Morning journal and courier., 1884-11-21

 last Sunday killed several wild ducks with ! it while hunting over in Illinois. It is quite heavy, and has much longer barrels than those of more modern shotguns; yet, in my opinion, it is one of the best weapons in the country at the present time D The reporter, at the suggestion of MT. Allen, visited that gentleman's room and examined the weapon. Its stock, of black walnut, is somewhat straighter than stocks are usually made; it's barrels, which are loaded from the muzzle, being forty inches in length. The gun was made by manufacturer in Philadelphia l named Rogers.
 A PANTHER AND RATTLEsNAKE And a Lone Fisherman Have an Ad- venture Near tho Red River of the South.
 From the New York Sum- Three men sat on a settee in one corner of ! the bar-room of the Miners Arms, in Front street, last evening, with heads close togeth CT, smoking short brier-root pipes and talk ing in a slow way, as if they had to stop and throw their weight on it before getting a ! word longer than one syllable spoken. They I were dressed in corduroy trousers, tucked ! into the tops of their boots, and short, thick ! coats. They were going over their experien- ! ces in the Rocky Mountain mining regions, I the hotel being resort for old-country mi ] ners on their way east or west. Finally one of the group, named Andrew Mcdonald, | strengthened up and said, in a louder voice ! than he had hitherto used: "You may talk about sea-serpents, but my pards had an ad- venture with a rattler last spring that knocks out any yarn you ever heard.
 Half a dozen loungers and reporter gath cred around the miner while he continued: EFHis name was Heman Fish and he came from western Ohio. We called him Heme for short. He could do two things better | than any man l ever saw. One was to fish ' and the other was to handle a blacksnake ! whip. reckon most of you know what 8 | blacksnake whip is Heme could pick fly \ from the ear of the off mule of fourth I hand, and never let the mule know a whip ! was anywhere about.
 ''Last spring he and I got on a spree in St. Louis, and when we shook ourselves together Paola, Kansas. As Heme's head began to | shrink, he took notion that we should go
 away from there by the overland route, and
 so we went down to Fort Scott and joined a ! caravan that was bound for New Mexico \ across the Staked plains''
 fA caravan across the Staked plains from
 Fort Scott last springa" the bartender re- \ marked with some emphasis.
 'fYes," said McDonald, as though irritated, ! five had followed the procession about two ' weeks, when one evening we canpeO on one
 of the northerly branches of the Red River ! of the South in bit of timber. Without waiting a minute Heme drew fish line and pole from it's hooks under the canvass of our prairie schooner and started down the creek for mess of fish. Somehow he didn't seem | sinking and Heme walked on from pool to | pool, now and then dropping his line in I without success till he was about half 8 mile ! down stream. There is an open space where | the grass was short but the woods thick, a few rods away he found a big dead tree | that had fallen into the creek and washed | around by the top down stream. Just be- low this the water deep and still, and ! as his hook sank into the water he felt the ! first blood-stirring tug of the evening. It 1 will say, to catch bullhead, but then the I eating of them is never to be despised. For | fifteen minutes Heme was busy that he [ did not notice the flight of time, but just as ! he felt tug on his line for the eighth time | he became aware that something was about ! to happen that he had not anticipated He 1 said afterward that he felt just as a man does \ who wakes up at midnight to find himself bolt upright in bed, hearing nothing and ' wondering what was the matter. The feel \ ing was so strong that instead of landing the \ fish he looked slowly around Not five feet \ away to his left big panther, arching it's back and rubbing the sides of it's head ' along the grass and smiling at him almost as it lashed it's tail from side to side. It was playing with him cat fashion. Meantime the catfish had swallowed the hook and was tug | ging away so hard that, in spite of his scare, | which made his broad-brimmed hat tremble, ' he turned to look at the line and the bobbing cork which he always fshed with. From the \ agitated water about the cork his eye fell on
 a six-foot rattler that making its way \ over the edge of the bank of the creek from the old dead log and was headed directly for \ ba a ho kod fO ha
 vorting panther, and then back to the ugly reptile, afraid to strike with his pole lest the \ panther should spring on him, and afraid to | stand still lest the snake should attack him
 as soon as it was near enough. Somehow the | movements of the panther, it trotted
 about, rolled over, jumped stiff legged into { the air, proved stronger attraction, and for | minute he watched it attentively, until the | fish gave last effort to free itself from the
 hook The panther was walking away as if
 to leave its victim in peace, when Heme
 looked around and saw that the snake was
 passing him, headed for the timber. Then
 the inspiration came which saved his life
 He had the pole in his left hand. Stopping
 over he caught the reptile by the tail Quick ! as this was done the panther saw the motion I and turning about settled for a spring as
 Heme whirled the snake easily but rapidly ! over his head. The panther was too late l Hemes skill with the whip enabled him to
 drop the rattler comfortably about the pan \ Cner $ neck, ana the next instant It buried It's ifangs in the beasts tongue that showed
 through it's half open mouth
 "Then Heme got really frightened and
 with a yell plunged into the creek, and houn-
 dering across, ran breathlessly up stream to
 the camp. When he had managed to gasp
 out his story the whole camp roared with
 laughter at the eomical figure, and at what
 seemed to be about the most unlikely yarn
 they had ever heard"
 "See here, Mack, who primed you to tell 1 thatf' said the bartender, wiping his hands
 on his partly white apron.
 'EPrimed be -," said the story teller
 t'It's true I've got the snakes rattle and Til show it to you"
 He took soEdlooking valise from behind
 the bar, and, while fumbling for his key, said:
 'tIt took us about ten minutes to reach the spot where Heme had been fishing. The panther was still alive, but he was on his last pegs. The snake was in two pieces, the pan
 ther having chawed it's head of after he was I bitten, cut the rattle off and here it s.'
 There were twelve of the rattles beside the l button on the end. The snake was thirteen years of age. The bartender walked behind
 the bar and passed down big eut-glass bot l tie containing 8 yellowish fluid. As he placed a number of little smooth, round tumblers beside it he said fHe1p your
 selves, boys. give it up. The rattles prove it."
 | Happiness a Habit.