Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1885-03-20
UNCLE JOHNS STORY.
An Adventure with a Mountain
Lion on q Western Range.

We had been camped at the old ar
rastra for nearly three weeks, building
n road to bring in the machinery for the
new smelter This had kept us so busy
that none of us had time to go after
deer, and we consequently had short
supply of fresh meat. So that day Mex
lean Joe.had been sent out to San Raj
ael with q burro (donkey) to see If he
could buy a'quarter of beef; and now
we We're waiting for his return. For he
ought to have been back early in the
afternoon, and already dusk had fallen.
We beganato wonder in good earnest
what could have detained him, when
we saw two oydim forms coming down
the trail, and minute later joe and
his bu-ro lmped into camp. BY the
light of the campfire they proved to be
two as sorry-looking objects as could
well be, pictured! lJf
Joe's hat was gone. His shirt was
torn, and his face and clothes We're COW
cred with blood, which still trickled
from cash on his cheek. The burro
had three or four ugly-looking burrows
on his neck and long cut, as if made
by sharp knife, on his left flank; and
as he plodded dejectedly into the circle
of light, we saw that he bore no meat
and that even his pack-saddle was gone
After our first expressions of wonder
and eager questions, Joe told us his
story, in his broken Observation-Disclosures
Pigeon-Englsh. for Joe was species
of human polyglot, having had MeXi-
can father and an Indian mother, and
having been for many years "boss" OF
gang of Chinese laborers in the Santa
Rita gold diggings. He could, if it was
necessary, talk very fair Mexican or
English, but when he was excited, he
mixed up his languages till the result
was something wonderful. As nearly
as can reproduce his jargon, his pres
ent tale ran somewhat rs follows:
"Me find um San Rafael, buy um
meat, start home. You sabe (know)
camena (traiD long O. Bono GulchP
Him very bad; mucho steep, mucho big
tree top-side, mucho big rock on um,
muy steep ,down-side bottom, camena
dere no bueno Not good). just get
hap-wayl ober, someting bounce out o.
tree, hit me, knock Il me down side
bottom; tumble ober and ober, roll
million feet bout; tink um Joe kilt.
Lay still, no move, say noting, cato
grande (big cat) leave me, climb up
a hill, make one jump, make two jump,
catch um burro just where trail make
wide;ipass-by place. Hear um burro
squeal;. cato 90 gr-r-r! gr-r-r-r! Burro
kicklls Cato bite, scratch, kick up
mucho .bobbery; stone rattle, dust fly,
hai,. Axyf fr,,rnbn p,,toIp ftroot
"Gato want beef; tink give um beef;
jump up, climb um hill, slip up hind
cato. pull ont nayaja, cut sinch, cut
girt, leave um beef loose, leave um cato
have um. He chaw um beef, he pull,
he growl, he tear, he no mind um Joe,
no mihdsum burro.
'Burso, jump up, no stay, make um
head down, heels up, run for wickiup
casa (camp). Joe run, too. Cato, he
no mipd um; eat um beef; chaw, chaw,
growl, growI. Let we two vamos
No see um no more, no want see um
more; Lose um carne, lose um aparejo
(meaaand pack saddle). Joe all safe,
burro safe; quien sabe! Joe ale
bueno.
IA mountain lioni" exclaimed ''Uncle
JohnY (our head ieamster), when Joe
had finished the above serio-comic re-
cital. II didn't link there were any
of those beasts let in these parts. /
should have supposed that the blasting
and the saw-mills and the road-making
would have driven them all out. But
they used to be plenty all through this
range"
Of course the mountain lion'' is not
lion at all, bnt variety of the Ameri-
can panther. II lacks the name, the
strength and the dignity of the real lion;
but as the lion is "king of beasts in
Africa, so is the panther, (unless the
grizzly deserves the title) in North
America. A specimen inthe possession
OF gentleman at Denver measured
eight feet three inches in length, from
tip of nose to flip of tail, three feet one
inch in, height at the shoulders, and
weighed two days after death, one
hundred and eighty-fiye pounds. Color,
tawDy yellow on back and sides, white
on belly and breast.
"Sneaking, tricky brutes' some one
remarked. We sat about waiting for
the cook TO make dish of mush.
"Well. sometimes they are, and some
times they aren't, continued uncle
John, with judicial fairness. "Queer
animals! The more you see of 'em,
the less you'll think you know 'em. The
fact Is a man never can guess how Que
may take o notion to act. I've known
'em to DO as fell and fierce as tigers,
and then again as mild and gentle as a
lamb. Sometimes they're the evil one
incarnate; then again they are harmless
as doves. They are''--
Very much like other people" In
terrnpted the mining expert, gently.
Yes" replied uncle John, smiling;
"there's q good deal OF human nature