it has to such an honour. For the rest, it is much more akin to the tigers, jaguars, and true panthers. Cougars are rarely more than six feet in length, including the tail, which is usually about a third of that measurement.
The range of the animal is very extensive. It is known from Paraguay to the Great Lakes of North America. In no part of either continent is it to be seen every day, because it is for the most part not only nocturnal in its activity, but one of those fierce creatures that, fortunately, do not exist in large numbers. Like others of the genus, it is solitary in its habits, and at the approach of civilisation betakes itself to the remoter parts of the forest. Hence the cougar, although found in all of the United States, is a rare animal everywhere, and seen only at long intervals in the mountain-valleys, or in other difficult places of the forest. The appearance of a cougar is sufficient to throw any neighbourhood into an excitement similar to that which would be produced by the chase of a mad dog.
It is a splendid tree-climber. It can mount a tree with the agility of a cat; and although so large an animal, it climbs by means of its claws—not by hugging, after the manner of the bears and opossums. While climbing a tree, its claws can be heard crackling along the bark as it mounts upward. It sometimes lies “squatted” along a horizontal branch, a lower one, for the purpose of springing upon deer, or such other animals as it wishes to prey upon. The ledge of a cliff is also a favourite haunt, and such are known among the hunters as “panther-ledges.” It selects such a position in the neighbourhood of some watering-place, or, if possible, one of the salt or soda springs (licks) so numerous in America. Here it is more certain that its vigil will not be a protracted one. Its prey—elk, deer, antelope, or buffalo—soon appears beneath, unconscious of the dangerous enemy that cowers over them. When fairly within reach, the cougar springs, and pouncing down upon the shoulders of the victim, buries its claws in the flesh. The terrified animal starts forward, leaps from side to side, dashes into the papaw thickets, or breasts the dense cane-brake, in hopes of brushing off its relentless rider. All in vain! Closely clasping its neck, the cougar clings on, tearing its victim in the throat, and drinking its blood throughout the wild gallop. Faint and feeble, the ruminant at length totters and falls, and the fierce destroyer squats itself along the body, and finishes its red repast. If the cougar can overcome several animals at a time, it will kill them all, although but the twentieth part may be required to satiate its hunger. Unlike the lion in this, even in repletion it will kill. With it, destruction of life seems to be an instinct.
There is a very small animal, and apparently a very helpless one, with which the cougar occasionally quarrels, but often with ill success—this is the Canada porcupine. Whether the cougar ever succeeds in killing one of these creatures is not known, but that it attacks them is beyond question, and its own death is often the result. The quills of the Canada porcupine are slightly barbed at their extremities; and when stuck into the flesh of a living animal, this arrangement causes them to penetrate mechanically deeper and deeper as the animal moves. That the porcupine can itself discharge them to some distance, is not true, but it is true that it can cause them to be easilydetached; and this it does when rashly seized by any of the predatory animals. The result is, that these remarkable spines become fast in the tongue, jaws, and lips of the cougar, or any other creature which may make an attack on that seemingly unprotected little animal. The fisher (Mustela Canadensis) is said to be the only animal that can kill the porcupine with impunity. It fights the latter by first throwing it upon its back, and then springing upon its upturned belly, where the spines are almost entirely wanting.
The cougar is called a cowardly animal: some naturalists even assert that it will not venture to attack man. This is, to say the least, a singular declaration, after the numerous well-attested instances in which men have been attacked, and even killed by cougars. There are many such in the history of early settlement in America. To say that cougars are cowardly now when found in the United States—to say they are shy of man, and will not attack him, may be true enough. Strange, if the experience of 200 years’ hunting, and by such hunters too, did not bring them to that. We may safely believe, that if the lions of Africa were placed in the same circumstances, a very similar shyness and dread of the upright biped would soon exhibit itself. What all these creatures—bears, cougars, lynxes, wolves, and even alligators—are now, is no criterion of their past. Authentic history proves that their courage, at least so far as regards man, has changed altogether since they first heard the sharp detonation of the deadly rifle. Even contemporaneous history demonstrates this. In many parts of South America, both jaguar and cougar attack man, and numerous are the deadly encounters there. In Peru, on the eastern declivity of the Andes, large settlements and even villages have been abandoned solely on account of the perilous proximity of those fierce animals.
In the United States, the cougar is hunted by dog and gun. He will run from the hounds, because he knows they are backed by the unerring rifle of the hunter; but should one of the yelping pack approach too near, a single blow of the cougar’s paw is sufficient to stretch him out. When closely pushed, the cougar takes to a tree, and, halting in one of its forks, humps his back, bristles his hair, looks downward with gleaming eyes, and utters a sound somewhat like the purring of a cat, though far louder. The crack of the hunter’s rifle usually puts an end to these demonstrations, and the cougar drops to the ground either dead or wounded. If only the latter, a desperate fight ensues between him and the dogs, with several of whom he usually leaves a mark that distinguishes them for the rest of their lives.
The scream of the cougar is a common phrase. It is not very certain that the creature is addicted to the habit of screaming, although noises of this kind heard in the nocturnal forest have been attributed to him. Hunters, however, have certainly never heard him, and they believe that the scream talked about proceeds from one of the numerous species of owls that inhabit the deep forests of America. At short intervals, the cougar does make himself heard in a note which somewhat resembles a deep-drawn sigh, or as if one were to utter with an extremely guttural expression the syllables “Co-oa,” or “Cougar.” Is it from this that he derives his trivial name?
