Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 June 1896 — They Cot the Lion. [ARTICLE]

They Cot the Lion.

“Tho mountain lion,” remarked an old miner some time ago, “is becoming rare in the mountains of the west. When I first went seeking after the gold and silver of Colorado, these pnlmals were rather plentiful. They were met in pairs, and were common enough to make it hazardous for a man to* walk in the valleys alone and unprotected, particularly after dark. I remember on one occasion having a slight adventure with a lion that almost scared me out of my wits. With a pal I was working a claim in the mountain* near Ouray. Winter came on, and one day, before the very cold weather set In, we went to the town to get supplies, leaving our little cabin on the mountain alone. It came on to snow soon after we got to Ouray, and we did not get a chance to go to the claim for fully a week. As we slowly climbed the hill I noticed the tracks of a mountain lion leading toward our cabin, an<l when we reached the house found that we had forgotten to close a window in the side. We had lost sight of the tracks, and the sight of the open window caused me to forget all about the animal and its presence. I started for the window and was about to put my head into the apartment when there came a terrible growl, and the next instant a great yellow body darted through the opening, right over my back, its claws catching ray buckskin and ripping it open to my waist, turning me completely over into the snow. My pal whipped out his gun, and the infernal lion turned on him, making a fearful leap in his direction. Before he could shoot, the beast was upon him, and seizing him by the slack of hi* jacket, shook him as If he had been a rat. I was on my feet by this time, and drawing my revolver, I sneaked up and put a bullet right through bis head. He dropped, and my pal drew hi* breath freely once more. Neither of u* was hurt, but the lion’s skin, in another week, was serving as a rug by my cot.”