Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 1921)
7 OREGON COUGARS AND BOB-CATS ARE SLAIN BY HlREDS INVARIOUS PARTS OF STATE Adventures With Wild Members of Cat Tribe Declared of Interest Both in Literature and in Tradition. Pio neers Relate Experiences With Ferocious Beasts. SEE ALSO OUR REGULAR ADVERTISEMENT ON PAGE 1, SOCIETY SECTION tar- New Couch Hammocks Couch Hammocks, Porch Swings and Woven Hammocks in great variety at lowest prices. 3d Floor. Your inspection cordially invited. Let Us Do. Your Kodak Work Expert developing, printing, en larging and color-work. Films left before 11 A. M., .ready by 5 the same day. Kodak Dept., Main Floor. RELIABLE. MERCHANDISE RELIABLE METHODS. 1 MORRISON. ALDER. WEST PARK. AND TENTH STPEETS-TT TIIE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, MAY 15, 1921 ill -IW s : :tlf f til ,V v-ws V. . ' fv ' ' . j friendless beast: k eaten up with bt k (crip of tenacious tile pain; or pit BY ALFRED POWERS. OXSARNED cats and pesky I panthers." was the allitera tive way the Oregon frontiers man referred to bobcats and cougars. His negative attitude toward these predatory felines was justified by long and often bitter experience. Bobcats, lynx, catamounts, wildcats panthers, cougars, pumas, mountain lions, by whatever terminology they go by, they are in the mind of the re mote settler fit only for poison, traps and bullets. The government and Mate have come to agree with him, the former hiring hunters and trap pers to hasten their quietus, and the iatler by means of bounties encourag ing their destruction. . As a result of this stimulated laughter, thousands of panthers and bobcats kick the beam every year. Annual -mortality statistics run into Important figures. Wandering stealth ily with prices on their heads, these friendless beasts have their vitals burning poison; in the s traps they cry in fu- pain; or pierced with unerring bullets they fall with heavy thud irora the trees. Slaughter lu Recounted. One hundred and seventeen bobcats and two cougars in Wasco county, 135 panthers in Coos county, 10S7 bobcats and twa cougars in Harney county, two Brownsville hunters killed 16 wildcats in a few days, $5045 was paid in cougar bounties such were some of the mortality reports of recent years which I took from my notebook. Fifteen hundred and sixty-four bob cats and nine mountain lions was one annual report of destruction by gov ernment hunters alone. In 1919 the Mate game protection fund paid boun ties on 70 cougars, 27 of which were killed in Douglas county, 18 in Currv county, two each in Coos and Tilla mook, four each in Linn and Jose phine, six in Lane, and seven in Jack son. This by no means indicated the actual total, "as a large number of cougars were killed for which no bounty was asked from the state frame protection fund. I do not have the state report or the county reports for 1920, which would undoubtedly in dicate further wholesale decimation cf feline ranks. Oregon Huntera Interesting, Probably no other state in the union has such an interesting group of panther hunters aa Oregon. Hatha way Jones of Marial, Or., in 29 years of hunting has killed more than -4g0 panthers. Jack Warner of Coos coun ty in five years killed 78 bobcats and 2 panthers. Jake Fry of Curry coun ty, before closing his active hunting days that extended over a half cen tury, had killed 1250 bears, and his retiospect included several hundred bobcats and panthers., John B. Ham mersley of Gold Hill is a Jackson county hunter whose bullets have closed the careers of a large number Of cougars and wildcats. L It was said that Miss Catherine No 'dine. w1-- took up a homestead in Curry county a few years ago, used to derive a large part of her Income while her farm was in its unproduc tive period by killing bobcats and petting the bounties on their scalps Nimble of foot and of practiced mK-ksmanship, she followed her shep herd dog through the Curry county thickets, and when the pursued cat took to a tree, one well-directed shot irora her rifle brought him to the ground, and a deft bit of scalping es tablished a financial obligation on the part of the county court. banc la Guaranteed. John Warner of Powers. Or., for merly would guarantee from one to four panthers to anyone who would po out with him when he had his two famous cougar dogs. Grit and Foxie. along. Jap Hills of Oakridge has also been a Nemesis of mountain lions. Thomas Bashaw of Richland trapped and hunted cougars until he was 83. It is impossible to call the roll of all the cougar hunters, past and pres ent, of Oregon, but the records of those I have mentioned will show what an effective warfare has been aged upon these destructive cats. There is ample evidence of the men- ?