Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-12-09
A PANTHER EvNg.
--.::;ng Chase BY Sixteen Men in Vermont.

West w aIuoD0rO, ana Mr.. >. Perry
were going to their work, blasting
: lime rock from ledge situated in the
! edge of Stratton, they noticed the
: tracks of wild animal Surprising
they belonged to a bear, they conclud-
,d to follow them for short distance
TO satisfy their curiosity. These soon
led into piece OF woods about a mi @
southwest of the village Of West
!, Wardsboro. Here Mr.. Fits and his
companion abandoned their search,
/ intending to secure help and follow it
ND the next morning. Saturday
morning the hunters, about sixteen in
all. armed with rifles, shotguns and
i reviewers, and accompanied 10y several
dogs, started for the animal They
first passed around the woods to make
SIRE that the supposed bear had not
lrit his lair, and then the whole place
was surrounded by chain of arrned
men to prevent his escape if he should
make break for the mountains.
Twelve OF the hunters were thus ar
ranged, while Messrs. Fits, Perry and
H. d. Johnson, with two boys and
foUr dogs, entered the woods to stir
up the beast. The dogs were kept
back by ropes until the proper time
aud place should be reached, and the
hunt commenced. The trail of the
previous evening was soon struck,
and in few moments they came upon
the half-devoured remains of hedge
hog. l'he bed where some large ami
nal had lain the night before was dis
covered, and fresh tracks were appar-
,ut on all sides. The uneasiness of
the dogs Is they struggled to free
thcmse YES from their leashes also
made evident the near presence of the
game. When they were loosed, they
DATED through the brush, yelping and
ban king, while the hunters TO lowed on
as fast as possible. Soon the barking
ceased, and the animals rushed hither
and thither hunting for the trail, evil
IDENTIFY at loss. Mr.. Perry, however,
who was armed with shotgun, doubly
loaded with shot and ball, discovered
a dark looking object in the top of
tall hemlock. Without a moments
warming he raised his gun and fired,
aud the dark object came tumhling TO
the ground, disclosing to the eyes of
the astonished hunters a regular Amer
lean panther. Although shot thorough
the breast and with one of his forelegs
broken by the fall, the magnificent
animal was disabled but not conquer
ed, and as the dogs attacked him,
clearing himself with his uninjured
paw. he leaped into the air over the
heads Of the men. and landed in
thicket dozen or fifteen feet away.
The dogs, however, were gritty and
terribly in earnest, and when he leap
ed again he carried one Of them with
him, clinging to his flank. He at.
tempted to climb tree, but this, in
his disabled condition, was impossible,
SO, dropping to the ground, he made
dash for clump of dead tree tops,
few rods distant Away went the
panther and the dogs, screaching,
snarling and yelping, while the men
followed close behind urging the dogs.
Hitherto the demonstrations of the
hunters had been more noisy than eff
iective, but as the panther was disap-
bearing in a thicket of spruce trees,
Johnson seized him by the tail and
called on Perry to help in making the
capture. Perry Loyalty responded,
but just as he had got good hold, the
beast gave q leap, carrying both Of
the men with him, and for few nc
ments aerial navigation was nowhere.
The panther went over tree top, but
the men remained on the other side,
still clinging to his tail. He tried to
turn and fight them. but the dogs
were on hand. Just at this moment
Johnson bethought himself of his re-
rolver, and five bullets were lodged in
his head. Still the fight continued.
and Mr.. Fits, who had not been an
idol spectator, managed to fasten a
rope around the panther's leg and
iasten him to tree. The panther.
though weakened. refused to die, and
the life of the ''lzing of the American
forests was brought to an ignomini-
Gus close by the use Of pocket knife
and cudgel. He measured seven feet
from tip to tip, and weighed 1o5 lbs.
Three toes were gone from his fore
foot, seeming to evince an intimate
acquaintance with a steel trap some
time IN the past. Hunters and dogs