The Touchet Cougar Hunt
A mountain lion has descended into the timber near Touchet, sparking a local hunt as livestock producers fear for their herds.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Touchet stock and sheep men have declared war on a monster cougar which has fled from its mountain retreat and taken up its abode in thick timber below Touchet. Persons who have caught a glimpse of the animal describe it as being of huge proportions, capable of carrying off a full-grown sheep or pulling down a yearling steer. Its habit of doing such has resulted in men armed with rifles and shotguns laying in wait for it. As yet no one has succeeded in getting a shot, owing to its wariness in putting in an appearance except in the early morning or late in the evening. Why the animal has strayed so far away from its usual mountain haunts is somewhat of a mystery to the sheepmen, who say they very seldom have to fight cougars except in the mountains or along streams adjacent. The animal is supposed to have struck a creek and followed it down stream until a suitable home where meat is abundant was found.
“Touchet stock and sheep men have declared war on a monster cougar which has fled from its mountain retreat.”
Conflicts between apex predators and agricultural interests remain a flashpoint in the Pacific Northwest. While the 'monster' cougar is now more commonly understood as a displaced animal seeking the same water and cover as their historic prey, the tension between rural land use and wildlife habitat endures.
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