Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-12-20
A REMARKABLE CAREER.

Albany, Ga, Medium.
Somewhere in the '40's there lived in
Berrien (it was not Berrien then) q bow
by the name of Stewart. He was not
remarkable for anything except for
sCraniness, being Of small stature. lean.
and Of a ciay-bank color, the result, per-
haps, Of private meals OF the chimney
clay. But as time sped by he became a
hero In that then wild cOuntry-at least,
he was hero IN one sense.
The family with whom he lived resid-
ed notfar from the Alapaha Swamp! One
day he and another boy were sent to the
swamp to feed 8 SOW. When within a
short distance Of 1t large tiger sprang
out Of the bushes and brought Stewart to
the ground. He fell on his face, and the
tiger seemed to be in no hurry to kill
him. Indeed, the brute was engaged
just then IN watching the other boy fee
ing IN the direction of the house. Being
satisfied as to the direction the other boy
took, the tiger then took Stewards head
in its mouth and closed on it; but its
teeth slipped over instead Of penetrating
/ the skull. It bit the boys skull several
times with the same result, and the boy,
with a presence Of mind wonderful in
one so young, did not once finch, while
the beast was tearing huge throws
through his scalp. The tiger, after hold
ing It's nose near the boys face an in
slant, as if listening if he was breathing,
seemed satisfied that he was dead, and
hastily covering him up with pine straw,
ran hurrledly after the other boy. As
soon as the tiger was out of sight Stew
art spaag to his feet and, taking q wide
circuit, ran with all the speed he could
command, and finally reached the house
IN safety. The other boy reached the
house some time before the tiger came in
sight of it, and the brute, seeing he was
too late, hunied back to his first prey.
If Stewart had moved while the tiger
was biting his skull, or if he had
breathed while the beast was listening,
with its nose close to his face, he would
have been torn into fragments; but the
boy, having heard of many of the pecu-
iarities Of this ferOciOus beast, was pre-
pared to profit by the knowledge.
AS soon as the boys told of their won
derful escape, three neighbOrs, all resO-
lutte men, determined to hunt down and
kill the beast. They had one musket
and two hunting knives. Taking a IA
vOrite deer hound, they proceeded to
/ the swamp. When near 1t they saw the
dog take the trail of the tiger and
enter the bushes. In a few moments
they heard a howl, and then all was
quiet. They knew that the dog had
J been killed. Hating, they made q sol
emn compact to stand by each other to
| the last. Then they entered the swamp,
| the man with the musket in front and
/ the others close behind, in Indian file,
the front man with the musket ready
and the other two with their knives
drawn. They had not proceeded more
than fifty yards in the swamp when the
/ front man was felled to the ground.
| The tiger seemed to drop out of the
clouds upon him. He fell on his back
and the beast tried to seize his throat
with its mouth, but he threw up his arm
and that member was seized instead.
In a moment the second man seized the
musket, and, placing the muZZle close to
the tigers side, fred the load Of buck
shot through It's body. 1t still held its
hold. Clubbing the gun, he dealt the
animal two powerful blows on the head,
and still it did not release its victim.
The third man then threw himself upon
the tiger and cut his throat. Then it
loOsened its grip and expired on top Of
its victim. The animal measured twelve
feet from the end Of its nose to the tip Of
its tail.
A few years after the above occurrence
Stewart, while feeding q cane mill, had
one of his hands caught and drawn in
between the rollers and so badly mashed
| that the hand and a portion Of the arm
withered.
Later on he was in the field at work
when a thunder storm came up and he
was struck by lightning and left for dead.
! He came to, however, and was all right
\ in few days.
Bv this time he was old enough to
! take unto himself wife, but the parents
of his girl did not favor the alliance, so
! they decided on an elOpement. In those
/ days, even, a hero could get married
without shoes, so he started for his fu-
( ture wife, succeeded in getting her from
the house, and the happy pair were on
! their way to the parsons when Stewart
was bitten on the foot by moccasln, a
! dan gerOus reptile. Even that did not
/ stop him. They proceeded to the par
/ sons and were united IN WedlOcE.
! Stewart did not die from the snake bite.
History does not say whether the snake
died.
Next we hear of Stewart, he is being
/ tried for his life for the murder Of a man
! named Wheeler. The evidence was all
aginst Stewart, and every body thought
he would hang. He was defended by
| the now venerable Judge Hanseil, of
Townsville, then a young lawyer just
Starting out" So able was the defense,
so pathetically did the young lawyer
dwell upon the many haIr-breadth es-
capes of the prisoner, who seemingly had
been preserved through them all
through prOVidential Intervention, that
the Jury brought IN such verdict as sent
him to the Penitentiary for six years
While in the Penitentiary he learned
the painters trade, and after satisfying
the sentence Of the law he returned
home, where we now leave him.
While in Irwin, recently, we learned
the above facts from Rev. Jacob Young
who has the local history Of all thai
country for forty or fifty years past a
his fgngers' ends, so to speak.
How 70 Prevent Fruit Stealing.
Eds. Country Gentlemen.