-r-fJ 7S7 firs' Crizc-j' annual sacrifice of deer to appease their savage appetites. In .one in stance it was found that four pan thers had killed 18 deer in two weeks' time. During the present winter dis patches from various counties have told how they have attacked full grown deer caught in heavy snows. Deer Killed in Creek. One of these numerous tragedies oi the wilds tells how a deer had come down to the creek bed to drink. Oh its way it passed by a big log from which a panther Jumped. The strug gle begun in the snow ended in the water of the creek, which was Incar nadined with the victim's blood. The fastidious cat then ate only a small portion of his kill. What damage to game one panther ean do was illustrated on Pistol river, in Curry county. One night a settler heard a deer bleat close to the house, but Investigation failed to disclose anything. A second and even a third night the same thing happened. Hav ing a dog with them the third night. the man and his companions started 'hi trail, ' its dread Identity revealed by the moon. A woman in Douglas county told me how nearly a half century ago she had been chased at night across her father's field by a panther. -A Coos county hunter told how as late as 1916 his 8-year-old daughter was pursued by a panther. The attitude of the panther toward man U contradictory field, so with these two instances, both of little girls "who may have been walking with fear and dread," I shall pass on to the final story of this informal dis sertation on panthers. Eldon Trotter of Belknap Bridge, Or., finding at chore time a chicken outside the barn, gathered biddy in his arms and started to place her on the roost, when he saw what he thought was a wildcat In the manger. With all possible dispatch he obtained his gun and dog and returned to the barn Shooting at what he saw in the manger, his wife called to him that the animal had run up the road. Second Cat. In Manger, Soon treed by the dog under a log, it turned out to be a cougar. Return ing to the barn, Mr. Trotter looked into the manger again to see what mischief had been done, and imagine his surprise and astonishment when another investigation and found a 1 another cougar struck at him -and panther crouching on a log, baiting a badly injured deer in the water. The panther was killed and a thorough search disclosed three partly de voured carcasses of deer. Three deers in 'three days had been the record of this rapacious beast. Panther's Extinction Remote. In spite of the concentrated de struction waged against him, tne pan ther does not face immediate extinc tion. Hundreds are killed each year, but each spring fills the depleted ranks with playful kittens. En croaching settlers have driven them farther back into the thickets, but in several Oregon counties their remote habitats are relatively safe from in trusion. It is safe to. say that not in 100 years at least will the panther or the bobcat be banished from the Ore. eon forests, though his menace ot course will grow steadily less. For many years to come he will continue to adorn frontier tales as he has adorned them from the time of our ancestors on the Atlantic shore. Of all American wild animals the panther probably played the most im portant part in written literature and fireside stories. There is a universal interest among American children In the panther, and this interest as It exists largely also among adults is i handover from childhood days. Pan thers figure somewhere In the remin. ifcences of every family. The writer will confess that In his case this in terest seems not to have died out at all with maturity, for a brief news dispatch about a cougar will invari ably catch and hold his attention, and to this day he will read with the old absorption and something of the old credulity the panther tales in the Youth's Companion and other maga zines. As he has knocked widely about in the state and has sat at fire sides in the far places of Oregon, he has spent