Illustrative Anecdotes of the Animal Kingdom

by Samuel G. Goodrich

"He expected that an effectual barrier would thus be put to the farther progress of our pursuers; but he was mistaken; for he had scarcely accomplished his task when the tigress, without a moment's pause, rushed towards the chasm, and attempted to bound over it. It was a fearful sight to see the mighty animal suspended for a moment in the air, above the abyss; but the scene passed like a flash of lightning. Her strength was not equal to the distance; she fell into the gulf, and, before she reached the bottom, was torn into a thousand pieces by the jagged points of the rocks.

"Her fate did not in the least dismay her companion. He followed her with an immense spring, and reached the opposite side, but only with his fore claws; and thus he clung to the edge of the precipice, endeavoring to gain a footing. The Indians again uttered a wild shriek, as if all hope had been lost.

"But Wharton, who was nearest the edge of the rock, advanced courageously towards the tiger, and struck his sword into the animal's breast. Enraged beyond all measure, the wild beast collected all his strength, and, with a violent effort, fixing one of his hind legs upon the cliff, he seized Wharton by the thigh. The heroic man still preserved his fortitude. He grasped the trunk of a tree with his left hand, to steady and support himself, while, with his right hand, he wrenched and violently turned the sword, that was still in the breast of the tiger. All this was the work of an instant. The Indians, Frank, and myself, hastened to his assistance; but Lincoln, who was already at his side, had seized Wharton's gun, which lay near upon the ground, and struck so powerful a blow with the butt-end upon the head of the tiger, that the animal, stunned and overpowered, let go his hold, and fell back into the abyss."

THE AMERICAN PANTHER.

This animal, which belongs to North and South America, passes under the various titles of cougar, puma, and panther. The latter is its most common designation. It is about the size of the European panther, but is of a uniform reddish-brown color. It was once common throughout the United States, but it has retired from the more thickly-settled portions to the remote forests of the country. It generally flies from man, but occasions have frequently occurred in which persons have fallen victims to its rage or rapacity.

Fatal Sport.—Some years since, two hunters, accompanied by two dogs, went out in quest of game near the Catskill Mountains. At the foot of a large hill, they agreed to go round it in opposite directions, and, when either discharged his rifle, the other was to hasten towards him to aid in securing the game. Soon after parting, the report of a rifle was heard by one of them, who, hastening towards the spot, after some search, found nothing but the dog, dreadfully lacerated, and dead. He now became much alarmed for the fate of his companion, and, while anxiously looking around, was horror-struck by the harsh growl of a cougar, which he perceived on a large limb of a tree, crouching upon the body of his friend, and apparently meditating an attack on himself. Instantly he levelled his rifle at the beast, and was so fortunate as to wound it mortally, when it fell to the ground along with the body of his slaughtered companion. His dog then rushed upon the wounded cougar, which, with one blow of its paw, laid the poor animal dead by its side. The surviving hunter now left the spot, and quickly returned, with several other persons, when they found the lifeless cougar extended near the dead bodies of the hunter and the faithful dogs.

Terrible Revenge.—The following account is furnished by a correspondent of the "Cabinet of Natural History:" "It was on as beautiful an autumnal day as ever ushered in the Indian summer, that I made an excursion after game among a group of mountains, or rather on a link in the great chain of the Alleghany range, which runs in a north-eastern direction in that part of Pennsylvania which bounds the New York line.

"I had kept the summit of the mountains for several miles, without success, for a breeze had arisen shortly after sunrise, which rattled through the trees, and made it unfavorable for hunting on dry ground; and indeed the only wild animal I saw was a bear, that was feeding on another ridge across a deep valley, and entirely out of reach of my rifle-shot. I therefore descended the mountain in an oblique direction, towards the salt springs, which I soon reached, and, after finding others had preceded me here, I left the spot for another mountain, on which I intended to pass the remainder of the day, gradually working my way home. This mountain was covered with chestnut-trees; and here it was that I caught a glimpse of the bear from the other ridge, and found he had disappeared but a short time previous to my arrival on this mountain. I followed his track for three miles, for chestnuts lay in abundance on the ground, and bears, like hogs, root up the leaves in search of food beneath; and it no doubt had lingered about here eating its meal until my near approach gave warning of its danger. This I could discover, as, the leaves having been wet by the melted frost on the top, a path could be traced where the bear, in running, had turned the dried part of the leaves uppermost. I quickened my pace along the mountainside and around the turn of the mountain, with the hopes of surprising the bear; and, after a rapid chase for the distance above mentioned, all proved fruitless, and I relinquished further pursuit. Warm with this exercise, and somewhat fatigued, I descended the mountain-side, and took my seat beside a stream of water which gently washed the base of the mountain, and emptied itself into the head of the waters of the Susquehannah.

"I had remained, sitting on a fallen tree, whose branches extended considerably into the water, for, perhaps, an hour and a half, when, of a sudden, I heard a rustling among the leaves on the mountain immediately above my head, which, at first, was so distant that I thought it merely an eddy in the wind, whirling the leaves from the ground; but it increased so rapidly, and approached so near the spot where I sat, that instinctively I seized my rifle, ready in a moment to meet any emergency which might offer.

"That part of the mountain where I was seated was covered with laurel and other bushes, and, owing to the density of this shrubbery, I could not discover an object more than ten yards from me; this, as will afterwards appear, afforded me protection; at any rate, it conduced to my success. The noise among the leaves now became tremendous, and the object approached so near, that I distinctly heard an unnatural grunting noise, as if from some animal in great distress. At length, a sudden plunge into the water, not more than twenty yards from me, uncovered to my view a full-grown black bear, intent upon nothing but its endeavors to press through the water and reach the opposite shore. The water, on an average, was not more than two feet deep, which was not sufficient for the animal to swim, and too deep to run through; consequently, the eagerness with which the bear pressed through the water created such a splashing noise as fairly echoed through the hills. With scarcely a thought, I brought my rifle to my shoulder with the intention of shooting; but, before I could sight it correctly, the bear rushed behind a rock which shielded it from my view. This gave me a momentary season for reflection; and, although I could have killed the bear so soon as it had passed the rock, I determined to await the result of such extraordinary conduct in this animal; for I was wonder-struck at actions which were not only strange, but even ludicrous,—there not appearing then any cause for them. The mystery, however, was soon unravelled.