Robert McKinnon and John F. Spencer’s Miraculous Survival of a Mountain Lion Attack

While woodcutting near Bear River, Robert McKinnon and John F. Spencer were stalked by a mountain lion. McKinnon fired at the lion, wounding it but failing to incapacitate it, which enraged the animal, causing it to chase Spencer. Spencer ran to a ledge of rocks for safety. As the lion leaped toward him, Spencer fired five shots from his rifle, all entering the lion's breast, eventually killing the beast. The lion was large, measuring over seven feet in length.

Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 50, No. 8, 20 February 1888, p. 126):

A mountain lion, measuring over seven feet in length, was killed near Randolph, Utah, on the 20th of January, by Robert McKinnon and John F. Spencer. The men were wood-cutting near Bear River, when they were stalked by the animal. McKinnon fired at it, wounding it, but not disabling it, and it turned its attention to Spencer, who ran to a ledge of rocks for safety. As the lion leaped toward him, Spencer fired five shots from his rifle, all of which entered the beast's breast, and it fell dead.