Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1854-07-27

was not right spread in the water
before | heard a plump, and looking
back, saw the pant her had left tn.
log, and taken to the water, tool
At first thought he was after me;
drew my knife with o ne hand, while
SWAN with the other. But the pan
ther did mot mean to be quarrelsomt
/ that time He made but poo
swimming himself, and appeared glat
enough to get upon dry groun(
without molesting me, SO We swan
on, side by side, aud not a word
passed between Us. | did not want
to make a race Of it, SO | let him
pass me, rather than that he should
fall behind, and get among my legs
or course he landed first; audi could
hear by the stamping of hoofs, that
his sudden.appeararce bad kicked up
a jolly stampede among. Ithe crea-
lures upon the island. / could see
both de- er and mare dancing all over
the ground, as if Old Nick himself
had gdt among them. None Of
them, h owever, thought of taking to
the water. They had all had enough
of that, ! guess. | kept rather near,
SO as I'd land nigh the panther; and
then, 4 puching bottom, | climbed
quietly up on the mound had
hardly drawn my dripping carcass
out Of the water, when / heard a
loud sqaeal, which knew TO be the
whine of d ny old mare; a nd just at
that minute the creature came run
ming up, and rubbed her nose against
my shoulder. ] look the halter in
my b ilnd, and siding round a little,
/ jun ped upon her back, for still
was in fear Of the panther; aud the
mares back appeared to me the safest
place about; and that wasn't very
safe, imagine.
q now looked all round TO see
what new company had got into. =
The day was just breaking, and |
could distinguish a little better
every minute. The top of the mound,
which was above water, was not over
half an acre in size, aud It was as
clear from timber as any other part
Of the prairie; SO that / could see
every inch Of it, and everything on
it as big us a tumble-bug. ] SUP
pose stranger, that you will hardly
believe me when | tell YOU the con-
Of veTmltl that was then
and there congregated together. |
could hardly believe my own eyes
when beheld such gathering, and
thought | had got aboard Of Noah s
Ark. There was listen, stranger
-firstmy old mRre and myself, and
| wished all Of US anywhere else at
the time then there Was the pau
her, our old acquaintance then
there was the deer, buck aud three
loes. Then came a cltamonnt; and
after him black bear, almost as
arge as a buffalo. Then there was
.he racoon, an opossun, and a
couple Of grey wolves, and swamp
,abbit, aud d IN the thing-a
sinking polecat. Perhaps the latter
vas not the most dangerous vermin
On the ground, but it certainly
was the most disagreeable Of the
whole lot, for it smelt only as an ac
cursed pelican can smell.
81 have said, stranger, that | was
taken by surprise when 1
first saw this curious sclanjamlrey'
If creatures; but l can tell you l
Was sill more dumfoundered when l
3aw their behaviour to one another,
knowing their different natures as 1
did. There was. the panther lying
up close to the deer-its natural
prey; and there we're the wolves too;.
and there was the catamount stand
ing within three feet Of the opos-I
sum and the swamp rabbit: and there
was the bear aud, cunning old coon;
aud there they all were, no more
one another than if they
had spent all ttfeir days together IN
the same den. 1T was the oldest
sight / ever beheld; and it reminded
me sof a bit Of scripture my old
mother had often read from a book
called tho Bible--about lion that
was SO ia me be used to squat down
beside lamb Without laying a claw
upon the innocent creature. Well,
stranger, as I am saying, the whole
party behaved in this very way
They oil appeared to be down 10 the
mouth, and badly scared about the
s-faf.Hs+