A Close Encounter with a Cougar

Saturday morning of last week, Winnie Bennett and one of his playmates, Alfred Thompson, were out hunting on the Deschutes River, at the upper end of John Hay's meadow, when they were terrified at the sight of a cougar of extraordinary size. Strange to say, it made no attempt to seize upon them, but was content to watch and follow them. The huge beast crossed the meadow and sprang upon a log and continued to watch the boys intently. They grasped this opportunity to make their escape, which they succeeded in doing after a quick scramble through the brush. Winnie is about 11 years of age, and Alfred is very nearly the same age. The boys were so terrified that they scarcely knew what to do, but watched their opportunity to evade the big beast, which at one time was within 100 feet of them. Bennett carried a small shotgun and Thompson a pistol. The two boys held a hurried conversation as to whether or not it would be best to shoot, but they were level-headed enough to consider that if the shots did not take effect, their lot might prove fatal. They headed toward a thick patch of willows as the cougar followed them with his eye from his seat on a log.