Researching my Pennsylvania heritage, I came across this fascinating item. A catamount is a mountain lion. —KH
The New York Times, October 20, 1897
Valued Possessions of a Pennsylvania Woman Who is a Great Hunter.
Reading, Penn., October 19 – The sight of a woman dressed in pretty hunting costume, gun on shoulder, and two wildcats by her side, greeted a party of chestnut hunters on Neversink Mountain, near this city, yesterday morning.
The female Nimrod was Mrs. Helen Link, daughter of Charles Long, the trucker on White House Road, whose little farm produces each year a large amount of the finest truck raised in this section, although it is situated on this side of one of the stoniest hills in this neighborhood.
Mrs. Link derives great enjoyment from the hunt, and has been accustomed for some years to invade, unattended, the wildest haunts on the mountains in this section, in quest of game.
About a year ago, while on one of these trips near Joanna Heights, Berks County, she stopped to rest and inclined her gun against an old oak tree. Noticing a whole in the side of the trunk, she placed her hand into it, and was startled to have it slightly nipped.
Nothing daunted, she continued the investigation, and was rewarded by bringing from the hallow tree two tiny catamounts. She got them home without coming across the parent felines, fed, fondled, and cared for them in every way, and to-day, nearly full grown, they follow Mrs. Link and love her like a faithful dog would.
Her pets are male and female, the former named Josie, the latter Nancy. They are very tame and get along nicely with half a dozen dogs and a number of domestic cats, also pets of the household. Josie and Nancy frequently make trips over the mountains alone, and always return before nightfall. They respond when Mrs. Link calls them and are more than pleased when, one at a time, they are permitted to nestle in her lap.
© copyright 2004-2013 Jane Unger for the Berks County PAGenWeb Project unless explicitly otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
Unless indicated otherwise in a particular page carrying this copyright notice, permission to use, copy, and distribute documents and related graphics delivered from this World Wide Web server (http://berks.pa-roots.com/) for non-commercial use is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appears in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear. All other rights reserved. Jane Unger disclaims all warranties with regard to this information. The information described herein is provided as is without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.
Unless indicated otherwise in a particular page carrying this copyright notice, permission to use, copy, and distribute documents and related graphics delivered from this World Wide Web server (http://berks.pa-roots.com/) for non-commercial use is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appears in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear. All other rights reserved. Jane Unger disclaims all warranties with regard to this information. The information described herein is provided as is without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.
