The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1879-10-03
Not catered. efr- No rights rescrre5.l
SKETCHES
PIONEER LIFE on the ALLEGHESIEs

I ter. some men have bad passion for the sTcftinl
sports OF the chase, and the deer the buffalo thi
bear OF the fierce panther in this country have of
ten led the intrepid hunter far into the wild anC
rocky fastnesses amid solitude, danger and priva
ton. Even the sly and cunning fox win often lead
( after him dashing calvacade Of eager and daring
( horsemen. who leap fences bitches and rocks in
their hot haste to keep in sight Of the fleeing rov
nard, while scurrying pack OF mouthing hounds
make the welkin ring with their eager cries -Ths
assion for hunting sonletbnsr is s3i7ceJ yrber ;
schoolbOy starts up a shy rabbit from fence-cor-
ner from ont the witherc5i grass in autumn Win
eager cries he bounds of in the wake OF the h1rrv
quadruped-hls only weapon cub-and soon.
with mIIrderous thwack he laws the fat conv aIon,
the sward. and carries him home in triumph to his
admiriug mamma. who constructs Herewith "a
iuicv pot-pie for her Young Fsau Even uor-a
has often given rise TO exciting hunt for en-
tire fauily-from the grandmother with her specs
and broom down to the two-vear-old todd1erEsII
in vociferous topsy-tuTvy after the minute and
scrambling animal Who has not witnessed the
keen endowment with which a body on yelling
urchins will chase frightened cur with tin ar-
peudage 70 his TAIL a fleeing cat whose rear has
been interviewed with bricI-bsts An instinct for
a hunt seems 10 lie dormant in human n lture and
the dog that faithful companion of man. seems 10
be inbned W i'm p felloyy feeling witness a tioe
ing cat on moonlight night a she scurries along
on a straight line FOR the nearest apple tree with
the noble nastih-s nose lust within an ace cf her
heels. So as hunting seems to De natural both to
man and beast we viii take up that topic
As there are sun many regions within the broad
area Of North America where the deer and other
game In freedom through the Wild forests il
may be Of place to describe the construction
animal within easy range Of the hunters rife In
tho frst place voli Tnusf find some blne clav a15
thoroughly kueaded. mix in q liberal suppIv of
saIt eTJ roll if into cy3in,ri,1l shane ,bt,lt i
inches in diameter and two feet long. Next put
your prepared clay into Outoyen and ba kc IL 10
the hardness Of brck-oT, rather. not quite so
hard as q brick When yUur cyIindricaI bar OF
salted clay is all ready, then select some quagy or
swampy spot and thrust hands pike down into il.
making openi.g uffcieutly ample TO receive
the clay bar. Now thrust down your baked mud
till it Is Just with the surface Of tho vaer and
sou have q. homemade lick which will entice the
salthungry animal within easy range Of your rife
without incurrins the fatigue Of 81 long and weary
Another method OF constructing "Iick- is to
bore pretty good sized hole i'm log and fill the
same with salt The deer of course viii smell out
the salt and try to lick at it. which is aI the hun
ter desires
inEling Of the manner in which the PANTHER
wont to roam about and depredate in these parts.
It is nothing at this day TO wander through tho
woods in anv direction. OF to anN distance but liz
the days Of the panther, the bear and the wolf a
person had to keep sharp lookou. while strolling
in the wiIderneSS for a fierce and deadly enemy
might meet him at any turn In the spring Of -.
farm now known rs tho Lloyd place. The sheep
being killed occasionally. in some mysterious
was the chief agent in the nefarious business
Acting this presumption. the farmer set a trap
for the willy dcprgdator, ami batcd the same with
sheep carcaSs Inc next blsHt Ihe -heel-nalt was
taken, but the trap remained inspiring. One
morning the farmer went To examine the trap. tax
ing aigns a. q matter "i course nus llslE The ana
q couple of dogs and by the way. tie
thought more OF an encounter with panther
on a moonlight night. He followed the dcprcdator
hood OF Glen Conncll. where the dog finally trecd
their formidable antagonist. Coming up soon
ter. the man espied the panther crouching
limb and following lntthtiA every NOV cmen oi the
barking and lcHpin- CANNES, who showed their
caution along with their courage 10y keeping Mt =
safe distance- Inc hunter raised MS riHe and put
a ball through the ribs of the panther behind his
fore leg. but he might as well have perforated
baSsWuod log lnh- was q critical moment iyI inc
hunter, for the wounded monster yelled and tore
up the bark in % fearful manner threatening 10
spring AZ any instant Inc useless dogs were COW
ed and stood mt distance. leaving the is>ue hc-
tween the man and the furious beast There be
stood in the lone forest lar away from any hell,
with foo equal in strength and agility to a half
dozen mon but superior human Intelligence had
furnished MN win most 1eaaiE anu p""crlul
weapon which rendered him far moro than a match
for his formidable Zoe. = small quantity Of n
Mysterious b-aek Stl mus. .e't ~tislii poured hF
the hunter into the long. hollow and riHed tube
TO the view an insignificant collection Of black
graius-and oYcrtoppec by ,mali pellet ol lead
renders the hunter master OF even the king Of
beasts the brawny tyrant Of the African wilds.
