The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-03-01
ANECDOTES.

Aberdeenshre sacrificed so often and so
freely to the july god that the Presbytery
could no longer overlook his proceedings.
and summoned him before them to answer
for his bad conduct. One of the elders.
and constant companion in his social
hours, was cited as a witness against him.
"Well, John. did you ever see MIR. c.
the worse for drink?"
well, l wot no; I've mony time seen
him the better OF, but never saw him the
waur OF"
But did you ever see him drunk ?"
"Thats what Ill ne'er see; for before
he's half slockened Im ay blind fu"
Z ANECDoTE OF FORREST AS TOLD BY HIM
SELF" When I was quite young man.
and just beginning to make my way as an
actor, was down at Mobile. l had, let me
tell you, quite enough to do. l was the
leading man. and sometimes had to cram
with half a dozen parts week. However,
liked work then. The way | used to study
was to take long walk before rehearsal,
and read the part through again and again
until I'd learned it. Well, about four miles
beyond the city Mobile WASH then as
large as it is now, nor as cultivated and
peopled round its outskirts was a fine
sweep of green and fat ground, continuing
for some three-quarters of mile, and then
broke up hy thick belt of palm trees and
underground. This meadow, as it would be
called here, was favorite studying place OF
mine. One morning I'd gone out there with
a tolerable long part Octavian in The
Mountaineers : and, with my head bent
over the book-it was printed copy OF the
play-was hard at work. What made me
look, | don't know but did. Just out OF
the clump of palms, | saw what | at first
fancied was large dog. Its three or four
first bounds toward me, however, convinced
me was mistaken. 1t was a big wildcat.
or puma, or something of the sort and,
when | realized what the thing was, l be-
gan to shake with something that, if not fear,
was remarkably like it. had no weapon
with me-I never carried one. Even my
penknife was left on my writing table, for
felt in my pockets for it. Then, for mo-
ment, | thought of running away. What
use would my legs have been against the
animals in race for life? Every instant
the brute was coming nearer. / remained
mott )nless, my eyes fixed in horrid sort of
fascination on the tiger-cat while calcu
lated what sort of chance would be mine in
the coming struggle-mne for existence, its
for breakfast. All at once, about twenty
yards from me, the thing crouched, its eyes
glaring into mine, and its tail slowly wag-
ging to and fro in very playful and inter
esting manner. What did this pause mean?
All at once | remembered having read
somewhere of the effect of the fixed glance
of the human eye on the infuriated brute
creation. Had mine magnetized it? Not
at all. Rising, it made two more bounds
forward, and then couched as before, right
opposite me, its tail still wagging. | could
scarcely keep my eyes from following its mo-
tion. However. fastened the brute's gas
Economical inspection of my carcass with an
unwavering glance. Then it turned its head
only had pistol with mel had not, so
waited, as the Internal puma did-possibly
so it then seemed to me, some three or four
hours-probably some ten minutes. At last
it rose again, slowly and earnestly contem-
plated me, and then, either appalled, by my
eye, or taking me for carved image, as |
had not stirred and not reishing meal of
wood or stone, it paced slowly away. was
about making tracks in the opposite direc
ton from it, when-t was lucky L had not
done so--about forty or fifty PAGES from me-
it sprung round and once more crouched.
There it lay again upon the grass, its tail
lashing backward and forward and its head
rocking from side to side as if it wished to
verify its ideas touching my not being a
creature of flesh and blood. How long this
continued was only enabled to guess after
ward. But it did come to an end. Slowly
it again rose, and, allowing its tail to drop
between its hind legs, ran-yes. gentlemen
it ran.-away in the most sneakingy. cowed
manner possible. And so did !; not, how
ever, until it had completely vanished in the
palm and brush belt at the lar end of the
meadow. The four miles-this is mention
ed to demonstrate my speed-between the
spot upon which | had been standing and
Mobile, were covered in less than half an
hour"
And how large, may 1 ask, Mr.. For
est" inquired one of his auditory on this
occasion, was the puma?"
q didn't measure it, sir"
"Of course. But how large should you
suppose it to have been?"
Thirty five feet from its snout to the tip
of it's TAIL if reckon its inches by the scare
it gave mel" exclaimed Forrest, with hu-
morous twinkle in his eye. mot half an
inch less.'' ffs
There rose, of course, genuinely Ho-
meric burst Of laughter at this reply.