A large mastiff dog was used to help tree the panther thought responsible, and was shot. One morning Woodbridge excitedly reported to GoodrichвЂ™s father that some animal had gotten in, and killed most of the sheep. of Salem had bought 11 choice sheep and kept them behind a high fence by his house. A neighbor scared the animal away before it could finish its meal the sheepвЂ™s carcass was used as bait, to catch the panther.ДЄround 1809, Joseph Woodbridge Esq. Goodrich said he once saw a panther spring from a thicket and kill a sheep on a public road. They would often catch sheep in broad daylight. Panthers, Goodrich wrote, were more dreaded than wolves as the cat could climb over any fence that could be built. Phineas Teeple of Manchester Township is thought to have killed the last wolf in Wayne County. Wolves were especially hard to eradicate. Both sheep and young cattle fell prey to wolves, unless they were under constant watch.ДЄ law was passed March 10, 1806, requiring the county to pay the person producing the scalp of a full-grown wolf or panther, eight dollars, and and for the scalp of a young whelp or cub, four dollars, The bounty was raised on Mafor adult wolves and panthers to $12.00.ДЇarmers and hunters were thus encouraged by the bounties, and waged war on these beasts. The first settlers were required to keep sheep to supply their household with wool. Both wolf and panther were a threat to the farmer and family who carved a home in the ancient wilderness of the Poconos. Noted Wayne County historian, Phineas Goodrich of Salem Township, recorded in his 1880 book on local history that the common gray wolf was much more common. Before getting to Levi LabarвЂ™s story, we shall follow further on the trails of long ago, trod by the distinctive paw prints of mountain lions- as well as wolves. One of those meetings occurred in 1884 in the area of Purdytown, the original name of Lakeville, Paupack Township, Wayne County. Newspaper accounts from the late 19th century and early 20th century speak to us of the vestige encounters with great wild cats, that inhabited the dense virgin forests that covered the territory of Wayne and Pike counties, Pennsylvania, and beyond.Дespite the large scale cutting of the forest and advancing population, reports of the mountain lion- also called the catamount, panther, puma or wild cat- persisted into the 1900вЂ™s. Newspaper accounts from the late 19th century and early 20th century speak to us of the vestige encounters with great wild cats, that inhabited the dense virgin forests that covered the territory of Wayne and Pike counties, Pennsylvania, and beyond.

Pa mountain lion