AT A CALIFORNIA SHEEP RANCH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XX, Issue 51, 7 October 1892, Page 21

AT A CALIFORNIA SHEEP RANCH.

m THBBB PABTB.— PART 111. Bt M. B. Gibson. Waylaid by a Mountain-Lion. Eagles, bears, and mountain-lions are a great pest to Oalifornian sheepmen in certain districts, and cause large losses every year. On the ranges of tbe coast mountains, where bands of sheep are moving over a considerable territory, they are not coralled at night, but merely " bunohed " in as secure a position as possible, near the shepherd's camping-place. Six sheep were lost ont of the band which Bill Hughes was herding somewhat later than the time when Ham-fat and Jim tapped the bee-tree. Tbere was now a moon, and for three eights we tcok tarns in watching for tbe thief. On the third night Bill succeeded in shooting a small female mountain-lion, which was doubtless the transgressor, for no further trouble was experienced while we were at that camp. Bat about a fortnight later when we had moved the band to another part of the range, some three miles to the northward, we had a more exciting experience. Tbe boys had been home to the ranch for a week, and rejoined us for a second visit Ham-fat then discovered that an old pistol, which he prized highly, bad been left behind. He must have the pistol at any cost, so mounting old Nig, he set off about three o'clock one afternoon to get it We saw no more of him until dusk. About seven o'clock the mule's hoof s were heard clattering on the stones down tbe trail, and a moment afterwards we saw Ham-fat riding rapidly towards tbe camp. 44 He's frightened," exclaimed Jim, eagerly." 44 Keep quiet," said Bill. " Let's hear what he'll say. Don't let him know that we tbink he is frightened." Up dashed Ham-fat to the very door of the hut ; but we appeared to be busy with oar affairs, and paid no attention to him. He was

seiied another and decamped, probably frightened by the report cf tbe gun. 41 This is a pretty impudent old brnte," remarked Bill to me, as we looked about next morning. •' He will not come back till he's eaten up bis sheep ; bnt be will be back thin. The nights are 100 dark now to watch and shoot bim. I'm going down to the ranch to get the dogs." He made the trip that afternoon, and brought up an old halfbreed mastiff, named Fan, and her fall-grown pap, Tige, and also a trap and some strychnine. Tbe herders make a very liberal use of poison in clearing the country of lions and wild cats. The trap was set that night, and baited with a part of the dead sheep ; and other parts of it were poisoned and laid about. Nothing farther was heard from Ham-fat's lion, as we called it, for a week. Bat one night, shortly after we had fallen asleep, old Fan came into the shack, whining and growling in a peculiar manner Bill immediately sat ap. 14 There's either a lion or a bear prowling about," he said to me in a low tone. " Fan never whines like that for small game." We were camped at that time on a little level bench of the mountain, nnder a bunch of live oaks ; and the sheep were gathered every night in a small open, not more than fifty yards from our banks. Tbe dogs continaed to sniff the air, growling in a remonstrant undertone. Old Fan finally became so restless that Bill coald hardly hold her by the collar. The sheap, too, began to get ap oat of their beds and huddle closer to oar camp. , 44 Now's the time," mattered Bill. <4 Sic 'em, Fan I" Both dogs dashed oat, barking savagely. Jim and Ham-fat, wrapped in the sound sleep of boyhood, did not wake, bat Bill and I, leaping from oar banks, hastily donned oar clothes, expecting after a few minutes' chase to hear Fan's baying announce that she bad treed the animal. Bat instead of that welcome baying, so thrilling and unmistakable to one who has once heard it, tbere was boroe to oar ears a succession of spiteful snarls and yelps, which made it plain that tbe animal, iostead of taking to a tree, had turned and given battle.

