River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1875-08-27
A Courageous California Family.


lCorrespondent San Francisco Chronicle, from
lower Lake, Lake County, California;
There is good stuff in those youngsters
OF Or. 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,
and demanded permission TO go out
deer hunting with her brother. Claude
is about twelve years old. and killed deer
about the size Of a buck rabbit one Cay
last week, since he can't rest moment in
the daytime, and scarcely sleeps Of nights.
1t was 10 o'clock when the children start
ed, taking dog with them. The mother
thought no more of them until 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. Night came;
darkness settled down on the still valley
with quiet that seemed like death. The
mother became frantic. She heard an oc.
casional gun fired of, and knew that it
was the doctor and men in persuit Of the
lost children. She could not remain in
the house another moment. She took the
direction of the guns reports, as well as
she could, and started after the crowd.
1t was midnight when she came up to
them. There was scarcely half gar
ment ofany kind on her body. She seem.
ed 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 3 o'clock
in the morning, they heard a dog bark,
and In an other moment were with the
children, who were instantly wakened by
the noise. Then it was ''Howd e do,
mammal" and "IIowd do, papa!' and
",Aint this splendid tree TO keep house
under!' "We had to fight for it. though"
said Claude. "See here We had to kill
the first settler!" and sure enough there
lay a California lion, one of the largest
size, with a 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 run
ing on until he met the lion and shot him.
Jenny says ne was crouched down
| like a cat, and not further away than
across the room when they shot him, He
| Sprang right into the air and tumbled
right at their very 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 them. "No, thank YOU" said
Jenny, ''we had quais for supper"
| hey had taken matches and Claude
had shot the quails; these they had roast
ed on stick, and of course they were
not hungry. 1t was an elder sister of
these two plucky youngsters, who was
out on horseback III very wild tract of
country. She was about twelve years
at that time. and had been hunting stock.
All at once she saw pair Of bright
eyes looking at her from the tuft Of tall
grass. ''lm going to see what you are,
any how she said. She got down from
her horse, and soon found that the eyes
belonged to the prettiest little darling
SIZE ever saw.
There were more of them, but she only
captured one specimen and climbed back
to her saddle. She had not gone far
before she heard something Looping behind
her. She turned around and saw a lion.
She put her horse to the best speed and
almost flew, she says, but the horrid thing
gained on her "Of course, knew what
she wanted" said the child, shut I didn't
intend to humor her selfishness. didn't
take but one, and left her two, and that's
as generous as any one need be. But she
couldn't seem to see it. Anyhow, she Just
flew after as; and old PHIL talk about his
being a fast horse. wanted to break his
neck. The lion gained on us evrey step, till
at last took her baby and threw it at her.
Now, take it 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 to know that her children were all
afraid Of their own shadows. But not
one of them has ever shown particle of
cowardice in their lives, nor their father
before them.