many an enraptured hour listening to the reminiscences of vet eran hunters. Panthers and I are like Wordsworth and his rainbow "s was it when I was a boy, so Is it now I am a man." . Animal Is Dreaded. Settlers of America from the days of the New England pioneer have had a dread of the panther. This huge and slender cat lives not only in frontier stories that make the listen ing boy creep closer up for protec tive companionship, but In an exten sive literature that describes their human cries, their attacks upon chil dren and grown-ups and how they dogged" the trail of lonely travelers upon dark roads at night. Their human cries have been poo- poohed by scientists, but I remember with what solemn authenticity a pioneer told me how as a little boy he and his sister went fishing In the afternoon, how his sister, growing tired because the fish wouldn't bite. started back the four miles well be fore sundown, how he lingered in hope till it grew dark, how, as he started home, he heard a voice like that of his sister, how thinking she had got lost he answered, and how as he proceeded in the direction of ace of panthers to same and of the the voice a panther walked athwart nearly hit him in the face. He struck the animal with the butt of his gun and then shot it. Eight feet seems to be about the maximum length for a panther, and each of these two In the manger measured 6 feet in length, a gross lot of savagery to be uninvited guests in a man's barn. No wonder that lone hen decided to sleep outside for a change. And no wonder that they are known in Oregon "consarned -cats and pesky panthere." LAWS III HIT TIES lSf WASHIXGTOX HELD LOOSEST IX WORLD. Agreement That Can Bo Dissolved on Almost Any Ground, Is Dr. Penrose's Definition. WHITMAN COLLEGE. Wall Walla, Wash., May 14. (Special.) Dr. Steph en B. L. Penrose, president of Whit man college, declaring that "marriage in the state of Washington is a looser tie than anywhere else in the civilized world," spoke on the subject of "Edu cation for Parenthood" today at the Mothers' congress and Parent-Teach ers association state convention be ing held In Walla Walla this week. "It is a matter of convenience," he said, "an agreement wRich can be dissolved upon almost any ground." Revise the marriage laws first, ha advised, as a means of education for parenthood. Dr. Penrose urged that boys be al lowed to marry when they are old enough and wise enough, but not until they understood clearly the obligation of fatherhood and contemplated it hopefully. "No girl should marry un less she ia ready to become a mother," he said. There are three- prime considera tions, he said: First, permanence A better under standing of the eternal nature of the marriage ties. The girl of the pres ent day frankly admits the possibil ity of divorce if she finds herself dis satisfied. We need to study again seriously and carefully the words of the marriage service. Second, unity One of the striking tendencies of the time is the individ ual pursuits and interests even in the ves of the children. Parents need to enter Into these interests and pur suits. Dancing loses its dangers if mothers and fathers are there, and the automobile ceases to be a menace if the whole family are enjoying it together. Family traditions and cus toms are a bulwark to temptation and family gathering each day ati fam ily prayers or sitting together each Sunday in church are as safeguarded as by a moat and rampart from dis integration. "Third, reverence We sadly need a deepening of our Urea is the home Dainty Lingerie From the Philippines In a Feature Showing May Sale of Silks & Dress Goods An extraordinary opportunity to buy the most wanted Silks and Dress Goods at remarkable savings. And don't overlook the fact that you get QUALITY merchandise NOT TRASH! $3 Silks $2.48 Main Floor This assortment contains a large variety of high-class fabrics, including Satins, Crepes, Satin Crepes, Pongees, Taffetas, Foulards and Fancy Silks. All the newest shades represented. Standard $3.00 (PO AO grades. Specially priced for today's sale, yard wAit'iO $5 Crepes $4.48 Main Floor Beautiful Satin Crepes and Canton Crepes in the wanted shades. Also White Sport Silks. These are 40 inches wide and sell in the regular way at (P AO fo.OO a yard. Priced special for May Sale, at UaO Regular $5.50 Canton Crepe,' special the yard $4.75 Regular $6.50 Novelty Sport Canton, at, a yard $5.9o AT $1.98 YARD Taffetas, Crepes and Satins in full assortment of desirable colors. Also Fou lards. $2.50 values, $1.98 AT $3.98 YARD Taffetas, Charmeuse and Novelty Silks in great va riety. Regular $3.50 grades. Priced special, yard, $2.98 Wool Dress Goods $3.98 Of Reliable Qualities Regular $4.50 and $5.00 Wool Plaids in a large assortment of patterns. 