The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1869-03-25
A Terrible Fight With Wildcats.

OVER in Sullivan county, along the
Neversink, is little settlement know as
Eden-so named, probably, as a kind Il
compensation for being as unlike tina
primitive Eden as one could readily i'm
agine. One of the celebrities of the neigh
bOrhOod is Jonas Brooks, a thorough. 90
| ing backwOodsman, q terror to all sorts of
wild "varmint that prowl about that
part of the country, and particularly to
wildcats, which are his especial aversion.
The number OF wildcats which he has
killed is immese-sO many that he is
known everywhere about that region by
the sObriQuet of" Jonas Brooks, the Wild
eat Killer of Eden" His various exploits
and adventures in that line, if properly
written up, would make book of thrill
ing Interest," worthy companion to
tom Quick, the Indian Slayer"
Some few weeks ago Jonas espied one
of these hated felines while going through
a piece of woods, and, true to his instinct,
he made after the animal without stop
ping to consider that he was unarmed-
not even having jack-knife about him
He followed it until it retreated to q sort
of cavern in the rocks, where Jonas made
up his mind to go in and capture the
varmint" So, picking up tough hick
ory club, he proceeded to enter the cave.
Alter passing the entrance, to his sur
prise he found quite lofty cavern, extend
ing back some thirty feet, and in the fur
thest extremity glowed not only one, but
half dozen pairs of ferocious eyes, which
betOkened warm work for another in
truder. Jonas was undoubtedly "some
thin took back" as he expressed il, ~ the
sight of SO mony glistening eyes fixed
upon him, but as il was not in his nature
to retreat under any circumstances, be
cautiously advanced into the cave
He soon discovered that he had walked
into real litter of wildcats = two old
ones and four young ones-aud about the
time he had got through counting them
the biggest one of the six went for him. ="
Throwing himself back in the angle of
the cavern, the herculean backwoodsman
met the ferocious monster with a well
swung blow from his cudgel, which rather
"wilted the animal" for a moment but
before Jonas had time fairly TO recover
himself from the first onslaught the other
old cat made a dive at him, catching on
his right hand and shoulder, and almost
rendering him pOwerless, so terrible was
the grip of the monsters C'aws.
With his left hand. however, Jonas
after desperate struggle succeed
ed in shaking him off Jonas now thought
that discretion in such case might be the
better part of valor," and accordingly
began to consider the chances in his mind
"in about the millionth part of a second"
he said, and came to the conclusion that
it wouldn't do for him to leave the little
angle in which he was so well posted
Both of the old wildcats. meanwhile,
were lashed into n state of the most in
tense ferOcity, their eyes glaring like Goals
of fire, and their hair literally standing on
end. And to add to Jonas discontinue,
the four young Ones-which, although
only Kittens" were not exactly of the
kind which lady would hold in her lap
began to exhibit symptoms of joining
in the fight, just to "get their hands in"
as Jonas naively told our informant. This
was a situation. Jonas began 10 think
this would be his last fight with wildcats,
and that the wildcats would probably
have the extreme felicity of eating Jonas
Brooks for their supper. All these
| thoughts, of course, passed through Jonas
mind, while the animals were tor a mo-
ment kept at bay by the lively motions of
his hickory cudgel. Only for moment,
however, as his first antagonist again took
the lead in an attack, and although she
met with a sharp blow Of the cudgel, the
| whole litter followed in such quick success
| sion that Jonas was unable to keep them
| of. And now ensued a struggle which 1t
| Is useless to attempt To portray
| The ferocious animals clawed into Jonas
| in every quarter, while he made almost
| super-human efforts TO tear them off, knock
ing about right and left with his club as
well az he was able, and clutching them
by the throat with his left hand when he
got chance. Luckily Jonas was arrayed
in a good suit of homespun, instead OF
"shoddy," or he would have been stripped
to the skin in no time. The fight was a
fierce and lively one for time, as can be
readily imagined. Jonas was fighting for
his life, however, and soon succeeded In
putting the young cats h0rS de combat, by
cracking them iudciously over the heads.
| His blows upon the old ones also began to
tel, and, after desperate struggle, in
which one of them got finishing blow,
| the other retreated to the back of the cave,
where Jonas proceeded to do for him also,
leaving Jonas "master of the situation.
An inventory of our hero's wardrobe,
taken after the fight, exhibited one Suspen-
| der, about half "A vest, one leg of a panta-
loon. no shirt to speak of, and pair OF
boots that wouldn't "shed a heavy dew,
as Jonas expressed 1t, His whole body
and limbs were frightfully lacerated, and
the blood fairly ran from his wounds
| Notwithstanding which, Jonas tied the
tails of the six will dcats together, and
swinging them around his neck, walked
home with his trophies Niddletotoa (N
~ Mail.
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