Nearly fifty years ago I saw what I was sure was a black Panther in North Texas. Nobody would ever believe me. It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned there are some black cats in Texas. I don't recall what they are called and they are very rare.
When I was in high school Roy Swann was the outdoor editor of the Corpus Christy Caller and was associated with a Black cat club or society due to the history of such a high number of people in S. Texas who reported seeing large, non-existant black cats in the brush country.
Before that, I was in jr high and followed the RR tracks a few miles east of Beeville one morning with my pellet gun one spring morning.There was a shallow bottom with oaks a few of us kids had killed squirrels in. Before getting there I saw a black cat with a long tail in the edge of a plowed pasture. It appeared the size of a big bobcat.
Many years later out of Refugio, with a summer job as a pusher for JP Johnston and Son oilfield construction and maintenance I was driving a trailer load of trash a few miles out of town to the city dump. The road went through as thick a brush country as exists as it parallels the Mission river. In a low spot a large black cat with a long tail flashed across the road and jumped the fence.
By that time in life I had killed a lot of deer in central, east and south Texas and a few coyotes and bobcats and hogs and javelina hunting on foot and on my own. I figure that kit must have weighed 70-80 lbs.
Those from near Corpus may be interested in researching the club and history of such in the 60's.