bareheaded, and looked wild as he slid off old Nig's back ; but not a word was said, and after glancing first at one, then tbe other of ue, as we moved around with oar back towards him, he coolly proceeded to take off the saddle. Sapper was ready. As we sat down, Bill remarked, in a faultfinding way, " It seems to me, Ham-fat, that you've got to riding that male pretty bard lately ?" Ham-fat could contain himself no longer. '* I think you would ride bard if you bad a big mountain-lion after you I" be exclaimed. " Did yon see a lion ?" I asked. " Ye*, I did, and I tell you he is a big one, too I" replied the lad, with truthfulness in every tone of his voice. " None of your little lions I" he added, with a glance of contempt at Bill. " Where did you see him !" I asked. " You know that hollow way down the trail, where that old redwood stab stands ? Well, 'twas there. I was coming along, walking old Nig and whistling, when I heard the brash snap, and right there, just back of that old stub, in the weeds, was a big mountain-lion creeping out, wiggling his tail and getting ready to jump on me. 44 1 tell yon he was as long as a fence rail, and he would have jumped in a minute more, but old Nig saw him and made a spring, and then ran as fast as biß legs would carry him. " I had to bang on so tight that I didn't get a chance to look back till we had gone some way ; and then I saw the lion standing oat on the trail, looking after us." 41 There was little doubt that Ham-fat had been way-laid by some animal ; though we made allowance for the magnifying power of a boy's eyes, under such circumstances. That the animal was a mountain-lion was rendered probable by the appearance of one of these destructive creatures tbe second night afterwards. We heard a disturbance among the sheep, a little before midnight. Bill ran oat, bat as it was very dark he coald see nothing. After firing his Winchester he came back to the hut. Next morning we found one dead sheep and a trail, marked with blood-stains, where another had been carried off. The lion had stolen upon tbe sheep, and, after throttling one aod taking its blood, had

We stole oat in tbe direotion of the eoanda with oar guns, bat had not gone far before sharp howls from the dogs told that they were getting the worst of the encounter. " It's either a bear or a big lion," said Bill, confidently. "If it was anything else Fan would certainly have ran it ap a tree." Before we reached the scene of combat the outcries suddenly ceased, and a few steps farther on we met both dogs. Poor Fan was on three legs. She was covered with bleeding scra'ches, and a raking blow, apparently from a wide-taloned paw, had torn nearly all tbe flesh off one of her shoaldera. Tige had been less bold in his attack, and though scratched, was not much hart. We knew it wonld be useless to look for tbe lion farther that night, and returned to camp. Next night tbe lion came back. We had bound ap Fan's wounds as well as we could, bat sbe coald scarcely crawl about ; and Tige was too youDg aod timid to venture oat alone. The movements of tbe Bheep revealed those of the lion ; but it was too dark to see him* Near morning, when we had fallen sonnd asleep, tbe brate came back, stampeded tbe sheep, and succeeded in killing three, one of which, aa before, was carried off. Portions of the dead sheep were again treated with strychnine, and tbe trap set elsewhere with fresh bait ; bnt oar troublesome neighbours apparently bad no liking for anything bat living prey. Tbe boys who were much disgusted at having been left to sleep tbe first night, were awake this time. They took an enthusiastic interest la all our schemes for making way with the lion ; and a few mornings later Ham-fat declared at breakfast that be had dreamed we caught the lion. I was obliged to inquire bow that was done. " Why, the way Jim and I catch sewellela," replied Ham-fat. Then perceiving the utter ignorance in which I had grown op, touching such accomplishments, he went on to tell me that the sewellel is a kind of squirrel which resembles a large rat ; and that he aod Jim had turned a pretty penny by trapping them for their skins, which they sell as fur, and that they had caught dozens of them in slip-nooses of strong twine, attached to spring-poles and placed skilf ally about their barrows.