Chapter Eight.Old Ike’s Adventure.Now a panther story was the natural winding-up of this day, and it had been already hinted that old Ike had “rubbed out” several of these creatures in his time, and no doubt could tell more than one “painter” story.“Wal, strengers,” began he, “it’s true thet this hyur ain’t the fust painter I’ve comed acrosst. About fifteen yeern ago I moved to Loozyanny, an’ thur I met a painter, an’ a queer story it are.”“Let us have it by all means,” said several of the party, drawing closer up and seating themselves to listen attentively. We all knew that a story from Ike could not be otherwise than “queer,” and our curiosity was on thequi vive.“Wal then,” continued he, “they have floods dowd thur in Loozyanny, sich as, I guess, you’ve never seen the like o’ in England.” Here Ike addressed himself specially to our English comrade. “England ain’t big enough to hev sich floods. One o’ ’m ud kiver yur hul country, I hev heern said. I won’t say that ar’s true, as I ain’t acquainted with yur jography. I know, howsomdever, they’re mighty big freshets thur, as I hev sailed a skift more ’n a hundred mile acrosst one o’ ’m, whur thur wan’t nothin’ to be seen but cypress tops peep in out o’ the water. The floods, as ye know, come every year, but them ar big ones only oncest in a while.“Wal, as I’ve said about fifeteen yeern ago, I located in the Red River bottom, about fifty mile or tharabout below Nacketosh, whur I built me a shanty. I hed left my wife an’ two young critters in Massissippi state, intendin’ to go back for ’em in the spring; so, ye see, I wur all alone by meself, exceptin’ my ole mar, a Collins’s axe, an’ of coorse my rifle.“I hed finished the shanty all but the chinkin’ an’ the buildin’ o’ a chimbly, when what shed come on but one o’ ’m tarnation floods. It wur at night when it begun to make its appearance. I wur asleep on the floor o’ the shanty, an’ the first warnin’ I hed o’ it wur the feel o’ the water soakin’ through my ole blanket. I hed been a-dreamin’, an’ thort it wur rainin’, an’ then agin I thort that I wur bein’ drownded in the Massissippi; but I wan’t many seconds awake, till I guessed what it wur in raality; so I jumped to my feet like a started buck, an’ groped my way to the door.“A sight that wur when I got thur. I hed chirred a piece o’ ground around the shanty—a kupple o’ acres or better—I hed left the stumps a good three feet high: thur wan’t a stump to be seen. My clearin’, stumps an’ all, wur under water; an’ I could see it shinin’ among the trees all round the shanty.“Of coorse, my fust thoughts wur about my rifle; an I turned back into the shanty, an’ laid my claws upon that quick enough.“I next went in search o’ my ole mar. She wan’t hard to find; for if ever a critter made a noise, she did. She wur tied to a tree close by the shanty, an’ the way she wur a-squealin’ wur a caution to cats. I found her up to the belly in water, pitchin’ an’ flounderin’ all round the tree. She hed nothin’ on but the rope that she wur hitched by. Both saddle an’ bridle hed been washed away: so I made the rope into a sort o’ halter, an’ mounted her bare-backed.“Jest then I begun to think whur I wur agoin’. The hul country appeared to be under water: an’ the nearest neighbour I hed lived acrosst the parairy ten miles off. I knew that his shanty sot on high ground, but how wur I to get thur? It wur night; I mout lose my way, an’ ride chuck into the river.“When I thort o’ ibis, I concluded it mout be better to stay by my own shanty till mornin’. I could hitch the mar inside to keep her from bein’ floated away; an’ for meself, I could climb on the roof.“While I wur thinkin’ on this, I noticed that the water wur a-deepenin’, an’ it jest kim into my head, that it ud soon be deep enough to drownd my ole mar. For meself I wan’t frightened. I mout a clomb a tree, an’ stayed thur till the flood fell; but I shed a lost the mar, an’ that critter wur too valleyble to think o’ such a sacryfize; so I made up my mind to chance crossin’ the parairy. Thur wan’t no time to be wasted—ne’er a minnit; so I gin the mar a kick or two in the ribs an’ started.“I found the path out to the edge of the parairy easy enough. I hed blazed it when I fust come to the place; an’, as the night wur not a very dark one, I could see the blazes as I passed atween the trees. My mar knew the track as well as meself, an’ swaltered through at a sharp rate, for she knew too thur wan’t no time to be wasted. In five minnites we kim out on the edge o’ the pairairy, an’ jest as I expected, the hul thing wur kivered with water, an’ lookin’ like a big pond, I could see it shinin’ clur acrosst to the other side o’ the openin’.“As luck ud hev it, I could jest git a glimp o’ the trees on the fur side o’ the parairy. Thur wur a big clump o’ cypress, that I could see plain enough; I knew this wur clost to my neighbour’s shanty; so I gin my critter the switch, an’ struck right for it.“As I left the timmer, the mar wur up to her hips. Of coorse, I expected a good grist o’ heavy wadin’; but I hed no idee that the water wur a-gwine to git much higher; thur’s whur I made my mistake.“I hedn’t got more’n a kupple o’ miles out when I diskivered that the thing wur a-risin’ rapidly, for I seed the mar wur a-gettin’ deeper an’ deeper.“’Twan’t no use turnin’ back now. I ud lose the mar to a dead sartinty, if I didn’t make the high ground; so I spoke to the critter to do her best, an’ kep on. The poor beast didn’t need any whippin’—she knew as well’s I did meself thur wur danger, an’ she wur a-doin’ her darndest, an’ no mistake. Still the water riz, an’ kep a-risin’, until it come clur up to her shoulder.