54-inch. Yard 56-Inch Colored Serge of excellent grade for (P-! Or dresses, skirts, etc. $2.25 quality the yard DlOtl WOOL VELOUR 54 inches wide and a standard $5.00 grade on special sale at, yard $3.75 TRICOTINE 54 inches wide. Good se lection of the wanted col ors. $5-$6 grades, $3.75 Department 2d Floor The freshness of this lingerie is delightful and at the new low prices, every woman who loves pretty underwear may choose her outfits at small cost. Every garment is made of beautiful, fine quality material and embroidered all by hand. Each piece shows the most painstaking care in workmanship. Philippine Night Gowns $2.98 to $7.95 Second Floor Numerous styles embroidered in many dainty de signs. Beautiful soft material. Round, square and V necks. You must see these Gowns to get an adequate idea of their loveliness. Prices range $2.98 to $7.95. Wonderful values in this showing. Envelope Chemise $3.50 to $7.95 Women's Envelope Chemise with the long slender lines so much in favor right now. Also Step-in Chemise in attractive styles trimmed with Philippine hand embroidery. $3.50 to $7.95 Philippine Camisoles $1.98 and $2.98 Philippine Hand-embroidered Corset Covers and Camisoles in many exquisite styles. Every woman should have a good supply of these for thi summer season. Finest of materials. Extra values at $1.98 and $2.98. See these at your first opportunity. Philippine Petticoats What could be more charming than a lovely Philippine Skirt to go with your Summer dresses? Here is a fine collection of these dainty hand-embroidered garments, priced $4.95 up to $8.95 SPECIAL NOTE: As this Underwear has just arrived, we sug gest early choosing while stocks are new and fresh. Second Floor. Grass Furniture of Character Special Showing of New Arrivals , Fourth Floor The careful shopper knows there is a vast difference in Summer Furniture, and making use ofthis knowledge always chooses the best grade. Here is a splendid stock of Grass Furniture at prices no higher than you are asked for inferior grades. Rockers, Chairs, End Tables, etc., in artistic designs light in weight and serviceable. Chairs and Rock ers, $11 to $13.75. Grass Tables $10.5O-$22.5O Grass Art Rugs $7.89 $8.95 Fourth Floor Special shipment just in. Fancy Grass Art Rugs suitable for Summer homes, porches, etc. Well made and very desirable. These are shown in assorted designs and various colors. 8x10 ft. Art fl7 OQ I 9x12 ft. Art flQ Qr Grass Rugs D I - j Grass Rugs HEADQUARTERS FOR LINOLEUMS. Sale of Community Silver Beautiful New Vernon Pattern Third Floor In looking about for a suitable gift for the bride don't miss seeing this high-grade Silverware. Made by the Oneida Com munity Co. and fully guaranteed for 10 years. War tax not included. Coolmor Porch Shades Third Floor Equip ' your, porch with Coolmor Shades and get the full benefit of it this season. Cool mor Shades are self-hanging and will not flap in the wind. Shown in various colors; following sizes: 4 ftx7.6 5 ftx7.6 6 ftx7.6 7 ft.x7.6 8 ft.x7.6 9 ft.x7.6. OR DERS TAKEN FOR AWNINGS AND WINDOW . SHADES. Third Floor SET OF SIX Modeled Medium Knives $3.05 Flat Hand. Med. Forks $2.48 Tea Spoons, set of six $1.24 Dessert Spoons, set of 6 $2.39 I Soup Spoons, set of 6 $2.48 Individual Salad Forks $3.24 SINGLE PIECES Berry Spoons, special $1.43 Sugar Spoons, special at 43 Gravy Ladles, special $1.05 Cream Ladles, special at 81 Cold Meat Forks, each 860 Pickle Forks, special at 770 Silver Department, 3d Floor Sale of Cowhide Bags Special $15 3d floor The man or woman who has need for a serviceable Traveling Bag cannot do better than choose one of these. 