Cougar Dave Collection
Photographs, correspondence, interviews, and scrapbook materials related to David Lewis (i.e. Cougar Dave) and Taylor Ranch.
Contents: About the Collection | About David (Cougar Dave) Lewis | Tech
About the Collection
This digital collection consists of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and legal documents related to David (Cougar Dave) Lewis, his ranch and cabin in the Idaho Primitive Area, and materials related to Jess and Dorothy Taylor’s purchase of Lewis’ ranch.
Items include the 1935 property purchase agreement between Lewis and Taylor, letters from hunters referring to Lewis as “Uncle Dave,” newspaper clippings Lewis kept, photographs and interviews of Jess and Dorothy Taylor, and correspondence regarding the University of Idaho’s purchase of Taylor Ranch, now the Taylor Ranch Wilderness Station.
Lewis’ papers were originally contained in a tin box left behind at Lewis’ ranch after he left in 1936. In 1969, Jess and Dorothy Taylor donated the papers to the University of Idaho College of Forestry, which in turn gave the materials to the U of I Library.
About David (Cougar Dave) Lewis
Although very little is known about David Lewis’ early life, conversations with Jess Taylor revealed some facts: David Lewis served in the Civil War, scouted for Captain Benteen at the Battle of Little Bighorn, and was in charge of the ammunition train during the Sheepeater Campaign of 1879. Around 1870, David Lewis settled in the Big Creek area where he lived alone for 50 years in the Idaho wilderness and occasionally acted as a guide to hunting parties.
In 1910, Lewis was named a predatory animal hunter by the Forest Service. He subsequently gained the nickname, “Cougar Dave,” killing over 1,000 cougars in his lifetime. In the fall of 1934, Jess Taylor met Dave Lewis and purchased Lewis’ ranch. After staying with the Taylor’s the following winter, Lewis returned back to the ranch in spring of 1936. At 93 years old, he left his ranch alone and died of pneumonia after reaching Cascade, Idaho.
This about page has been adapted from the finding aid by Judith Nielsen.
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Technical Credits - CollectionBuilder
This digital collection is built with CollectionBuilder, an open source framework for creating digital collection and exhibit websites that is developed by faculty librarians at the University of Idaho Library following the Lib-Static methodology.
Using the CollectionBuilder-CSV template and the static website generator Jekyll, this project creates an engaging interface to explore driven by metadata.