“I begun to git skeart in airnest. We wan’t more ’n half acrosst, an’ I seed if it riz much more we ud hav to swim for it. I wan’t far astray about that. The minnit arter it seemed to deepen suddintly, as if thur wur a hollow in the parairy: I heerd the mar give a loud gouf, an’ then go down, till I wur up to the waist. She riz agin the next minnit, but I could tell from the smooth ridin’ that she wur off o’ the bottom. She wur swimmin’, an’ no mistake.“At fust I thort o’ headin’ her back to the shanty; an’ I drew her round with that intent; but turn her which way I would, I found she could no longer touch bottom.“I guess, strengers, I wur in a quandairy about then. I ’gun to think that both my own an’ my mar’s time wur come in airnest, for I hed no idee that the critter could iver swim to the other side, ’specially with me on her back, an’ purticklarly as at that time these hyur ribs had a sight more griskin upon ’em than they hev now.“Wal, I wur about reckinin’ up. I hed got to thinkin’ o’ Mary an’ the childer, and the old shanty in the Mississippi, an’ a heap o’ things that I hed left unsettled, an’ that now come into my mind to trouble me. The mar wur still plungin’ ahead; but I seed she wur sinkin’ deeper an’ deeper an’ fast loosin’ her strength, an’ I knew she couldn’t hold out much longer.“I thort at this time that if I got off o’ her back, an’ tuk hold o’ the tail, she mout manage a leetle hotter. So I slipped backwards over her hips, an’ grupped the long hair. It did do some good, for she swum higher; but we got mighty slow through the water, an’ I hed but leetle behopes we should reach land.“I wur towed in this way about a quarter o’ a mile, when I spied somethin’ floatin’ on the water a leetle ahead. It hed growed considerably darker; but thur wur still light enough to show me that the thing wur a log.“An idee now entered my brain-pan, that I mout save meself by takin’ to the log. The mar ud then have a better chance for herself; an’ maybe, when eased o’ draggin’ my carcass, that wur a-keepin’ her back, she mout make footin’ somewhur. So I waited till she got a leetle closter; an’ then, lettin’ go o’ her tail, I clasped the log, an’ crawled on to it.“The mar swum on, appeerintly ’ithout missin’ me. I seed her disappear through the darkness; but I didn’t as much as say good-bye to her, for I wur afeard that my voice mout bring her back agin’, an’ she mout strike the log with her hoofs, an’ whammel it about. So I lay quiet, an’ let her hev her own way.“I wan’t long on the log till I seed it wur a-driftin’, for thur wur a current in the water that set tol’uble sharp acrosst the parairy. I hed crawled up at one eend, an’ got stride-legs; but as the log dipped considerable, I wur still over the hams in the water.“I thort I mout be more comfortable towards the middle, an’ wur about to pull the thing more under me, when all at once I seed thur wur somethin’ clumped up on t’other eend o’ the log.“’Twan’t very clur at the time, for it had been a-growin’ cloudier ever since I left the shanty, but ’twur clur enough to show me that the thing wur a varmint: what sort, I couldn’t tell. It mout be a bar, an’ it mout not; but I had my suspects it wur eyther a bar or a painter.“I wan’t left long in doubt about the thing’s gender. The log kep makin’ circles as it drifted, an’ when the varmint kim round into a different light, I caught a glimp o’ its eyes. I knew them eyes to be no bar’s eyes: they wur painter’s eyes, an’ no mistake.“I reckin, strengers, I felt very queery jest about then. I didn’t try to go any nearer the middle o’ the log; but instead of that, I wriggled back until I wur right plum on the eend of it, an’ could git no further.“Thur I sot for a good long spell ’ithout movin’ hand or foot. I dasen’t make a motion, as I wur afeard it mout tempt the varmint to attackt me.“I hed no weepun but my knife; I hed let go o’ my rifle when I slid from the mar’s back, an’ it hed gone to the bottom long since. I wan’t in any condition to stand a tussle with the painter nohow; so I ’wur determined to let him alone as long’s he ud me.“Wal, we drifted on for a good hour, I guess, ’ithout eyther o’ us stirrin’. We sot face to face; an’ now an’ then the current ud set the log in a sort o’ up-an’-down motion, an’ then the painter an’ I kep bowin’ to each other like a pair o’ bob-sawyers. I could see all the while that the varmint’s eyes wur fixed upon mine, an’ I never tuk mine from hisn; I know’d ’twur the only way to keep him still.“I wur jest prospectin’ what ud be the eendin’ o’ the business, when I seed we wur a-gettin’ closter to the timmer: ’twan’t more ’n two miles off, but ’twur all under water ’ceptin’ the tops o’ the trees. I wur thinkin’ that when the log shed float in among the branches, I mout slip off, an’ git my claws upon a tree, ’ithout sayin anythin’ to my travellin’ companion.“Jest at that minnit somethin’ appeared dead ahead o’ the log. It wur like a island; but what could hev brought a island thur? Then I recollects that I hed seed a piece o’ high ground about that part o’ the parairy—a sort o’ mound that hed been made by Injuns, I s’pose. This, then, that looked like a island, wur the top o’ that mound, sure enough.“The log wur a-driftin’ in sich a way that I seed it must pass within twenty yards o’ the mound. I detarmined then, as soon as we shed git alongside, to put out for it, an’ leave the painter to continue his voyage ’ithout me.