" I tell you what," continued Ham-fat, " 1 believe a lion could be osngbt tb* same way." 4 Bill laughed incredulously. " I think if we wait for you to catch that lion," said be, " we shall wait till he gets every sheep in thie bamd." " W«ll, I think we could catch him that way as soon as yon can catch him in your trap, or poison him, or shoot him, either ! " cried Ham«fat, warmly. The idea of getting a lion to stick his bead through a slip-noose I " exclaimed Bill, contemptuously. " The way I'd do," argued Ham-fat, " would be to rig a kind of a brush pen out in the woods, with a hole leading into it on one side, and pat a live sheep in it Then I'd take a good strong lariat, and fix a noose aronnd the hole, and tie the other end to a stiff tree-branch, bent down so as to give a great jerk when 'twas sprung." Jim who was alw> ia favour of it, argued that a coarte net of dark«coloHred twine coald be rigged over the hole and attaobed to a lins leading to the " fid " that Sprang the tree-branch, so that when the lion leaped in to seize the sheep he could not miss pulling the fid out of the loop in the line that held the branch down: The boy a had a wide, practical knowledge, and planned the dj. rice with great cunning. Bill still pooh-poohed the whole plan. I had no fai.'h in it, bat as tbtt boys were yery mach in earnest, and as there was nothing of much interest to occupy the day, I decided to help them set up their trap. It was worth all my pains, even if we caught nothing whatever, to witness the seal aod boisterous cage .ness with which they em* barked in the scheme. Having selected. a place under a laige oak, on the border of the forest, in the direction from whioh the lion was thought to have approached the camp, we constructed of stakes a peu about sic feet square, and covered it with brush to disguise it, so that it would appear like a little thicket. The hole leading into it and other details of the jerk-op were managed as Ham-fat and Jim had planned. Bending down a branch of the oak to furnish motive power for the jerk-up proved the most laborious part of the undertaking. The united weight of all three of us, hauling down together, barely sufficed to bend it. Three times it broke away from the anchorage which we gave it. To adjust the check-line also proved a very nice task. We spent almost all day in experimenting and devising new details for springing the snare. About forty feet of one of Bill's lariats of green hide was used as a noose for tbe jerk-up. After supper a sheep was caught and led out to the pen, to serve as live bait. After tbe sheep had been bound inside the pen, the noose and net were set at the entrance, and all was carefully covered around with leafy twigs. Little as I believed in the success of their snare, I could not but admire the painstaking skill which Jim and Ham-fat expended upon it. We left tbe sheep in the pen and went back to camp. Several times during the evening we heard tbe poor creature, thus separated from the others, bleating for its mates. " Good 1 " Jim would exclaim, every time we heard it begin afreßh, 11 That'll draw the old fellow." No lion came that night, nor the next. Bill laughed. "You'll find that a mountain lion and a sewellel are two different animals," he remarked. " You cannot get a lion into any such Billy trap as that." Tbe boys did not say much, but they punctually let the decoy sheep out each morning, and led np another at dusk. It was cither the third or the fourth evening after tbe snare was set, that just as we were turning into our bunks we beard a yell. Old Fan, who waß now a little better of her wounds, started up with a low, gruff batk, and Ham-fat shouted, " We've got him 1 " In their excitement, be and Jim dashed out of the shack barefoot. Both dogs were cow barking ; but abjve their noise, there was plainly to be beard the sounds of a frightful snarling and yelling, in tbe direction of the jerk-up. " Come on ! Come on ! Get your guns 1 " shouted Ham-fat. I bad no small tremble to get the excited boys back into tbe shack to draw on their shoes and jackets. We lighted a liotern, got the guns, aud then, after shutting up the dogs, sallied out. The whole band of sheep, terrific by the yelling, were pressing oloaely about the ehack. We had proceeded but a few rods when we met the decoy sheep, which had broken loose, and was rushing headlong back towards the band. Tbe frightened creature ran blindly into us, and Jim seized it by the wool. There was little doubt that, by some fluke of good luck which sometimes attends tbe efforts of plncky boys, we had ensnared the lion ; for its wild screecbings and yells were continuous. Heard in | the night, the cries were quite enough to make one's blood run cold. He was caught, no donbt ; but how securely caught waa tbe question. With due regard to this uncertainty, we approached with caution from the rear of the pen. Thrusting up the lantern on a forked stick, we were able to get a partial view over the top of the pen. Evidently tbe lion had attempted to enter tbe bole and seize tbe sheep, when like a flash the bent branch bad sprung upward, and the tightening noose had caught

the aoimU just forward of the hips. The leeoil of the branch bad been powerful enough to swing the beast into the air ; and there be dangled, at least eigbt feat clear of any footing. ' I never saw Bueh a picture of ungovernable fury ai this beast presented. He swnng about like a pendulum, clawing the air, biting snarling, and spitting, while his eye* glared at us like balls of fire. Every few momenta he would double up bis body, reach upwards, grasp the riata line above him with his forepaws, and try to bite it in two with bis te :th. When this task proved hopeless, down would droop the long, supple body again, while the brute gave vent to that ear-splitting, despairing scream, which no other animal ia capable of uttering. Somewhat awed by the savage spestacle, Jim and Ham*fat kept in tbe rear and said very little. There was danger that the animal would bite off tbe line. Telling Bill to throw as much ligbt at possible from the lantern upon him, 1 waited until be had ceased his straggles for an instant, and then sent a ballet through his head. When the animal was fully dead, we cut him down and removed the hide. With the sudden cessation of those frightful screams, Ham-fat and Jim had recovered their self-posseision, and on our way back to the camp they eveouted several war-dances around Bill, poking his ribs and asking him what he thought of their plan now. 11 'Twas just chance," Bill maintained, stoutly. " Ton couldn't catch a lion that way again in a hundred years." Ham-fat declared that it was the same lion which had attempted to waylay him on tbe trail, and very likely it was. From tip to tip, as hunters say, this lion, or rather panther, measures over 8 ft, and must rank as a large specimen of his species* His recent diet of fresh mutton had put him in fine, glossy condition ; and I was glad to conclude a bargain with Ham-fat and Jim to secure the skin as a memento of my sojourn at Dave Hugh's sheep* ranch. [THE END.]