| Show californians Cali fornias Terri bles battles with mountain lion and condor exciting experience of a hunter on the So southern athern peninsula wounds and torn clothing as reminders of ills his adventure los LOB angeles cal At attacked by ft A huge buge mountain too lion in the cyclopean darkness ot of a mountain gorge forced into a battle with a giant condor measuring 11 feet 7 inches from wing tip to wing tip forced to hunt bunt deer or starve in a country where deer are very scarce these are a few of the things that befell T W copner of this city recently while spending a few days on the famous malibu ranch in ventura county copner s tale may sound a bit full of the strenuous life but he displays a torn coat and a lacerated shoulder a as s marks 0 of f the fight with the lion the wings of the huge bilge vulture which he be was forced to kill to save his own life and a saddle of smoked venison which shows the gigantic proportions of the deer that once bore it the malibu ranch lies on the wild est cst part of the southern california coast about 35 miles above santa monica so wild and so lettla tray trav aled by nian man la Is this country that cop net nei a party saw riot not a soul sae the grizzled old mountaineer with whom they boarded during the entire length ot of their stay the days day s trip had been a long hard bard one said copner and we re were nere not exactly looking tor for game or ex when hen we wound down tho the narrow trail toward the dexter cabin it was about eight 0 clock and dark as pitch I rear the gate Is a giant oak tree with low lor rambling branches As I 1 p passed abst d under it I 1 heard a strange relt rat tieng noise in the limbs and leaves overhead with a glance upward I 1 saw the dark head of a mountain lion moe out along a large limb and could dimly see the huge body ot of the cat creeping after it seemed that I 1 could see the flash of his white teeth in the darkness and I 1 could feel the low savage snarl he let go when hen he saw me instantly I 1 jumped a heavy paw grazed my shoulder dragging my coat to the ground cutting the flesh through the heavy clothing I 1 wore and a long lithe object landed on the ground beside we me almost exact exactly 13 in deed on the spot where I 1 had bad been standing I 1 could not have been more than eight feet away and I 1 lost no iio time in bringing the SO 10 30 into play I 1 emp tied six shots in the of the darl dark object at the third of these I 1 heard a wild snarl saw the black body launch itself through the air directly toward me and had bad just pros pres ence of mind eno agh to tall fall flat on the ground I 1 could feel the wind caused by the great beast in passing and I 1 have no doubt I 1 v was as as aa pale as a ghost the moment ho be went over me I 1 seemed to feel rather thant than hear bear the great beat beast bea t light on the ground beyond me and with a bound gained the shelter of the side hills bills brushy tangle from whence I 1 suppose he be came late that night might when ahen the moon had come out and the fog had fallen a bit the hunters went out again but could find and no trace of the big cat next lay day there was a fiall of blood lead ing away from the scene of the encounter but this soon led into tough lough and rocky ground and could not be followed fol follow loRed ed with any degree of certainty so BO the chase was given up battle with the scavenger on the third day of their stay at the old ranch meat ran short and the party dividing into two bands struck bout to get a deer copner killed hilled a deer about a mile from camp and as the day was yet young determined to on in search of another buck to frighten away chance coyotes or other small animals from the carcass he be covered cohered it with ith his coat laying a red bandana f on the top of the pile ile he made a circuit of some two or three miles through the nearby can and coming down on his deer from above was surprised to see seated on the carcass a bird of the size of a full grown newfoundland dog lie ile recognized recognised the creature as one of the rare california condors or vultures which now and then appear in the coastwise hills and shouted to scare it from its feast which he could see was rapidly being torn to pieces to his shouts the great bird paid no attention lie ile walked nearer ani remembering stories he had heard of the ferocity ot of the glant giant vulture when angered copner fired a shot from his revolver over the birds head there Is a fine of some imposed for the killing of a condor and he be had bad no desire to incur the penalty but he could not bear to see Ms his supper van lehong ishlon into the maw of the bird of prey still the condor failed to move but continued to tear at the deer from which it had bad by this time stripped the coat thrown over it tor for protection copner came nearer aul finally pick ing up a stone chiew it at the bird striking it on one wing evidently this roused the vultures wrath for spreading its great wings it rose with a loud hiss high into the air copner stepped forward to see what damage had bad been done to his quarry when hen without a sound save the rush of 0 air through its gibat pin ions the condor tell fell from the height to which it had bad ascended and struck the man squarely between the ders the while tearing at his head with beak and talons knocked down dovin by the force of the blow the hunter fell ell forward over the body of the deer and down into a lit tie gully doubtless this alone saed hla his life for had the great bird sue euc acceded in landing one blow on his skull with its heavy beak it must shiely have split his head bead wide open rolled into the gulch copner had presence ot of mind enough to lie still 4 i I 1 THE condor 01 ol 9 A for or a few moments then raising himself to a sitting posture he be saw the vulture its hideous head guined sideways the better to watch his hid ing place seated on a huge bowlder boulder just back of the body of the deer dropping down again copner reached tor for his rei revolver olver his rifle was lying beside the dead door deer and raising himself very cautiously from the gulch took a chance shot at the bird once again it rose into the heavens and once gain fell like A thunder bolt this time aiming at his head which he had carelessly exposed when the bird flew up ile he drew back just in time to escape the blow and then realized that it was now a fight for life between himself and the vulture thoroughly madd maddened ned by the loss of its meal again and again he be flied blied his revola er apparently without effe effect et at length he had but one cartridge I 1 left ft in the gun and debei mined to end the battle at once he sprang from bis place of concealment just as the bird alighted again on the bolder point blank he flied blied at the huge black form and this time the shot took effect in one wing so crippling the vulture that it could not fly copner rushed over to hla his rifle in tending to end the life of his toe foe when ben waddling and fluttering from its perch the vulture struck him again and again it seemed as if every chere he guined there was the great bird ills trousers soon in rib bons and the sharp beak of the bird made cruet cruel cuts in hits his legs and the lower part of his back As it stood up the condor a head bead reached far aboe his waist line and the battle in the face of so powerful and so heavy a blid was no light one at length however he succeeded in picking up his biffle and clubbing it struck the bird a powerful blow alongside the head even the vulture could not stand such a blow as this and fell oer dad or dying in the same little gully from which copner colimer had bad just crauley |