“When I fust sighted the island I seed somethin’ that; hed tuk for bushes. But thur wan’t no bushes on the mound—that I knowd.“Howsomdever, when we got a leetle closter, I diskivered that the bushes wur beests. They wur deer; for I spied a pair o’ buck’s horns atween me an’ the sky. But thur wur a somethin’ still bigger than a deer. It mout be a hoss, or it mout be an Opelousa ox, but I thort it wur a hoss.“I wur right about that, for a horse it wur, sure enough, or rayther I shed say, amar, an’ that mar no other than my ole crittur!“Arter partin’ company, she hed turned with the current; an’, as good luck ud hev it, hed swum in a beeline for the island, an’ thur she stood lookin’ as slick as if she hed been greased.“The log hed by this got nigh enough, as I kalklated; an’, with as little rumpus as possible, I slipped over the eend an’ lot go my hold o’ it. I wan’t right spread in the water, afore I heerd a plump, an’ lookin’ round a bit, I seed the painter hed left the log too, an’ tuk to the water.“At fust, I thort he wur arter me; an’ I drawed my knife with one hand, while I swum with the other. But the painter didn’t mean fight that time. He made but poor swimmin’ himself, an’ appeared glad enough to get upon dry groun’ ’ithout molestin’ me; so we swum on side by side, an’ not a word passed atween us.“I didn’t want to make a race o’ it; so I let him pass me, rayther than that he should fall behind, an’ get among my legs.“Of coorse, he landed fust; an’ I could hear by the stompin’ o’ hoofs, that his suddint appearance hed kicked up a jolly stampede among the critters upon the island. I could see both deer and mar dancing all over the groun’, as if Old Nick himself hed got among ’em.“None o’ ’em, howsomdever, thort o’ takin’ to the water. They hed all hed enough o’ that, I guess.“I kep a leetle round, so as not to land near the painter; an’ then, touchin’ bottom, I climbed quietly up on the mound. I hed hardly drawed my drippin’ carcass out o’ the water, when I heerd a loud squeal, which I knew to be the whigher o’ my ole mar; an’ jest at that minnit the critter kim runnin’ up, an’ rubbed her nose agin my shoulder. I tuk the halter in my hand, an’ sidling round a leetle, I jumped upon her back, for I still wur in fear o’ the painter; an’ the mar’s back appeared to me the safest place about, an’ that wan’t very safe, eyther.“I now looked all round to see what new company I hed got into. The day wur jest breakin’, an’ I could distinguish a leetle better every minnit. The top o’ the mound which, wur above water wan’t over half an acre in size, an’ it wur as clur o’ timmer as any other part o’ the parairy, so that I could see every inch o’ it, an’ everythin’ on it as big as a tumble-bug.“I reckin, strengers, that you’ll hardly believe me when I tell you the concatenation o’ varmints that wur then an’ thur caucused together. I could hardly believe my own eyes when I seed sich a gatherin’, an’ I thort I hed got aboard o’ Noah’s Ark. Thur wur—listen, strengers—fust my ole mar an’ meself, an’ I wished both o’ us anywhur else, I reckin—then thur wur the painter, yur old acquaintance—then thur wur four deer, a buck an’ three does. Then kim a catamount; an’ arter him a black bar, a’most as big as a buffalo. Then thur wur a ’coon an’ a ’possum, an’ a kupple o’ grey wolves, an’ a swamp rabbit, an’, darn the thing! a stinkin’ skunk. Perhaps the last wan’t the most dangerous varmint on the groun’, but it sartintly wur the most disagreeableest o’ the hul lot, for it smelt only as a cussed polecat kin smell.“I’ve said, strengers, that I wur mightily tuk by surprise when I fust seed this curious clanjamfrey o’ critters; but I kin tell you I wur still more dumbfounded when I seed thur behaveyur to one another, knowin’ thur different naturs as I did. Thur wur the painter lyin’ clost up to the deer—its nat’ral prey; an’ thur wur the wolves too; an’ thur wur the catamount standin’ within three feet o’ the ’possum an’ the swamp rabbit; an’ thur wur the bar an’ the cunnin’ old ’coon; an’ thur they all wur, no more mindin’ one another than if they hed spent all thur days together in the same penn.“’Twur the oddest sight I ever seed, an’ it remembered me o’ bit o’ Scripter my ole mother hed often read from a book called the Bible, or some sich name—about a lion that wur so tame he used to squat down beside a lamb, ’ithout layin’ a claw upon the innocent critter.“Wal, stranger, as I’m sayin’, the hul party behaved in this very way. They all appeared down in the mouth, an’ badly skeart about the water; but for all that, I hed my fears that the painter or the bar—I wan’t afeard o’ any o’ the others—mout git over thur fright afore the flood fell; an’ thurfore I kept as quiet as any one o’ them during the hul time I wur in thur company, an’ stayin’ all the time clost by the mar. But neyther bar nor painter showed any savage sign the hul o’ the next day, nor the night that follered it.“Strengers, it ud tire you wur I to tell you all the movements that tuk place among these critters durin’ that long day an’ night. Ne’er a one o’ ’em laid tooth or claw on the other. I wur hungry enough meself, and ud a liked to hev taken a steak from the buttocks o’ one o’ the deer, but I dasen’t do it. I wur afeard to break the peace, which mout a led to a general shindy.