PREFACE.
After the widespread researches of S. N. Rhoads it might be said that there is little left to write on concerning Pennsylvania wild cats. However, there have been changes in the numbers and the future prospects of these most persecuted animals since “Mammals of Pennsylvania and New Jersey” appeared in 1903. In addition to offering a brief for the protection of the lynxes, space will be devoted in the following pages to the noble sport of cat hunting, and the bold spirits who took a leading part in the chase in Pennsylvania, past and present. But the main idea of this book is to obtain for the wild cats, now on the verge of extinction, a re-hearing on the trumped-up evidence against them—so that they may get another chance. Let us preserve this picturesque and useful mammal for future generations.
Henry W. Shoemaker.
Altoona Tribune Office, February 15, 1916.