Man. then the lord Of creation maintains his do
nfnion over the tlerceSt deuizcas Of the bowling
wilderness or trackless desert and notwithstand-
ing their immense strength and cruel tcrocitN. he
often masters them by Of superior iutelIi-
genee. with little danger Jruuhlc 10 himself
holds sway for even when two armies combat the
issue depends not so much upon the numbers en-
gagged rs the manner iH which the troops are
andled-suUcrlor intelligence. knowledge and
skill always coming out the dominant force that
is when no supernatural lorrc n;erNenc~
We will now launch once more into the wintry
wilderness amid siset. snow ami icc-th.s time 70
hunt bear through tangled thicActs Of laurel,
,,,yed with rocks stones and many other Difficult
Ties The hrumal blasts sweep over tho bleak hills
and lea fteSs forests. heavily laden with cutting
slcct but the bold hunter straps his equipments
and hics him into the drcary wilds in search Of the
prowliug bear or the shy and nimblc deer.
On the rugged and tracing morning Of "a day
such a described above two stout and active hun
ters buckled on their accoutrerncnts and seized
their rifles for biz. days hunt Snow covered the
ground. and near. and it not long before
our slortsrlcu sighted the peculiar track left 10y
wandering HdGJtiC peC0TC away mp over the Fort
Ridge They followed ON a. Ear ~ the derrick on
the Beaver Dams where they were joined hy two
9TH Inn g =
themselves. The party was now accompanied by
co1ple of rood dogs which was no insignii icant ac-
cesSion on such expedition. The party now
started in anew the hears track the dogs lrol-
ilf,., bout ,t first hero and there through the
snow cviuciug their eager JOY at the prospect Of
dave campaigning. On and ali that weary day
,I5,Ic5 TIC i,atic7,- hunters acroTnIanfet bv the
now vvsaried dogs. All weary and iaml-hed. bur
Raa,-5r,1.,r, crook af n r.ofuf Erovvn as Gates.
Gleardeld waters. in Cieartieid county in the vi
cinity of knob or high hill known as Round Top
prospect the hungry hunters sought the ho>pitaii-
~, ID bbrrir farr,- house whore their cygrv
nccd was supplied with the utmost kindness by
Mr.. O~hel!. the good man OF the place Ihe next
morning saw osr party reluctantly leaving the
starting in Tor another day : hunt in the snowy
wake Of the retrcating bear tn and on they Sti!l
through an intorminahlc ana most iormldabIc
thjc5et Of laurel and r0ckS-tcarin- the clothes
When might again darkcncd down on our party
they found themselves In the vicinity oi the head
waters OF Potts Run. where they passed the night
at the house OF Robert Patterson. The next uay.
about the middle oi the-altcrnoou. our iudeiatiga-
he hunters had the good fortune 10 rouse the long
sararht bruin from his den where he had ..holcd-
up comfortably for the season. His bearship took
up line OF retreat through the deep SHOW the
dogs following after with eager and fiery courage,
while the bloody track Of bruin. from his CALLED
feet breaking the Suowcrtst- still excited their ic
rocitv and led them on. Coming to close quarters,
one Of tho dogs, with undaunted courage, closed in
upon the bear. but he forfeited his life by his te-
mcritE. Not long aiteI the second H'S lay NLiIul5
i'm the snow. with his back broken by stroke OF
a. Hr..FHr j. HHHf fFnr
now lelt 10 their own resources put sun on
they pressed in the o. the retrcatn brute tai
the SuSquehauna river blocked further progress
Not - with hruin. Tor without a lno.nenlS HeSlil-
tion hc dashed into the ''mush-icc Of the river
and was soon safely across on the other shore \
couple of hunters who were strolllng down that
way from Didtown sighted our bear as lie emerged
from the halEfrCzeb river. and shot OF two from
their rifles carried OIL the Prize here wa diS-
appointment Tired. ragged and hungry. our Tor
l6rn party presented the most dcplornblc appear
aucc Imaginable; for had YOU r1nsacRed the y mole
company Tor clothes You could scarcely have found
enough to make one leg of a pair OF pants l-lAc
the poet YoUnS'S traveller their labor lost, they
had TO content themselves with what their fate NJ
for,ied. 10 going to Oidtown they got prct-
" good supper. and then started back nome thc
Same night There is one omitted incident in this
arIuous bcar-hunt which l. well worth the rchears-
ing. and we viii let one Of the hunters tell the
st6rv -.NThen VIC left Oshell'S at Round Top. in
the morning kept the clear track OF the bear
-iI we came 10 the Clcarticld creek at the confiu-
and spent good while in hunting up and down To
sref on II again \ Mr. Godfrey whose house was
hand by came out 10 see what the matter was. and
We halloed 70 hiTE for Information as 10 where we
sbo-Id cross Godfrey came over and produced q
dog-rah from where il was hidden along the bank
and placed il at disposal for the voyage across
50 Tom and Louis got aboard ike daring naNiga-
tors. and boldly pushed out through the ~lushy
waters for the other bank All went merTily enough
till the boys got into the middle Of the river when
the raft began TO show signs OF baking. Sink
sink went end OF the RAFT down into the mush
ice and you could have knocked of Louis eve
balls with handspikc while the raft was cutting
mp its freakish ctntTi ps- However over they got
Al last with much ado, and as neither would ferry