“When day broke, next mornin’ arter, I seed that the flood wur afallin’; and as soon as it wur shallow enough, I led my mar quietly into the water, an’ climbin’ upon her back, tuk a silent leave o’ my companions. The water still tuk my mar up to the flanks, so that I knew none o’ the varmint could follow ’ithout swimmin’, an’ ne’er a one seemed inclined to try a swim.“I struck direct for my neighbour’s shanty, which I could see about three mile off, an’, in a hour or so, I wur at his door. Thur I didn’t stay long, but borrowin’ an extra gun which he happened to hev, an’ takin’ him along with his own rifle, I waded my mar back to the island. We found the game not exactly as I hed left it. The fall o’ the flood hed given the painter, the cat, an’ the wolves courage. The swamp rabbit an’ the ’possum wur clean gone—all but bits o’ thur wool—an’ one o’ the does wur better ’n half devoured.“My neighbour tuk one side, an’ I the other, an’ ridin’ clost up, we surrounded the island.“I plugged the painter at the fust shot, an’ he did the same for the bar. We next layed out the wolves, an’ arter that cooney, an’ then we tuk our time about the deer—these last and the bar bein’ the only valley’ble things on the island. The skunk we kilt last, as we didn’t want the thing to stink us off the place while we wur a-skinnin’ the deer.“Arter killin’ the skunk, we mounted an’ left, of coorse loaded with our bar-meat an’ venison.“I got my rifle arter all. When the flood went down, I found it near the middle of the parairy, half buried in the sludge.“I saw I hed built my shanty in the wrong place; but I soon looked out a better location, an’ put up another. I hed all ready in the spring, when I went back to Massissippi, an’ brought out Mary and the two young uns.”The singular adventure of old Ike illustrates a point in natural history that, as soon as the trapper had ended, became the subject of conversation. It was that singular trait in the character of predatory animals, as the cougar, when under circumstances of danger. On such occasions fear seems to influence them so much as to completely subdue their ferocity, and they will not molest other animals sharing the common danger, even when the latter are their natural and habitual prey. Nearly every one of us had observed this at some time or other; and the old naturalist, as well as the hunter-guides, related many incidents confirming the strange fact. Humboldt speaks of an instance observed by him on the Orinoco, where the fierce jaguar and some other creatures were seen quietly and peacefully floating together on the same log—all more or less frightened at their situation!Ike’s story had very much interested the doctor, who rewarded him with a “nip” from the pewter flask; and, indeed, on this occasion the flask was passed round, as the day had been one of unusual interest. The killing of a cougar is a rare adventure, even in the wildest haunts of the backwoods’ country.
Now a panther story was the natural winding-up of this day, and it had been already hinted that old Ike had “rubbed out” several of these creatures in his time, and no doubt could tell more than one “painter” story.
“Wal, strengers,” began he, “it’s true thet this hyur ain’t the fust painter I’ve comed acrosst. About fifteen yeern ago I moved to Loozyanny, an’ thur I met a painter, an’ a queer story it are.”
“Let us have it by all means,” said several of the party, drawing closer up and seating themselves to listen attentively. We all knew that a story from Ike could not be otherwise than “queer,” and our curiosity was on thequi vive.
“Wal then,” continued he, “they have floods dowd thur in Loozyanny, sich as, I guess, you’ve never seen the like o’ in England.” Here Ike addressed himself specially to our English comrade. “England ain’t big enough to hev sich floods. One o’ ’m ud kiver yur hul country, I hev heern said. I won’t say that ar’s true, as I ain’t acquainted with yur jography. I know, howsomdever, they’re mighty big freshets thur, as I hev sailed a skift more ’n a hundred mile acrosst one o’ ’m, whur thur wan’t nothin’ to be seen but cypress tops peep in out o’ the water. The floods, as ye know, come every year, but them ar big ones only oncest in a while.
“Wal, as I’ve said about fifeteen yeern ago, I located in the Red River bottom, about fifty mile or tharabout below Nacketosh, whur I built me a shanty. I hed left my wife an’ two young critters in Massissippi state, intendin’ to go back for ’em in the spring; so, ye see, I wur all alone by meself, exceptin’ my ole mar, a Collins’s axe, an’ of coorse my rifle.
“I hed finished the shanty all but the chinkin’ an’ the buildin’ o’ a chimbly, when what shed come on but one o’ ’m tarnation floods. It wur at night when it begun to make its appearance. I wur asleep on the floor o’ the shanty, an’ the first warnin’ I hed o’ it wur the feel o’ the water soakin’ through my ole blanket. I hed been a-dreamin’, an’ thort it wur rainin’, an’ then agin I thort that I wur bein’ drownded in the Massissippi; but I wan’t many seconds awake, till I guessed what it wur in raality; so I jumped to my feet like a started buck, an’ groped my way to the door.
“A sight that wur when I got thur. I hed chirred a piece o’ ground around the shanty—a kupple o’ acres or better—I hed left the stumps a good three feet high: thur wan’t a stump to be seen. My clearin’, stumps an’ all, wur under water; an’ I could see it shinin’ among the trees all round the shanty.
“Of coorse, my fust thoughts wur about my rifle; an I turned back into the shanty, an’ laid my claws upon that quick enough.
