Rufus (Caxton Classics)

RUFUS is a wildlife story laid in the Rocky Mountains of the West. It is the story of a young bobcat and his struggle to survive in the wilderness.

The reader first meets Rufus as a lone, wandering youngster who has just left his mother and now has to depend upon himself for food and shelter. Now that he is out on his own, Rufus begins living his life the only way he knows how, by hunting. He stakes out a territory and becomes a skillful hunter, preferring to make his meals of brush rabbits and fat mice. Rufus, like all other wild animals is forced to obey the laws of the wild that decree that the strong shall survive to maintain the balance of nature.

As Rufus grows and matures he has number of exciting adventures including an encounter with a party of hunters and a pack of hounds, a flash flood, the raiding of a sheep camp, an avalanche, a struggle with a porcupine, a narrow excape from a pack of hungry gray wolves, and the search for a mate.

Eventually Rufus finds a mate and settles down to the responsibilities of a family. He now must find food for more than just himself. Feeding a family becomes a real struggle as times become difficult when a rabbit plague occurs and forces the bobcat family to exist at the starvation level.

Throughout this thrilling story, Mr. Montgomery's observations and descriptions paint an interesting and accurate picture of the habits and traits of a bobcat and his family. RUFUS is a book to be read and enjoyed by nature lovers of all ages.