Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-08-26
Adventurous Children.

A correspondent of the San Francisco
Chronicle, who writes from Lower Lake,
Lake County, Cal, tells the adventures of
two juveniles in that locality:
There is good stuff in those Youngsters
of DR.. Baker's-every one of them; but
my yarn only concerns the two younger
of the lot. Last Sunday the little one,
Jenny, girl of six or seven years, made
her appearance in her mothers room, de-
handing permission to go understanding
with her brother. Claude is twelve wears
old, and killed deer about the size of
buck rabbit one day last week, since when
he can't rest moment in the daytime,
and scarcely sleeps of night. 1t was ten
o'clock when the children started, taking
a dog with them. The mother thought
no more of them dntil dinner-time in the
evening. Then she became alarmed.
Night approaching she was half wild. All
hands, consisting of some ten or twelve
miners, started out some on horseback and
some on foot. Nightcame; darkness settled
down on the still valley with quiet that
seemed like death. The mother became
| frantic. She heard an occasional gun
fired of and knew that il was the doctor
and men in pursuit of the lost children,
She could not remain in the house an
other moment She took the direction of
the guns report AS well rs she could and
started after the crowd. 1t was mid
night when she came no to them.
There was scarcely a half garment
of any kind on her body. She
seemed to have passed through dozen
deaths-all but the dying. From the time
she joined her husband and the other men
she led the crowd until, about three O'Clock
in the morning, they heard dog bark,
and in another moment were with the chill
dren, who were instantly Weakened by the
noise. Then it was. "1Iowd'e do, man.
may" and "Howd'e do, papay" and
Amt this a splendid tree to keep house
underr" I'VE had to fight for it, though"
said Claude. "See here-we had to kill
the first settler" and sure enough there
lay California lion, one of the largest
| size, with ball through his brain. Claude
had shot him after dark. They had been
lost, but the boy imagined he had struck
the home trail and kept running on until
he met the lion and shot him. Jenny says
he was crouched down like cat and not
further away than across the room when
they shot him. He sprang right into the
air and tumbled at theirvery feet Before
starting from the house one of the men had
put some biscuits in his pocket thinking
the children would be hungry, and these
he offered to them. No, thank YOU"
said Jenny, Eve had quails for supper"
They had taken matches and Claude had
shot the quails; these they had roasted on
stick, and of course they were not hun.
CRY. Ii was an elder sister of these two
plucky youngsters who was out on
horseback in very wild tract of country.
hn al ut AZ
time, and had been hunting stock. All mt
once she saw pair of bright eyes looking
at her from tuft of tall grass. I'm
going to see what you are, anyhow" she
said. She got down from her horse, and
soon found that the eyes belonged TO " the
prettest little darling she ever saw"
There were more of them, but she only
captured one specimen and climbed back
TO her saddle. She had not gone half
mile before she heard something Looping
behind her She turned around and saw
lion. She put her horse To his best speed
and almost flew, she says, but the horrid
thing gained on her. "Of course knew
what she wanted" said the child, "but
didn't intend 10 humor her scltishness. /
didn't take but one, and / left her two,
and that's as generous as anyone need be.
But she couldn't seem TO see il. Anyhow,
she just flew after u.s. and old Phil--talk
about his being fast horse wanted to
break his neck. The lion gained on us at
every step, till at last took her baby and
threw IL at her. Now take il and leave,
you stingy old thing said; and she did;
she just grabbed him up in her mouth and
put off, and ] came home. The mother
says that nothing would give her more
comfort than 10 know that her children
were all afraid Of their own shadows, But
not one of them has ever shown "A particle
Of cowardice in their lives, nor their
father before them.