“I next went in search o’ my ole mar. She wan’t hard to find; for if ever a critter made a noise, she did. She wur tied to a tree close by the shanty, an’ the way she wur a-squealin’ wur a caution to cats. I found her up to the belly in water, pitchin’ an’ flounderin’ all round the tree. She hed nothin’ on but the rope that she wur hitched by. Both saddle an’ bridle hed been washed away: so I made the rope into a sort o’ halter, an’ mounted her bare-backed.
“Jest then I begun to think whur I wur agoin’. The hul country appeared to be under water: an’ the nearest neighbour I hed lived acrosst the parairy ten miles off. I knew that his shanty sot on high ground, but how wur I to get thur? It wur night; I mout lose my way, an’ ride chuck into the river.
“When I thort o’ ibis, I concluded it mout be better to stay by my own shanty till mornin’. I could hitch the mar inside to keep her from bein’ floated away; an’ for meself, I could climb on the roof.
“While I wur thinkin’ on this, I noticed that the water wur a-deepenin’, an’ it jest kim into my head, that it ud soon be deep enough to drownd my ole mar. For meself I wan’t frightened. I mout a clomb a tree, an’ stayed thur till the flood fell; but I shed a lost the mar, an’ that critter wur too valleyble to think o’ such a sacryfize; so I made up my mind to chance crossin’ the parairy. Thur wan’t no time to be wasted—ne’er a minnit; so I gin the mar a kick or two in the ribs an’ started.
“I found the path out to the edge of the parairy easy enough. I hed blazed it when I fust come to the place; an’, as the night wur not a very dark one, I could see the blazes as I passed atween the trees. My mar knew the track as well as meself, an’ swaltered through at a sharp rate, for she knew too thur wan’t no time to be wasted. In five minnites we kim out on the edge o’ the pairairy, an’ jest as I expected, the hul thing wur kivered with water, an’ lookin’ like a big pond, I could see it shinin’ clur acrosst to the other side o’ the openin’.
“As luck ud hev it, I could jest git a glimp o’ the trees on the fur side o’ the parairy. Thur wur a big clump o’ cypress, that I could see plain enough; I knew this wur clost to my neighbour’s shanty; so I gin my critter the switch, an’ struck right for it.
“As I left the timmer, the mar wur up to her hips. Of coorse, I expected a good grist o’ heavy wadin’; but I hed no idee that the water wur a-gwine to git much higher; thur’s whur I made my mistake.
“I hedn’t got more’n a kupple o’ miles out when I diskivered that the thing wur a-risin’ rapidly, for I seed the mar wur a-gettin’ deeper an’ deeper.
“’Twan’t no use turnin’ back now. I ud lose the mar to a dead sartinty, if I didn’t make the high ground; so I spoke to the critter to do her best, an’ kep on. The poor beast didn’t need any whippin’—she knew as well’s I did meself thur wur danger, an’ she wur a-doin’ her darndest, an’ no mistake. Still the water riz, an’ kep a-risin’, until it come clur up to her shoulder.
“I begun to git skeart in airnest. We wan’t more ’n half acrosst, an’ I seed if it riz much more we ud hav to swim for it. I wan’t far astray about that. The minnit arter it seemed to deepen suddintly, as if thur wur a hollow in the parairy: I heerd the mar give a loud gouf, an’ then go down, till I wur up to the waist. She riz agin the next minnit, but I could tell from the smooth ridin’ that she wur off o’ the bottom. She wur swimmin’, an’ no mistake.
“At fust I thort o’ headin’ her back to the shanty; an’ I drew her round with that intent; but turn her which way I would, I found she could no longer touch bottom.
“I guess, strengers, I wur in a quandairy about then. I ’gun to think that both my own an’ my mar’s time wur come in airnest, for I hed no idee that the critter could iver swim to the other side, ’specially with me on her back, an’ purticklarly as at that time these hyur ribs had a sight more griskin upon ’em than they hev now.
“Wal, I wur about reckinin’ up. I hed got to thinkin’ o’ Mary an’ the childer, and the old shanty in the Mississippi, an’ a heap o’ things that I hed left unsettled, an’ that now come into my mind to trouble me. The mar wur still plungin’ ahead; but I seed she wur sinkin’ deeper an’ deeper an’ fast loosin’ her strength, an’ I knew she couldn’t hold out much longer.
“I thort at this time that if I got off o’ her back, an’ tuk hold o’ the tail, she mout manage a leetle hotter. So I slipped backwards over her hips, an’ grupped the long hair. It did do some good, for she swum higher; but we got mighty slow through the water, an’ I hed but leetle behopes we should reach land.
“I wur towed in this way about a quarter o’ a mile, when I spied somethin’ floatin’ on the water a leetle ahead. It hed growed considerably darker; but thur wur still light enough to show me that the thing wur a log.
“An idee now entered my brain-pan, that I mout save meself by takin’ to the log. The mar ud then have a better chance for herself; an’ maybe, when eased o’ draggin’ my carcass, that wur a-keepin’ her back, she mout make footin’ somewhur. So I waited till she got a leetle closter; an’ then, lettin’ go o’ her tail, I clasped the log, an’ crawled on to it.
“The mar swum on, appeerintly ’ithout missin’ me. I seed her disappear through the darkness; but I didn’t as much as say good-bye to her, for I wur afeard that my voice mout bring her back agin’, an’ she mout strike the log with her hoofs, an’ whammel it about. So I lay quiet, an’ let her hev her own way.
