The Dueling Tomcats: A Hunter’s Tale of Feline Fury in Spring Brook

Two Toms Engage in a Duel Before an Applauding Female.

Spring Brook Hunter Recently Witnessed a Remarkable Fight Between Two Male Wild Cats in the Woods of That Section.

"I was still hunting for squirrels and rabbits," said Mr. Smallin, "when I heard a terrific yowling and snarling down in the ravine from where I was tramping through the woods. I knew at once that the noise was made by wild cats, for I had heard them scream at night many a time, and my first thought was that a wild cat had been caught in a trap and yelling in pain.

I listened for a minute, and then I heard two distinct voices. I hurried to the brink of a ledge to look down into the ravine, and on my way it seemed as though I could hear three wild cats screaming, and I was not mistaken in this as I soon found out.

When I got where I could look down I saw what all the fuss was about. In an open space two big wild cats were making the hair fly from one another's bodies, yelling, scratching and biting, and every now and then tumbling over each other and tearing up the leaves. On a limb close by to them sat a she wild cat, with her back humped up, and she was spitting and hissing, and urging the he ones on.

I made up my mind right away that the two toms were fighting over her, and I enjoyed the row more than anything I had ever seen in the woods. When the toms got tired of clawing one another they crouched on the ground a few feet apart and lashed their tails and howled, while the she one on the limb kept up a continual noise, and lashed her tail, too.

After each resting spell the toms rushed at one another again, and while they were ripping and tearing and making hideous din, I ducked down the ledge, stopping every time they stopped, for fear they might hear me and either run away or make for me. It seemed to be nip and tuck between them, for they were both big and strong, and each appeared bent on killing the other before he would give up.

I wanted to kill them both, and get their hides and the bounty money, and so I waited for a good shot at them. I had a charge of buckshot in my right barrel and a bullet in the left, and my intention was to send the buckshot at them when mixed up in the next bout.

Then they flew at one another again, but before I could reach the spot that I wanted to get to before I blazed away the toms separated once more. By this time they were pretty well fought out, and for a few minutes all they did was to glare at one another, swing their tails back and forth, and howl. The she cat then sprang from her limb to another branch, giving a scream as she leaped, and in less than 10 seconds the he ones dashed at each other and fought more furiously than ever, filling the woods with their yowls.

Then I banged away at the heap with the charge of buckshot. One of the wild cats leaped into the air and fell down dead, and the other went howling into the bushes out of my sight. I saw that there was no use of trying to get another shot at him, and I sent the bullet at the she one and knocked her off the limb.

I didn't stir from the spot until I had reloaded a charge into each barrel, and then I hurried down to see if I had killed the she one. She was dead enough, I was glad to find out, and then I thought I would search for the live tom, thinking that he might have been wounded by one of the buckshot. I found him after a little and I guess he would have given me a pretty lively time of it if two of his legs hadn't been broken. As it was, he showed fight and tried to tear my boot leg off, but I had the advantage of him, and I shot him through the head."