| Show interesting story sto ry of a lion hunt in the kaibab forest ut tl r 11 I 1 ill the following story atory hunting llona lions in the kalbac published irs in the outdoor lite life and outdoor recreation Ile crea aloa will be ot of interest to the people of this district as the characters are all well known especially the guides and trappers mr ivey has haa given us permission to publish the story by paul W ivey vey Cou cougar garl Cou cougar garl the shrill cry rent tile the crisp morning air as we tumbled from our blankets to tind find breakfast break brea fait kfaft prepared and the horses saddled for our first daya hunting nolle of its ua had done much sleeping that first night in camp bit wo had developed appetites which made madd the hot cakes disappear with lightning like rapidity even tho the cook who had grown hard with appetites of hunting parties admitted a that vo ve hung up a now new record thit first morning early march in the balban Kal tj at an nl al of feet has a tang in the air which makes strenuous exercise a pleasant anticipation and after that th it wonderful ond erful feat ot of culinary art with one accord we were tu to get away on oil the great adventure capturing the most cunning wild animal on the north american Amerlean continent but before we get to hunting let me introduce the hunters our tamp population embraced eight people seven dogs and fourteen horses four veterans comprised the hunting party howard walker gaylord michigan lout loula walker st ignace michigan and mrs ivey and the author from los angeles the party of 0 the second part consisted of jack butler guide and hla his wife kanab utah jim do de long guide kanab utah and alvin judd cook and wrangler fredonia Fre donla arizona Ail zona our camp was named three canyon camp by virtue ot of its being bounded on three sides by canyons five miles to the south yawned dawned tho the deepest gash in the e entire earths crust grand canyon indescribable incomprehensible overpowering 6 5 miles to the east the rolling plateau ot of and I 1 oak met the sinister out reaching outreaching arms ot of kanab canyon desolate repelling threatening a quarter of 0 a mile ot of treacherous debe descent debrent ent 4 miles to the north lay kowats canyon an enormous nearly inaccessible weirdly colored den of lions on this plateau partially surrounded by canyons the lions roamed at night making their kills of deer and then laying up in some secluded spot for the day or as was usually tho the case returning to their inaccessible caves in tho the walls ot of the canyons A more rugged and precipitous hunting ground could not be imagined I 1 we mounted our horses that bright march morning coming completely at peace with the tha world our enthusiasm and optimism was waa evident evidently jy reflected by the hounds bounds which immediately set up a great racket pitched in a generous variety of keys keya about 3 miles north ot of camp the first lion trade track was f picked up by wrinkles what a thrill he gave us with that first deep full throated bloodthirsty yet yelps P I 1 low how I 1 it reverberated over the araga ra and through the cany cantonal canyon onal st dut but mr air lion wap wao no doubt at least an hour ahead of the hounds api and many cunning tricks could be ba played on them as we learned from bitter experience it was one cunning beast against another with the brains ol of man thrown into the scales against the killer but this was no time to soliloquize I 1 was already far behind the galloping horses and more distant baying rounds hounds over hills bills down valleys through thick hilek scrub oak and cactus that torn tora angrily at us as we passed A hundred sharp pointed lances seemed poised to pierce an unguarded spot up I 1 came with a jerk to find the party drawn up around jack who wari busily engaged in scanning the ground that blamed meat head never will learn he grunted with exasperation ile he boilers his head ott off on a backtrack back track now joe never would have done that it wrinkles called him off wo were bei be ginning to see that running a pack of hounds bounds was an art through this error on an the part of 0 wrinkles we had lost valuable abla tir time a e and had accomplished nothing back the way we came through thousands of 0 subtle ambushed devices tor for puncturing a rider or flattening him against his horse to the spot where wrinkles had gone wrong setting the tha dogs in the right direction they were off in a flash with terrifying vocal pyrotechnics with jack hard on their heels what a ride that wast over such terrain I 1 never would have believed it was possible for a horse to go down gravel slides so steep that the borss sat on their and slid tor for yards only to bring up sharp at still more precipitous slopes where a step to far presented possibilities to my imagination which made me want to change the subject but it was sport thrilling sport 1 along the rim of kowats canyon over the cornice of rocks down a series of treacherous sub eu portel by a thousand teet feet ot of rare atmosphere through a field ot of boulders we the size ot of houses another gravel slide and we were on the narrow floor ot of tho the canyon the lion was waa certainly leading us a merry chase A ride of 2 miles down the canyon brought us to the