The Portland daily press., 1868-03-21

10 ann was crazy expedltlon; soon
came in sight Of my white umbrella. which
stlll stood where had pitched It, and In halt
an hour more was making fast the birch at
the the old place, with the important varia-
tiou of tyinG instead of heaching her. Then
with beating hsart and my revolver at a
full cock, made my way cautiously up the
beach. All was quiet; my easel had, howey-
err. been upset, and at the first glance | exult-
ell to see TO see that my sketch was right
side up. My eyultation was premature, for
on examination l found that the broad paw
of panther had been set fairly on the can
vass, making blot seven inches wide, with
well-detined claw points.
After examining this rather disheartening
sign manual. set up my easel and began a
new sketch. did not get along with it very
fast owing to the unceasing watch which L
kept on all SIDES, and to the constant inter-
ruptions caused by chance noises. 1t sui
lacked about an hour OF my former WISH,
when NY keenly alive ears caught the sound
of a stealihy tread. l instantly raced IN the
direction Of the sound, sketch-pook aU manu-
and revolver all ready. In moment she
came out from behind an intervening rock,
and heartily wished myself safe on the wa
fer AGAIN. for she carried, cat-lIke, III her
mouth a cub of a few weeks growth, while
another bIundered along in front of her.
When she saw me she dropped her burden,
and bounding over her young ones looked for
a moment as savage as you can imagine. the
heir on her back reversed, her eyes Itching,
every movement indicating a determination
TO fight 1t necessary ! being the objective
oil this demonstration. did not admire her
looks, aud was preparing Tor defensive meas
ures, when she seemed to recognize her tor
mer acquaintance, snCothed her rnffled
"back-hair." and presently lay down where
| she stood, while the cubs, full OF kitten like
| play, rolled over one another with growls OF
make believe rage.
''As soon as dared take my finger off the
trigger my pencil was at work. and soon Sc
| cured one OF the sketches which you have
| seen. Madame Panther, whose maternal So
! licitude had not permitted her to pulr as yet,
| speedily found Ter couch too shady and
rough, and after while led her family to the
| sun burnt patch OF grass, where in Jew
minutes she was purring away with as much
satisfaction as tabby by the kitchen fire.
! With the restlessness Of a wild creature she
now and then shifted her position. thus CIV
.ns me opportunities TO sketch her in vdrl-
Gus attitudes, which you may be sure | i'm
proved.
At lat all three Of them went sound asleep,
the cubs curling themselves against their
mothers breast in a group which could not
have improve bp posing. When had care
fully worked up this last group, and made
i notes OF the color, / became aware that night
was approaching, and the question OF getting
away presented itself. / fingered my revoly-
yer, but besides the danger, almost amount
Ing 20 certainty. OF not killing at the first fire,
| had feeling that il was taking an unfair
advantage OF perfectly polite female to
shoot her when She was sleeping with her
family. She soon solved the difficulty by
waking up, and Just as the chill airs of even
4 inc began 10 creep from lake and forest she
led her cubs back among The rocks. l gath
cred up my traps as quickly and quietly as
possible, and was glad enough 10 be dozen
yards nom shore when my gentle friend Of
The sunny afternoon hours appeared on the
beach, in quite a fury at nv bavine
dared to move. watched her until it was
too dark to see her motions, and then pad.
died TO camp. where found nv guide with a
| flie saddle OF moose meat, on which we sup
| ped while ! narrated my adventures. finding
an increduous auditor. until l showed my
sketch with the loot priats on it. This he
at once acknowledged as proof, and began
Immediately to clean his rite, "ior,' said he
"the burned critter may scent the meat to.
night, AMI painters sometimes hunt in
couples"
sue enough, the male panther found us
out that night, whether BY scent or other
wise 4 do not know, for cats are said to de.
pend on sight in their hunting excursions
Al any rate there is his hide by the lounge
yonder with rifle ball in head and a
reyolver-bullet. just for show, In the region
| OF the heart. We made one or two unsuc.
cessiul expeditions after my panther and
| cubs, tor tue raid on our camp by the pdteI-
tamitias destroyed my respect for the rest OF
he family; but we never could find them, so
can only hope that they have lived virtu-
I Gus live or died natural deaths.