The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1855-06-22

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and if they cannot win the game, at least,tol
|'play it out" knew one of this class, when
laying upon his death-bed, to order his bow
ie-knifc, pistols and rifle to be laid at his
side, that he might meet death Hwith bis
own TOOLS" and It was done. Uncle Bobby
was ''ail game" !" as they saw. Mono in War
rem tcounty was brayer,; none ON Skunk river
nadiess coward drops; so he resolutely drew
ms big spring kuife, braced himself upright,
and waited for the monsters descent, deter
mined ITO have the first blow.",if he died
for IT, a short siispense, and he was reliey-
led OF this difficulty, for the panther returned
ON the outside, evidently disappointed. An
ether Ten minutes It scratching, asd then
smother pause.
a change of tactics, and both sentinels.I
shifted position 10 other side of the tree, and
bent themselves anitealy to the ask. No.
body knows what hole they made Un-
Gle Bobby declared he could haye buried a
five year old in it without difficulty, and as
Jeremy bear testimony to the same effect,
we must believe it moro especially as my in
formant, whose word is worth a host of such,
corroborates The assertion.
The tree as l observed was a leaning one,
the sheer being toward the water : it was
old and rotten, and whether the panther
knew it or not, they were pursuing just the
fright plan to make it fall Crack went one of
the upper limbs, as it broke off, and with a
loud splash fell into the creek Snap went
one of the large roots, weakened by old age,
that had for a hundred, years helped to sus-
tain it from falIing-T'he thick cobwebs,.
loaded with spiders and piles ofrotten wood
that had accumulated on the inside of the
tree, began to fall upon them, and almost to
smother them with the dust. ..f. ,-.
The confined air was ufiocating-their
emotions intense and still hour after hour
the panthers worked on. The end was not
far oif--for now slowly and reluctantly at
first, then more and more rapidly: then with
the force and rush of an avalanche, down
came the old sycamore, covering the opposite
side of the creek with rotten wood, breaking
in the center, so as to throw the butt of the
tree high in tue air. Head-forward slid
Uncle Bobby, followed close by his nephew,
nor ceased his career until brought up in the
midst OF a colony of bats that had nestled a
foot thick in what wcs formerly the top of
the cavity. That bats can bite had long
been shrewdly suspected, but the individuals
above mentioned settled the question and
put it at rest forever.
Now Uncle Rohhy succeeded in hoistint.
himself foot foremost, encumbered as Ee was
by thezweight of his nephew, and punctared
as he was by a thousand rayenous bites, so
that he quite forgot that there was such a
thing as panther in existence; and when.
he felt his feet to be at the entrance, he in
eontinently shook off the bats, and sprung
to the ground, glad to get out on any terms
Rubbing the spiders and the webs from his
one eye, he stared around. The morning
was breaking the panthers gone, the keg
lay empty at his feet, the broken rifled at
his side, and his night of horrors was past.
In due season the tired pair arrived home
without a-drop of whisky, to meet the exc
cratons of score of men assembled accord
ing to appointment for the raising" But
| the hopes of a "painter hunt" speedily drove
the disappointment from their minds. X
Ina few hours large party or foot and
horseback, with ahundred powerful dogs,
were in hot pursuit. Icannot tell you the
detail perhaps in my series, may Include
,a"painter a hunt" for the present can only
say that the flushed faced man, with only one
coat sleeve and mutilated nose, who ran
so fast and swore so hard was Uncle Box,
Esq, that the boy by his side was Jeremy,
and that the two had the qualification before
lhight of measuring the claws of the two
monsters who had guarded them so zealous-
lly the night before. Until the hour of his
death these two wortliies slept together on
the tanned skin of the male, and if Jeremy
lis still living-whch is very likely, as the
fever and ague peyer kills any body---he will
be pleased to relete to you the whole story
of the Panther Sentinels. sesgt >
H. ---s<esS.A--- ="
A FRIEND at West Point tells us comical
anecdote of very diffident young clergy
man, who had been invited to dine with a
PROFESSIONAL who also kept young
lady's boarding-school. lie was introduced
10 bevy ofthe fair pupils in the drawing
room, and among them TO a Miss NJ, To
whoinshe said stan1neringly
A=a-a-a--Miss NJ, a-a-I-II am not
entirely unacquainted with you. Iii had
the honor Of sleeping with your father a
short time ago p5l saIalts s 5s
f this isn't a rich specimen of the art of
.scraping acquaintance we have never heard
Of one, 1t beatsspoo Power in the Man
| Of Nerve all to nothiug. )
l. = J. - . . VI