A Desperate Struggle with a Mountain Lion
While walking home along Hood’s Canal, a lone settler fought off a cougar by shoving his hand down its throat.
Peter J. Olsen lives a few miles up Kwedeman’s creek, on the west side of Hood’s Canal. He resides alone, some distance from any neighbor. Returning from the creek last Sunday evening to his house with a pail of water, he encountered in the trail a large mountain lion coming towards him. He supposed the lion would turn aside, but instead of that, his majesty kept on towards him, and suddenly made a spring at his throat. Mr. Olsen, with great presence of mind, dashed the pail of water in its face, and pushing his hand into the lion’s mouth, seized its tongue, whilst with the other hand he grasped the lion by the throat. A fierce struggle ensued, and in this Mr. Olsen’s clothes were torn from his body, and deep wounds made on his head, breast, and arms, but after a desperate effort the animal tore himself away, leaving a part of his tongue in Mr. Olsen’s hand, and then fled to the recesses of the forest. Mr. Olsen managed to get to a neighbor’s house, where his wounds were dressed with dog-fish oil, and he is now in a fair way of recovery.
“Pushing his hand into the lion’s mouth, seized its tongue, whilst with the other hand he grasped the lion by the throat.”
While mountain lion sightings remain a common, high-stakes encounter for hikers in the Pacific Northwest today, this story highlights the stark isolation of early settlers on the Olympic Peninsula compared to the interconnected, monitored wilderness of modern Washington.
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