34 The Night I shot A Cougar

After the cougar killed the deer by the raspberry patch and Roy got jumped it seemed that cougars were everywhere.  I guess our eyes were now open and we were even finding cougar tracks in the mud on the way to school.  In the daytime it was no big deal, but after dark it was scary to be out in the woods.  Not that the big cats had not always been around, but now I could imagine a cougar behind every tree. 

It had been years since Jim chased the cougar off with the stick but this particular dark evening I had decided to visit Jim’s son Ronnie who was my best friend. The Lamberts lived about 1mile south of where Roy had been attacked on his bicycle.

It was a Sunday evening with a light drizzle and a fog that hung close to the ground. So off I went with my 6 year old sister Karen, for moral support.  I was only 14 at the time, but with Karen by my side and my headlamp strapped to my hat, and a 12-gauge shotgun in my hand I was ready for anything.  My sister Karen and I took off at a fast walk through the dark with the headlamp casting its narrow beam through the heavy fog as I furtively looked this way and that.  We had not gone very far in fact it was just before a small creek with a wooden bridge, that I first noticed a pair of yellow eyes shining back at me in the headlamp’s beam.  I was a bit startled but we carried on.  We crossed the bridge and were climbing up a steep hill when the beam caught the eyes shining back at us again.  My fear was mounting with tingles going up and down my spine.  I was not a quitter and saying nothing to Karen continued on when again the yellow glow appeared in the light of the beam.  My nerves were now slowly starting to completely unravel.  Not wanting to run without giving this situation my best shot, that’s what I did.  I shakily raised the shotgun and with terror in my heart pulled the trigger.  The gun went off with a blast, followed with a screaming hissing sound as only a cat could make in the mortal agony of death.  I turned and took off running as if the demons of hell were about to grab me, but suddenly remembered my sister.  Looking back I saw my petrified little sister doing her best to keep up.  With terror still in my heart I realized I had to save her, or never show up at home, ever again.  Running back I grabbed her hand and literally dragged her the rest of the way home.

We arrived home completely winded and our breath coming in great gasps.  My parents had not heard the gun go off but breathlessly I told them, “I shot a cougar, I shot a cougar!” I will never know if my dad really believed me but the next day as soon as we were able my dad went with me to see what I believed would be a cougar lying dead along side of the road .  And sure enough there it was, a cat, in fact, our neighbors beloved 20 lb. tomcat, Twigs.

It wasn’t until a few days later that I learned that it was Twigs, so with a trembling heart, the remains of Twigs and I paid Mr. and Mrs. Simons a visit to apologize, and to give them an opportunity to obtain closure for the demise of poor old Twigs.