This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: sherrie25 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.missouri.counties.newmadrid/2238.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I don't know when the "wild" animals were driven away by the increasing human population in the area but there was an article printed in the Sikeston Herald on 2/10/1949 by Agatha W. Parks entitled "Town of Canalou Was Named By Pioneer Railroad Builder Louis Houck". The article is quite lengthy but a few sentences are as follows: In 1904...."wild and woolly in those days..." and "The timber was very thick and vast areas of wild cane was found in abundance. Various kinds of wild animals such as deer, bear, wolves, and wildcats lurked about in this dense forest." I know my ggrandmother's family moved to Canalou c.1900 and I was told that she remembered her mother crying all the way there (from Warrick County Indiana) because she didn't want to live in such a "wild" place. A stave mill was built in the local area in 1906 because there was such an abundance of timber. Apparently the mill was a big reason why many people came to the area. By 1925 most of the timber usable for staves had been exhausted and the mill closed down. My mother was born there in 1927 and she remembers mostly farmland. Certainly sounds like it's quite possible your mother's childhood memory was based on fact although that "panther" could have been a bobcat as well. They used to be quite numerous in the southern portion of the state and were frequently shot by farmers. Their numbers are currently between 10,000-18,000 statewide. Supposedly the last known wild native mountain lion in Missouri was killed in 1927. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.