“I wan’t long on the log till I seed it wur a-driftin’, for thur wur a current in the water that set tol’uble sharp acrosst the parairy. I hed crawled up at one eend, an’ got stride-legs; but as the log dipped considerable, I wur still over the hams in the water.
“I thort I mout be more comfortable towards the middle, an’ wur about to pull the thing more under me, when all at once I seed thur wur somethin’ clumped up on t’other eend o’ the log.
“’Twan’t very clur at the time, for it had been a-growin’ cloudier ever since I left the shanty, but ’twur clur enough to show me that the thing wur a varmint: what sort, I couldn’t tell. It mout be a bar, an’ it mout not; but I had my suspects it wur eyther a bar or a painter.
“I wan’t left long in doubt about the thing’s gender. The log kep makin’ circles as it drifted, an’ when the varmint kim round into a different light, I caught a glimp o’ its eyes. I knew them eyes to be no bar’s eyes: they wur painter’s eyes, an’ no mistake.
“I reckin, strengers, I felt very queery jest about then. I didn’t try to go any nearer the middle o’ the log; but instead of that, I wriggled back until I wur right plum on the eend of it, an’ could git no further.
“Thur I sot for a good long spell ’ithout movin’ hand or foot. I dasen’t make a motion, as I wur afeard it mout tempt the varmint to attackt me.
“I hed no weepun but my knife; I hed let go o’ my rifle when I slid from the mar’s back, an’ it hed gone to the bottom long since. I wan’t in any condition to stand a tussle with the painter nohow; so I ’wur determined to let him alone as long’s he ud me.
“Wal, we drifted on for a good hour, I guess, ’ithout eyther o’ us stirrin’. We sot face to face; an’ now an’ then the current ud set the log in a sort o’ up-an’-down motion, an’ then the painter an’ I kep bowin’ to each other like a pair o’ bob-sawyers. I could see all the while that the varmint’s eyes wur fixed upon mine, an’ I never tuk mine from hisn; I know’d ’twur the only way to keep him still.
“I wur jest prospectin’ what ud be the eendin’ o’ the business, when I seed we wur a-gettin’ closter to the timmer: ’twan’t more ’n two miles off, but ’twur all under water ’ceptin’ the tops o’ the trees. I wur thinkin’ that when the log shed float in among the branches, I mout slip off, an’ git my claws upon a tree, ’ithout sayin anythin’ to my travellin’ companion.
“Jest at that minnit somethin’ appeared dead ahead o’ the log. It wur like a island; but what could hev brought a island thur? Then I recollects that I hed seed a piece o’ high ground about that part o’ the parairy—a sort o’ mound that hed been made by Injuns, I s’pose. This, then, that looked like a island, wur the top o’ that mound, sure enough.
“The log wur a-driftin’ in sich a way that I seed it must pass within twenty yards o’ the mound. I detarmined then, as soon as we shed git alongside, to put out for it, an’ leave the painter to continue his voyage ’ithout me.
“When I fust sighted the island I seed somethin’ that; hed tuk for bushes. But thur wan’t no bushes on the mound—that I knowd.
“Howsomdever, when we got a leetle closter, I diskivered that the bushes wur beests. They wur deer; for I spied a pair o’ buck’s horns atween me an’ the sky. But thur wur a somethin’ still bigger than a deer. It mout be a hoss, or it mout be an Opelousa ox, but I thort it wur a hoss.
“I wur right about that, for a horse it wur, sure enough, or rayther I shed say, amar, an’ that mar no other than my ole crittur!
“Arter partin’ company, she hed turned with the current; an’, as good luck ud hev it, hed swum in a beeline for the island, an’ thur she stood lookin’ as slick as if she hed been greased.
“The log hed by this got nigh enough, as I kalklated; an’, with as little rumpus as possible, I slipped over the eend an’ lot go my hold o’ it. I wan’t right spread in the water, afore I heerd a plump, an’ lookin’ round a bit, I seed the painter hed left the log too, an’ tuk to the water.
“At fust, I thort he wur arter me; an’ I drawed my knife with one hand, while I swum with the other. But the painter didn’t mean fight that time. He made but poor swimmin’ himself, an’ appeared glad enough to get upon dry groun’ ’ithout molestin’ me; so we swum on side by side, an’ not a word passed atween us.
“I didn’t want to make a race o’ it; so I let him pass me, rayther than that he should fall behind, an’ get among my legs.
“Of coorse, he landed fust; an’ I could hear by the stompin’ o’ hoofs, that his suddint appearance hed kicked up a jolly stampede among the critters upon the island. I could see both deer and mar dancing all over the groun’, as if Old Nick himself hed got among ’em.
“None o’ ’em, howsomdever, thort o’ takin’ to the water. They hed all hed enough o’ that, I guess.
“I kep a leetle round, so as not to land near the painter; an’ then, touchin’ bottom, I climbed quietly up on the mound. I hed hardly drawed my drippin’ carcass out o’ the water, when I heerd a loud squeal, which I knew to be the whigher o’ my ole mar; an’ jest at that minnit the critter kim runnin’ up, an’ rubbed her nose agin my shoulder. I tuk the halter in my hand, an’ sidling round a leetle, I jumped upon her back, for I still wur in fear o’ the painter; an’ the mar’s back appeared to me the safest place about, an’ that wan’t very safe, eyther.
