As all three stood listening, the snorting and stamping of horses fell upon their ears, and above all was heard the squealing of the mule Jeanette! This lasted for a few minutes, and at length all was silent as before.
“Poor Jeanette!” thought they. “The other has made a meal of her. Well—we must do without her, that’s all.”
They kept watch until daybreak, still fearful that the cougar might come back for its mate. The rain had now begun to fall, and poured down in torrents, drowning out their fires. They did not attempt to rekindle them; but stood, with their blankets around their shoulders, sheltering themselves as they best could under the trees.
When the daylight came, what was their surprise as well as joy to see Jeanette quietly browsing at the end of her trail-rope, and close by her the body of the cougar lying dead upon the ground! It had been wounded by the shots; but that, as they soon ascertained, was not the cause of its death, for its body was crushed and its ribs broken! For some time they could not understand this. At length, however, it was explained to them. The situation in which the animal was found enabled them to clear up the mystery. It was lying by the foot of a large tree, against which, no doubt, it had got the squeeze that had killed it. While retreating it had sprung upon Jeanette; and the latter, in her endeavours to escape, had in the darkness rushed violently against the tree, crushing the cougar, and killing it instantly!
The fierce brute had left the trace of its claws upon Jeanette’s back and withers; and a deep gash under her throat showed where its teeth had been buried. It was fortunate for the mule she had rushed against the tree, else the cougar would have held on until he had drunk the life-blood from her veins—as this is the mode by which these animals put their prey to death.
It was now morning, but the young hunters having been awake nearly all the night, were weary and could have gone to rest. This, however, they did not think prudent. They believed they had got themselves into a part of the forest where there were many dangerous creatures, and they came to the determination to shift their camp, and travel as far from the spot as possible before night. The truth is, they were upon a timbered stream—an affluent of the Trinity river; and as the latter was at this season overflowed, all the wild animals—bears, cougars, wolves, lynxes, and javalies—had been driven out of the low bottoms, and were roaming through the adjacent woods, more hungry and fierce than they commonly are.
Having saddled their horses, and packed Jeanette with their robes, blankets, and meat, our adventurers again took the route westward. After proceeding a few miles they issued from the woods, and struck out into the open prairie.