16 and 18-inch sizes. Genu ine cowhide leather, with sewed " corners, inside lock, lift catches, pockets. Full leather lined. Very large and roomy. Black, brown and cor dovan.. These Bags are an exceptional value at $15.00 18-Inch Traveling Bags Special $6.95 Third Floor Imitation leather Bags of extra good qual ity. Sewed corners, two handles and double stitched. Lined with water-proof material. A very attractive, serv iceable Bag for man or woman. Shown in J black only. On special sale this week at only 3U7cl Keratol Suitcases Special $6.75 Third Floor Keratol covered Suit Cases, 24 inches long and extra deep. Handle is sewed and riveted and has two straps all around. Large corner pro- (P? f7f" tectors, cloth lined. Black or brown. Special DOli Matting Suitcases $5.50 24-Inch Straw Matting Suit Cases bound on all edges, sewed and riveted handle, steel frame, 2 straps all around, cloth-lined with pocket. Just the thing for that (JJP (Trt I vacation trip. On special sale Monday at only Dt)tlU Libbey Cut Glass A Sale of Gift Pieces Third Floor Nothing you could select as a bridal gift would give more real pleasure than beautiful Libbey Cut Glass. Our stock is now complete witfi a wonderful collection of exquisite pieces in the very latest designs and shapes. Mon day we place on sale two special lines at worth-while savings. $7.50 Sugars and Creamers Special $5.95 Libbey Cut Glass Sugars and Creamers in pleasing design with deep, rich cuttings. Very appropriate for gift-giving and for home use. Sets selling in the regular way QET at $7.50, on special sale Monday your choice, at vJOmUO - $7.50 Berry, Salad Bowls ' Special $5.95 Libbey Cut Glass Berry Bowls and Salad Bowls in medium 6ize. Only a limited number of sets in this sale, therefore early choosing is to your advantage. Bowls sell- OP OF ing at ?7.50, priced special for this sale at only 5)0UO $15 to $30 Trimmed Hats It's the talk of the town this phenomenal sale of Hats at ten dollars! We have added a number of beautiful models for Monday's selling making the display fully as good as on Saturday. Dress, semi dress and tailored styles in all the most desirable shapes and materials. None worth less than $15.00; mostly $20.00, $22.50, $25.00 and (P1A $30.00 values. Your choice Sport Hats and Sailors $10 A magnificent collection of all that's new and fashionable for sport and outing wear. Sailors in many smart styles, also Rolls and Wide-brim Hats. Regular $12.50 up to $25.00 (Pin (f j values, specially priced for this 6ale your choice only wlUiUU f' " t 'f11!",1 ViYiS ' S "Thermatic" Fireless Cookers The modern way to prepare a meal. Saves time, labor and fuel expense and makes all foods more nutritious and savory. 1-compartment Cooker $22.50 2-compartment Cooker $41.50 Housewares Store, Third Floor on thl aide. The overfamlliarity, which does not mean either love or respect. In the attitude of children towaras parents today, is it the cause or the effect of the growing indifference in family life toward the spirit side of our natures?" TRADE, CLUB IS GROWING Students at University of Oregon Study Foreign Commerce. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON. Eugene. May 14. (Special.) The chief object of the new foreign trade club organ ized in the school of business admin istration was to form a closer rela tionship between the foreign trade students and men intimately connect ed with the trade world. , This department has been growing and many students have become in terested, in this phase of commercial US ot edoq Bjuspnjs 'uoi;ei!US -jo aqi 6 )(Bdd8 o) suojipuoo apBj? u2SJ0j jo ap8MOU3( ibjijobjcI qij.tt uinmnqoOTsin-dsiirjirt better acquainted with the men and the conditions under which they ma j have dealings when they . take UP their life work. RUPTURE is uncomfortable and dangerous and . should be held with a good fitting Truss. Our success is due to being able to properly fit Trusses without Truss torture. LAUE-DAVIS DRUG CO. TKISS EXPERTS . 173 Third St. Portland, Or. Established 21 Years in Portland C. GEE W0 Chinese Medicine Co. No operations. No poison used in our won derful remedies, composed of the choicest Ori ental roots, herbs, buds and bark, many of which are unknown to the medical science of this country. Our remedies are harmless and have made many sufferers from catarrh, asthma, lung and throat, rheumatism, nervousness, stomach, liver and kidney trouble, female dis orders, etc, happy. Many testimonials given unsolicited by persons, male and female, who have used my root and herb remedies. CALL OR WRITE FOR INFORMATION The C. Gee Wo Cliinese Medicine Co. 162 V First Street PorUind. Oreroa 7 t " Tim ! 4