“I now looked all round to see what new company I hed got into. The day wur jest breakin’, an’ I could distinguish a leetle better every minnit. The top o’ the mound which, wur above water wan’t over half an acre in size, an’ it wur as clur o’ timmer as any other part o’ the parairy, so that I could see every inch o’ it, an’ everythin’ on it as big as a tumble-bug.
“I reckin, strengers, that you’ll hardly believe me when I tell you the concatenation o’ varmints that wur then an’ thur caucused together. I could hardly believe my own eyes when I seed sich a gatherin’, an’ I thort I hed got aboard o’ Noah’s Ark. Thur wur—listen, strengers—fust my ole mar an’ meself, an’ I wished both o’ us anywhur else, I reckin—then thur wur the painter, yur old acquaintance—then thur wur four deer, a buck an’ three does. Then kim a catamount; an’ arter him a black bar, a’most as big as a buffalo. Then thur wur a ’coon an’ a ’possum, an’ a kupple o’ grey wolves, an’ a swamp rabbit, an’, darn the thing! a stinkin’ skunk. Perhaps the last wan’t the most dangerous varmint on the groun’, but it sartintly wur the most disagreeableest o’ the hul lot, for it smelt only as a cussed polecat kin smell.
“I’ve said, strengers, that I wur mightily tuk by surprise when I fust seed this curious clanjamfrey o’ critters; but I kin tell you I wur still more dumbfounded when I seed thur behaveyur to one another, knowin’ thur different naturs as I did. Thur wur the painter lyin’ clost up to the deer—its nat’ral prey; an’ thur wur the wolves too; an’ thur wur the catamount standin’ within three feet o’ the ’possum an’ the swamp rabbit; an’ thur wur the bar an’ the cunnin’ old ’coon; an’ thur they all wur, no more mindin’ one another than if they hed spent all thur days together in the same penn.
“’Twur the oddest sight I ever seed, an’ it remembered me o’ bit o’ Scripter my ole mother hed often read from a book called the Bible, or some sich name—about a lion that wur so tame he used to squat down beside a lamb, ’ithout layin’ a claw upon the innocent critter.
“Wal, stranger, as I’m sayin’, the hul party behaved in this very way. They all appeared down in the mouth, an’ badly skeart about the water; but for all that, I hed my fears that the painter or the bar—I wan’t afeard o’ any o’ the others—mout git over thur fright afore the flood fell; an’ thurfore I kept as quiet as any one o’ them during the hul time I wur in thur company, an’ stayin’ all the time clost by the mar. But neyther bar nor painter showed any savage sign the hul o’ the next day, nor the night that follered it.
“Strengers, it ud tire you wur I to tell you all the movements that tuk place among these critters durin’ that long day an’ night. Ne’er a one o’ ’em laid tooth or claw on the other. I wur hungry enough meself, and ud a liked to hev taken a steak from the buttocks o’ one o’ the deer, but I dasen’t do it. I wur afeard to break the peace, which mout a led to a general shindy.
“When day broke, next mornin’ arter, I seed that the flood wur afallin’; and as soon as it wur shallow enough, I led my mar quietly into the water, an’ climbin’ upon her back, tuk a silent leave o’ my companions. The water still tuk my mar up to the flanks, so that I knew none o’ the varmint could follow ’ithout swimmin’, an’ ne’er a one seemed inclined to try a swim.
“I struck direct for my neighbour’s shanty, which I could see about three mile off, an’, in a hour or so, I wur at his door. Thur I didn’t stay long, but borrowin’ an extra gun which he happened to hev, an’ takin’ him along with his own rifle, I waded my mar back to the island. We found the game not exactly as I hed left it. The fall o’ the flood hed given the painter, the cat, an’ the wolves courage. The swamp rabbit an’ the ’possum wur clean gone—all but bits o’ thur wool—an’ one o’ the does wur better ’n half devoured.
“My neighbour tuk one side, an’ I the other, an’ ridin’ clost up, we surrounded the island.
“I plugged the painter at the fust shot, an’ he did the same for the bar. We next layed out the wolves, an’ arter that cooney, an’ then we tuk our time about the deer—these last and the bar bein’ the only valley’ble things on the island. The skunk we kilt last, as we didn’t want the thing to stink us off the place while we wur a-skinnin’ the deer.
“Arter killin’ the skunk, we mounted an’ left, of coorse loaded with our bar-meat an’ venison.
“I got my rifle arter all. When the flood went down, I found it near the middle of the parairy, half buried in the sludge.
“I saw I hed built my shanty in the wrong place; but I soon looked out a better location, an’ put up another. I hed all ready in the spring, when I went back to Massissippi, an’ brought out Mary and the two young uns.”
The singular adventure of old Ike illustrates a point in natural history that, as soon as the trapper had ended, became the subject of conversation. It was that singular trait in the character of predatory animals, as the cougar, when under circumstances of danger. On such occasions fear seems to influence them so much as to completely subdue their ferocity, and they will not molest other animals sharing the common danger, even when the latter are their natural and habitual prey. Nearly every one of us had observed this at some time or other; and the old naturalist, as well as the hunter-guides, related many incidents confirming the strange fact. Humboldt speaks of an instance observed by him on the Orinoco, where the fierce jaguar and some other creatures were seen quietly and peacefully floating together on the same log—all more or less frightened at their situation!
Ike’s story had very much interested the doctor, who rewarded him with a “nip” from the pewter flask; and, indeed, on this occasion the flask was passed round, as the day had been one of unusual interest. The killing of a cougar is a rare adventure, even in the wildest haunts of the backwoods’ country.