dogs who were quietly wandering aimlessly around while jack had dismounted and was wag scrutinizing the spot carefully I 1 wa was astonished at the calmness ot of th the scene after the terrific yelping and precipitous ride the matter I 1 gasped breathlessly its the running alge jack replied slowly with a quiet excited quality in his tone that chilled my continued on pago page eight LIONS ON KAIBAB FOREST FORCEST continued from page one blood iaea weve had him up before biow do you know I 1 inquired incredulously do you know his track no smiled jack whimsically 1 I can tell the way he be runs I 1 could hardly believe my cars I 1 lero here was a man who apparently knew tile llona lions by name although lie ho had bad never seen been them or could distinguish their tracks I 1 began to realize what the lions were up ui against the lion had backtracked ii himself thon leapt to td sonic some ledge edge and probably other ledges thereby destroying destroy lui g the scent here we had bad been hunting three hours only to have the trail vanish into thin air there was something to capturing those thesa llona lions after alli all I 1 in this dilemma lemmo dl wrinkles redeemed himself tor for hla his earlier error full ot of tremendous energy the big hound ran around arnd the spot in over ever widening widen circles up over the narrow ledges and steep canyon walls he mooed hla his way dock back over his trail again down into the canyon up the other side bide he circled the other dogs following at a distance in a hopeless ni manner anner excepting joo joe who nosed deliberately and calmly ly by himself bowl bowl ill never forget that deep full throated sinister call of wrinkles it still makes my blood run cold when I 1 hear bear it in memory how triumphant how relentless and final it sounded like the end of doom the listless pack were instantly transformed into flashing fiends making a din that crashed with cumulative force through tho the narrow canyon on the heels of wrinkles as they sped up the wall and over the rim all excepting one all eyes were riveted on him slowly nosing the trail over which tina the dogs does had just disappeared joes checking him up jack said proudly without lifting hla his gaze joe joes joea a got brains hell unravel unravel that trail lets eol up the wall ot of tho the canyon we we picked our way as rapidly as possible but it was slow alow work and by the time we topped the rim the dogs were out of 0 sound bound however jack seemed to know what direction they had taken for without hesitation he be headed for the top ot of the plateau shelving the rim for a mile we plunged through the buck brush panon and scrub oak when we were brought up suddenly by the appearance of joe and illch illco silently nosing a trail oft to the right while dimly in the distance wo we could hear bear wrinkles and occasionally the other hounds joes figuring it out said jack with that suppressed excitement in his bis voice which never failed to thrill me no sighed jack old moat meat head Is all right this time and was the first to pick up the trail again but he Is following all the curvet curves while joe and pico aro are using their heads as well as their noses and figuring figurin 9 out where all these figure eights lead well stay here the rest ot of the dogs will be back sure enough after a short time the roar of the pack increased in intensity and they were on us before wo we knew it back over the trail of joe and pico they went but before they reached them we heard a snort bustness like yelp followed by a 0 machine gun clatter of short howls jacks faco face tit up like a sunset as he be exclaimed teats joe its hot come on oil fact ile he was out of sight in a flash through the buck brush aud pinon we tore tare and were torn dodging the worst of the obstacles and tor for the rest protecting our faces acea and trusting that our knees would not hit anything uncompromising out at the base of a thousand foot rocky slope wo we emerged and could just discern jack galloping over the summit while thedoes the dogs could now be plainly heard we all sensed that the chase must bo be getting pretty licit hot we had learned to apreci appreciate ate the running tige as we had now been running him tor for nearly seven hours it the dogs could only got to the rim before he did I 1 I 1 found myself in a cold sweat urging poor ches to the limit and taking chances with tooting footing that now snakes me shudder louder and louder came the he baying of the hounds down we crashed toward the canyon over a gully eully oft off a ledge edge of rock through a tangle of pinion when such a bedlam gree greeted ted us that it followed mela me in my dreams tor for several nights after the togs were around a large pinon barking as it they would split their lungs joe was waa climbing up the tree front from limb to limb and when within 16 feet of the ground began crawling out on a branch on the farther end of which was a crouching form come back joe come back yelled jack as joe actually got within striking distance of the lion the lat tor tar growling and striking with a huge paw within 6 inches of joes nose but joe hear he was waa wild with hate and we all held our breaths for a minute as death seemed imminent tor for the best dog in tile pack TO BE CONTINUED |
