84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 31, 1993 a farm jjj^K Joyce Bnpp '^'aHßl -And other hazards The cry of a kitten, that’s what sounded like. In the shadowy darkness of ear ly morning, I listened for a repeat of whatever had wakened me. The Farmer stirred, also awake. “Do you think the bobcat’s back?” I whispered to him. About 10 yards from where we slept on the screened sleeping porch, an injured mule deer fawn recuperated in a sturdy, wire en closure. After tumbling over a high cliff upriver probably es caping a predator the fawn had been rescued from a pile of river rocks by a group of white-water rafters. Its injured leg and man gled rump were healing nicely, af ter examination and treatment by a later group of rafters six veter inarians. Faced with the choice of letting the spotted fawn die, or bottle feed it as she had so many calves over the years, our daughter was raising the orphan here at the ranch. In fact, the fawn had become the major attraction at Kirkwood Historic Ranch, Idaho, in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Hells Canyon is the deepest gorge in North America and incredi bly isolated. Travel is limited, by river on tourist jetboats that skip over the Snake’s dozens of turbu lent, white-water rapids, or rubber rafts that plummet through them. Roads are almost non-existent in the canyon’s 100-mile wild riv er stretch. Trails two feet wide and either blasted from the sides of sheer rock cliffs or clinging to steep, brushy slopes are as high as 400 feet above the waters of the Snake. They are surpassable by foot (do not look down!) or by ex tremely sure-footed horses or mules. Rattlesnakes, scorpions and black widow spiders are among the canyon’s year-round nNEW HOLLAND PLANT STORE 403 South Custer Avenue New Hollend, PA • (717) 354-5600 Monday thru Thursday 8 s.m. - 6 p.m Friday 8 a.m. • 9 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. TUeaver (plant seconds) , 22 oz. retail box QY t\f\ (reg. retail 4.39*4.99) V * • vu PREMIUM CjjgS CHICKEN NUGGET FRITTERS 4 Lb. Bag (Fully Cooked) "residents.” For the second summer, our daughter and her husband were living here, working as rangers for the U.S. Forest Service at this his- - toric site. No longer an operating ranch, Kirkwood is tribute to a way of life that tough sheep ranch ers scrabbled from an incredibly harsh and isolated world unto it self. Neither the small museum they tend, nor the snug little house in which they live, has electricity or phone. They love it. So did we in the few days we’d been here. And now, on this last night of our stay, we puzzled at what had wakened us. Was the bobcat back that had days before come hungri ly snooping at the fawn’s cage in broad daylight? The Farmer snatched the flashlight kept near by, eased through the door to the small porch outside and gasped one adrenalin-spiked word. “COUGAR!” Streaking to the bedroom across the hall, I hammered on what I hoped was a door, calling our son in-law. In split seconds, six of us DUTCH FRYE BREASTS $9.95 watched, dumbstruck, at the dra ma unfolding yards away. The cougar, dead fawn in mouth, was trying to escape the wire cage. Our son-in-law breathlessly uttered a phrase he’d repeat numerous times; "Man, that’s a BIG cat!” Though it seemed minutes, the huge cat fled the pen in probably 30 seconds, easily clearing the fiye-foot-high garden enclosure adjoining the fawn’s pen. Hover ing together we turned the light on my watch: 3:40 a.m. No one volunteered to go in vestigate. Brushy, rocky canyon walls frame the very edge of the lawn. Returning to sleep seemed impossible: The Farmer kept jumping up every 10 minutes to spotlight the stretch of lawn. A bit braver in sunsplashed daylight, we surveyed the killing scene. The heavy fencing was buckled and pushed inward on all sides, and the top mashed where the cougar had jumped up on top. From there, it leaped down into LANCASTER mam OUTLET STORE ■g| 1941 Lincoln Hwy. East Lancaster, PA 17602 • (717) 392-0635 Monday thru Wednesday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Thursday thru Saturday 8 a.m. • 8 p.m. to Limit Quantities • Not Responsible for Typograpl CHICKEN w/CHBESB FRANKS 1 Lb. Package $1.59 LESS THAN s Vi PRICE! BUY ONE (GET ONE \ FREE! All-Plant LIQUID PLANT FOOD 9-18-9 PLUS OTHERS! • Contains 100% white ortho phosphoric acid. Made in USA. • Non-corrosive. Won't settle. • Top quality. Excellent service. • Newest equipment. • Financially sound... and growing! □ I sell to farmers. How do I become your distributor? □ I'm a farmer. What's the price? Where do I get it? CALL or SEND FOR FACTS: Phone 814-364-1349 ALL-PLANT LIQUID PLANT FOOD, INC. 821 Stateßd.sl IN., RFD 3, Ashland, Ohio 44805 Country FROZEN CHICKEN Pride BREAST TENDERS (Fresh when Frozen) QO ACk Approx. VA lb. tray pack p. r ib the adjoining, fenced garden. An ally ripping a comer of the wire loose from the post holding the fence between the two enclosures. In the process, it mashed their on ion patch and left behind paw prints as wide as The Farmer’s big hands. Telltale bits of beige fur clung to numerous spots on the wire. Later that day, we had to leave the canyon to return home. Our son-in-law accompanied us part way downriver, having overnight business to attend to, leaving our daughter to hold down Kirkwood Ranch. Alone. Left behind when the cougar Aed hours before was the dead fawn. Though we disposed of its body, we all knew the probability of the cat returning again that night. No one said much about it but we all knew. Leaving Kirkwood Historic Ranch in Hells Canyon was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Big Demand Requires More Distributors! EPHRATA OUTLET 290 S. Reading Rd. (Rt. 272} Ephrala, PA • (717) 738-3095 Monday thru Thursday 9 a.m. • 6 p.m. Friday 9 a.m. • 9 p.m. A Saturday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. I Errors • We Accept Food Stamps TOY ONE GET ONE! LFREE!
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers