e resisted, was desperate heavy; but at
last I got him so far down the declivity that he lost his balance, and
he rolled over and over till he landed on the margin of the river; but
in his fall he dragged me along with him. Fortunately, I fell
uppermost, and his neck presented a fair mark for my hunting-knife.
Without allowing myself time even to draw breath, I aimed one desperate
blow at his neck, and the knife entered his gullet up to the handle,
and reached his heart. He struggled for a few moments and died. I have
had many fights with bears, but that was mere child's play. This was
the first fight ever I had with a cougar, and I hope it may be the
last."

Crockett, breathless and bleeding, but signally a victor, took quiet
possession of the treetop, the conquest of which he had so valiantly
achieved. He parted some of the branches, cut away others, and
intertwining the softer twigs, something like a bird's nest, made for
himself a very comfortable bed. There was an abundance of moss, dry,
pliant, and crispy, hanging in festoons from the trees. This, spread in
thick folds over his litter, made as luxuriant a mattress as one could
desire. His horse-blanket being laid down upon this, the weary
traveller, with serene skies above him and a gentle breeze breathing
through his bower, had no cause to envy the occupant of the most
luxurious chamber wealth can furnish.

He speedily prepared for himself a frugal supper, carried his saddle
into the treetop, and, though oppressed with anxiety in view of the
prospect before him, fell asleep, and in blissful unconsciousness the
hours passed away until the sun was rising in the morning. Upon
awaking, he felt very stiff and sore from the wounds he had received in
his conflict with the cougar. Looking over the bank, he saw the dead
body of the cougar lying there, and felt that he had much cause of
gratitude that he had escaped so great a danger.

He then began to look around for his horse. But the animal was nowhere
to be seen. He ascended one of the gentle swells of land, whence he
could look far and wide over the unobstructed prairie. To his surprise,
and not a little to his consternation, the animal had disappeared,
"without leaving trace of hair or hide." At first he thought the
mustang must have been devoured by wolves or some other beasts of prey.
But then it was manifest they could not have eaten his bones, and
something would have remained to indicate the fate of the poor