Big game hunting was a major attraction in this area long before Sullivan County was formed in 1809, but while deer and bear still abound in the region, there is no longer the wide assortment of game that once challenged the skill of those brave enough to foray into the deep woods.

Foxes, wolves, lynx, and the most dreaded of all predators, panthers, were once found in great numbers in the area, and all made the deer their prey.

Stephen Crane, who was an avid and skilled hunter as well as one of the great American authors, insisted that “so far as known, the last of the panthers which were once plentiful in this part of the country was killed in 1820,” but by some accounts the elusive cats were again seen in great number during the hunting season of 1880, though it is not recorded whether any were taken that year.

    
“Hunters in the Upper Delaware region may have an opportunity this fall to encounter game that only the oldest residents of the county remember hunting,” the New York Times reported in a November 8, 1880 article. “There are well-founded reports that a panther has made his appearance in the woods along the Beaver Kill. Catamounts have not been so numerous and bold for years, and the dreaded lynx has made its presence known in the Black Lake region. The appearance of these animals, all deadly enemies of the deer, is certain evidence that their prey is here in unusual numbers this season.”

The Times article did not provide any specific details of the alleged panther sightings, but did relate a number of incidents in which men encountered “catamounts,” a term usually used to describe a mountain lion or cougar or panther, but which the paper apparently used to denote the much smaller wild cat, and of at least one encounter with a group of lynx.

“Albert Libold, of Forestburgh, was passing through a wild part of that township, three miles from Mongaup Valley, a few days ago,” the paper reported. “Suddenly an animal as large as a half-grown Newfoundland dog, with sharp, upright ears, a short, erect tail, and glaring eyes confronted him in the old wood road, along which he was walking. 

“Libold was unarmed, but carried a stout hickory cudgel which he had picked up in the road and used as a cane. A mile further on, a man by the name of James Van Keuren lived, while to go back Libold would be obliged to go three miles before he could reach a clearing. He concluded to take the chances on reaching Van Keuren’s.

“He took a step forward and found that the animal retreated, but still showed no inclination to flee. It circled around Libold, forcing him to walk backward at times in order to keep his face to it. He had proceeded in this way a few rods when the animal that was disputing his way was joined by three more, all smaller, but exactly like the first. It now required all the activity and tact of Libold to avoid the animals. They kept him constantly jumping about to prevent an attack from behind.

“He was afraid to strike any of them with his club, as that might precipitate an attack on him from which he could not escape. He swung the cudgel constantly about him and kept up a continual bellowing. Frequently, he would make a sudden advance upon the animals, when they would hastily retreat for a few steps and then crouch down as if awaiting the expected assault. 

“Libold had managed to get forward nearly half-a-mile in this manner, but the constant physical effort and the trying nature of the situation on his nerves and mind began to tell on him, and he despaired of being able to reach a place of safety. He made up his mind that the tactics of the animals were to exhaust him and then finish their work by springing upon him and tearing him to pieces. Fortunately, the cries made by Libold were finally heard by Van Keuren, who was working in a field. He went at once to see what caused them. He met Libold fighting his way along the road. His appearance on the scene seemed to be more than the animals expected, and they all entered the woods and made their way leisurely toward a swamp in the vicinity.

“The animals that so stubbornly contested Libold’s way were undoubtedly lynx, the first that have been seen in Sullivan County for 30 years.”

The Times article also retold the stories of some of Sullivan County’s greatest panther hunters, including Nelson Crocker, Cyrus Dodge, and Peter Stewart, all of whom killed their last panthers in 1820 or before, but does not mention Calvin Bush, considered by some to be the most skilled panther hunter of all.

“Bush was a clear-headed, nervous-limbed, muscular hunter, who was as good for his inches as any man in the county,” Crane related in his 1892 sketch, “The Last Panther.”

“He had a dog that was nearly as famous as himself. He had many adventures with the animals (panthers), and killed a large number of them.

“The people around Monticello were disturbed by two of these animals which used to prowl around in the night and cry like children. They sent for Bush and his famous ‘painter dog.’ The hunter chased and overtook the animals in a swamp and killed them both.”

    
By 1880, the Times noted, “scores of sportsmen from New York City” were making Monticello their temporary homes, seeking deer, bear, fox or wild cat, but fearing an encounter with the largest of local cats, no doubt fervently hoping that Stephen Crane was right about the last panther.

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.