Sharp County record., 1885-04-02

| -
No see um no more, no want see um
more. Lose rm carne, lose um aparejo
(meat and pack saddle). Joe all safe,
burro safe; quien sabe! Joe ale
bueno."
"a mountain lion!" exclaimed ''Uncle
John" (our head teamster), when Joe
had finished the above serio-comic re-
cital. II didn't think there were any
of those beasts left in these parts. L
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, but variety of the Ameri-
can panther. 1t lacks the name, the
strength and the dignity of the real lion;
but as the lion is liking of beasts in
Africa, so is the panther, (unless the
grizzly deserves the title) in North
America. A specimen in the possession
of a gentleman at Denver measured
eight feet three inches in length, from
tip Of nose to tip of tail, three feet one
inch in height at the shoulders, and
weighed two days after death, one
hundred and eighty-tive pounds. Color,
tawny 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 man never can guess how one
may take notion to act I've known
'em to be as fell and fierce as tigers,
and then again as mild and gentle as
lamb. Sometimes they're the evil one
incarnate; then again they are harmless
as doves. They are
"Very much like other people, in
terrupted the mining expert gently:
Yes" replied uncle John, smiling;
'there's good deal of human nature
in them, Just as there is good deal OF
brute in us. But the trouble Is, you
can never calculate on what they are
going to do >
Il had little interview with one OF
them once that turned out all right, but
was rather unpleasant while it lasted.
1t was in the winter of 70, when Eureka
hadn't but dozen cabins in it, and
there was nothing but trail over the
range, and a very poor one at that. VI
course, those of us that wintered there
had to getin all of our provisions before
the snow fell; and then from November
to June we were cut off from the out
side world.
"There were no women in the camp,
and we had to amuse ourselves as best
we could. One Harry Lee had been
my mining partner that summer, and
had meant to 90 out to Antelope Park,
where his wife and baby were, for the
winter; but he'd stayed along, helping
me fix my cabin, but about the middle
of October he fell off the roof and broke
his leo, and had to send word to his
wife, by some of the boys who were 60
inc out, not to look for him till about
Christmas, when he thought his leg
would be well enough for him to come
out on snow-shoes.
Well-you know what women are
what did that wife Of his do but pick
up little Nellie, carry her as far as
Carr's cabin, just the other side of the
range, leaving the child there with the
women folks-Mrs. Carr was sister of
hers-walk it over the range to Eureka,
and drop in on US one night about eight
o'clock!
at began showing Just about the
time she got there, and by morning 1t
was foot deep; and before it stopped
it was even with the top of our cabin
windows! Then the sun came out and
melted it a little, then it froze hard,
and there was the best 'shoeing snow
YOU ever saw. By this time Mrs. Lee
had gone about half crazy over not
having her baby; and she felt SO bad
about, it that offered to take my shoes
and slip over to Carr's and bring the
child over to her.
ITO tell the truth, wanted a baby
around the house to make things pleas
ant through the winter"
"A ba6y! To make things pleas-
ant! ! Is the man crazy?" murmured
the engineer. But Uncle John went
on without noticing that remark.
Nellie was about three years old,
not very large for her age, but strong
and hearty, and l thought could
knock up some kind of rough sled at
Carrs, bundle her up well, haul her up
to tn, top of the divide then sling
her Oh my back, and the rest of the
way WIS all down hill.
"Wdl, l got to Carr's all right,
made my sled, stayed all night, and
started eff bright and early the next
mSrning
'Gentlenen, were you ever in, the
mountains about sunrise in the winter
time, with he snow covering every
thinc. and an icv crust all over it? No?