morass, and allow me to become an inmate of his humble but hospitable
mansion, I was gratified to find that he cordially assented to all my proposals.
So I immediately unstrapped my drawing materials, laid up my
gun, and sat down to partake of the homely but wholesome fare intended
for the supper of the squatter, his wife, and his two sons.
The quietness of the evening seemed in perfect accordance with the
gentle demeanour of the family. The wife and children, I more than
once thought, seemed to look upon me as a strange sort of person, going
about, as I told them I was, in search of birds and plants; and were I
here to relate the many questions which they put to me in return for those
which I addressed to them, the catalogue would occupy several pages.
The husband, a native of Connecticut, had heard of the existence of such
men as myself, both in our own country and abroad, and seemed greatly
pleased to have me under his roof. Supper over, I asked my kind host
what had induced him to remove to this wild and solitary spot. " The
people are growing too numerous now to thrive in New England,"" was
his answer. I thought of the state of some parts of Europe, and calculating
the denseness of their population compared with that of New England,
exclaimed to myself, " How much more difficult must it be for men
to thrive in those populous countries V The conversation then changed,
and the squatter, his sons and myself, spoke of hunting and fishing, until
at length tired, we laid ourselves down on pallets of bear skins, and reposed
in peace on the floor of the only apartment of which the hut consisted.
Day dawned, and the squatter's call to his hogs, which, being almost
in a wild state, were suffered to seek the greater portion of their food in
the woods, awakened me. Being ready dressed, I was not long in joining
him. The hogs and their young came grunting at the well known
call of their owner, who threw them a few ears of corn, and counted them,
but told me that for some weeks their number had been greatly diminished
by the ravages committed upon them by a large Panther, by which
name the Cougar is designated in America, and that the ravenous animal
did not content himself with the flesh of Ms pigs, but now and then carried
off one of his calves, notwithstanding the many attempts he had
made to shoot it. The Painter, as he sometimes called it, had on several
occasions robbed him of a dead deer ; and to these exploits the squatter
added several remarkable feats of audacity which it had performed, to
give me an idea of the formidable character of the beast. Delighted by
his description, I offered to assist him in destroying the enemy, at
which he was highly pleased, but assured me that unless some of his
neighbours should join us with their dogs and his own, the attempt would
prove fruitless. Soon after, mounting a horse, he went off to his neighbours,
several of whom lived at a distance of some miles, and appointed
a day of meeting.
The hunters, accordingly, made their appearance, one fine morning,
at the door of the cabin, just as the sun was emerging from beneath the
horizon. They were five in number, and fully equipped for the chase,
being mounted on horses, which in some parts of Europe might appear
sorry nags, but which in strength, speed and bottom, are better fitted for
pursuing a cougar or a bear through woods and morasses than any in that
country. A pack of large ugly curs were already engaged in making acquaintance
with those of the squatter. He and myself mounted his two
best horses, whilst his sons were bestriding others of inferior quality.
Few words were uttered by the party until we had reached the edge
of the Swamp, where it was agreed that all should disperse and seek for
the fresh track of the Painter, it being previously settled that the discoverer
should blow Ms horn, and remain on the spot, until the rest
should join Mm. In less than an hour, the sound of the horn was
clearly heard, and, sticking close to the squatter, off we went through the
thick woods, guided only by the now and then repeated call of the distant
huntsmen. We soon reached the spot, and in a short time the rest
of the party came up. The best dog was sent forward to track the
Cougar, and in a few moments, the whole pack were observed diligently
trailing, and bearing in their course for the interior of the Swamp. The
rifles were immediately put in trim, and the party followed the dogs, at
separate distances, but in sight of each other, determined to shoot at no
other game than the Panther.
The dogs soon began to mouth, and suddenly quickened their pace.
My companion concluded that the beast was on the ground, and putting
our horses to a gentle gallop, we followed the curs, guided by their voices.
The noise of the dogs increased, when, all of a sudden their mode of
barking became altered, and the squatter, urging me to push on, told me
that the beast was treed, by which he meant that it had got upon some
low branch of a large tree to rest for a few moments, and that should we
not succeed in shooting him when thus situated, we might expect a long
chase of it. As we approached the spot, we all by degress united into a