Morning journal and courier., 1880-05-18
Terrified Rustics.

Terrified Rustics.
 An Enormous Panther Plays Sad Havoc fin Westchester County-It Preys upon Dogs, Chickens and Sheep, and Fright- ems the Inha bitants out of Their Witss [From the New York Herald.l
 | The people residing in the towns of North Castle and Harrison, Westchester county, and ! in Fairfield county, Conn, are in a great state of alarm, bordering in places upon a panic, on account of wild animal, thought | to be panther or tiger, and supposed to have escaped from some circus or menagerie, which IS roaming around through the coun- try. The animal as described to a Herald | reporter, who yesterday followed the route ! it has taken, is undoubtedly one or the other of the animals named. It seems to have been first seen in Connecticut some five or six days ago, but nothing definite concerning its movements could be ascertalned yesterday until it came into the town of North Castle, l pursued by three large black and tan hounds supposed to belong to some one in New Ha- ven. The animal seems to have been first distinctly seen by MT. Edgar A. Husted, Charles Lewis and Harvey Husted, who side just south of the Connecticut line and near the residence of Tom Field. In the ear ly part of the week, Edgar Husted and Lewis were building fence about quarter of mile from the house, when they heard roar ing and bowling in the woods not far away and saw three black and tan hounds skirting the edge of a piece of wood. They thought they were after fox and went about their work. In few minutes the dogs turned and they heard them coming back. It was not long before they dashed out into an open field and the men were paralyzed with what they saw. Coming from the east, about fifty yards ahead of the dogs, strange ami nal of a tawny yellow or spotted or striped color, about two feet and halJ high, and from five to six feet long, It was running very fast and the dogs were in hot pursuit. The animal ran directly across a meadow about thirty yards from where the were at work, leaped stone wall near MT. Illus ted's farmhouse, and passing few rods west of the Washburn place disappeared in the
 woods on the hill which forms the northern boundary of Little Rye Lake. Mr. Harvey
 Husted was sitting on the stoop of his house
 and distinctly saw the animal rushing across
 the lot. He was terrified at the sight of the
 animal, as it heading straight for the
 house, but suddenly it turned, leaped the
 wall and struck south. His description of
 the animal tallied with that of his and
 Charles Lewis. The animal seems to have
 got into the rugged and hilly country sur
 rounding Big and Little Rye lakes, where it
 still remains. It was next seen by Mrs. Jen-
 nie Stowe, who lives near the Park district
 school. She saw it on the rocky ridge which
 forms the southern boundary of the Park swamp. Her house is on the opposite ridge
 and about quarter of a mile away. She
 saw the animal walking leisurely along the ridge and was very much frightened. Its
 tracks were next seen in a freshly ploughed field belonging to Mir. Joseph Keeler, on the
 north side of Rye Lake. In this neighbor-
 hood it killed a number of dogs which had
 started in pursuit.
 The animal was next heard of in the neigh borhood of St. Mary's Lake, about two miles southeast of Rye Lake. While ploughing in
 a field Alonzo Fritches, a young man, was
 frightened nearly out of his wits by seeing
 the animal dash through thicket near
 where he was at work. It seemed to be
 leaping, rather than running He was so badly frightened that he left his horses and
 ran to the house. At that time he did not
 know that any one else had seen it, and the people to whom he told his experience laugh ed at him. But he insisted that he had seen strange animal.
 NEGROES ALARMED.
 The animal was next seen on high hill covered with small trees and rocks, where three negro families reside Mrs. Gabrielle Mack was awakened night or two ago by hearing a growing and snarling outside the door, A large dog belonging to her husband was in the house, and began growing and
 barking. She opened the door and the dog ran out. There was a scream and growl and spring toward the door, and the dog instantly in combat with something. The
 woman, who alone, shut the door and almost tainted with fright. Next morning
 the dog was missing and pool of blood on the boards in front of the door and blood spots on the step told the tale. A trail of
 blood was followed into the woods and there
 it was lost. The dog never returned. MT. William Brooks, colored man and hunter,
 living in the same neighborhood, heard the
 screaming of the animal in the hills and
 started out with his dogs to hunt it down.
 The dogs got on the trail, but soon came
 cbi han in nd he
 low the game for fear that his dogs might
 be killed. From descriptions given to Brooks he is confident that it is panther of very large dimensions.
 The animal was next heard from in Kenne- dy's woods, about a mile from St. Mary's
 Lake, where it killed twenty-five hens and
 frightened an old horse in the pasture so bad
 ly that he ran about twenty-five miles over
 mountain roads before he stopped. The
 horse is now total wreck, having ruined
 himself by his hurried flight. The animal
 was heard to howl or scream on Thursday night in the rocky hills in the neighborhood of Rye Lake. Every man, woman and child has heard about it, and many are in wild state of alarm. Children are not allowed to go away from their homes alone, and the widest rumors are adoat. It was reported yesterday that boy had been killed and frightfully mangled in the woods near the schoolhouse, but there was no actual founda- tion for the story. It is freely stated that calves, dogs, chickens and sheep have been sacrificed in a dozen different localities. These animals missing, and it is believed that the panther has killed them.
 HUNTERS ON THE TRAIL.
 A party of hunters are preparing to run the animal to it's death, whatever it may be, and it is expected that it will soon have to quit it's present habitation or be shot. The country selected for it's hiding place is the most rugged in Westchester county. It is mountainous and rocky and covered with a thick growth of small trees and underbrush It is full of caves, gulches and ravines, and in many places impenetrable by horse. This country embraces tract about eight miles long from east to west and about four miles from north to south. A better hiding place for wild animal could not be found. A few farmhouses dot the hills and rough mountain roads wind around among the rocks, making it comparatively easy for the skulking beast to bear down on its prey.
 An Intelligent Juryman.
 The intelligent inryman has immortalized