, 1886-08-01
ANIGHT in THE WOODS.

die. i know | should. i could not come,
go or stay, just as fancy inclined me.
For my part, l want liberty; must nave
liberty, too
'Raise a row, and risk your life accord
ing to your own free will" interrupted
the listener, looking up at the face of his
friend, as he stood with features beaming
with enthusiasm, and rifle in hand, ready
to start out upon the trackless prairie in
search Of game, adventure or anything
else that promised excitement.
mo, John, you wrong me-" replied the
first speaker. 81 am a civil sort of A. fell
low and dom want any trouble with
mankind in general, but l do like to be
one of n party sent out to look after the
'hostiles,' and If there's my scout
ing to be don't / want to go, and the more
dangerous the service the better 1 like it;
but in the absence of anything better 1
can go into the territory upon n hunting
expedition, and sometimes / find ex-
element enough in one day to last me a
whole week.
The tract. of land lying next to the
southern line of Kansas, known as the
Cherokee strip, is u%noccupied by either
whites or Indians, with the exception Of
a few cowboys, left there to watch the
large herds of cattle pastured by white
men upon this portion Of the government
Auu anu rs tniS itBiOi ID well
and timbered, with an abundance Of the
finest p%asturage, with so few to modest the
game-the woods nrc literally alive with
deer, antelope, squirrels, quail, wild
turkeys, etc.-Indian territory has been
correctly styled the garden OF America.
The climate is mild, the soil fertile and
adapted to all kinds of fruits, vegetables
and grains raised in any part of the tenn
perate zone, and the fact that it has an
abundance of timber, on which the south
ern and western portions of Kansas are
almost entirely destitute, gives it an ire
sistible fascination for settlers along the
line, and hunters go from the state with
in the territorial limits to revel in this
tempting wilderness. 1t was from this
region that our young FRIEND Joseph
Williams, had just returned, and we viii
let him tell the story of his adventure in
his own words.
at was in December, but the grass was
still green In the woods, and the squirrels
were yet engaged in the work of boarding
up the vast treasures of walnuts, hickory
nuts, acorns, etc, which literally covered
the ground.
''The nights were cool and frosty, and
the days warm and clear, and / mentally
decided that it had the finest climate of
any portion of America. built n little
log cabin in which to stay nights, and
never failed to bring home ms much game
MS / could carry. But shooting deer and
turkey was too tame; L wanted to come
across some game that had fight in it, and
/ came very near getting my wish. / had
gone n greater distance than usual one
day, and night overlook me when / was
about four miles from the cabin.
81 had been tramping around all day,
and, feeling fatigued, l began to look for
/, ot,tfn1T .IA.- L.. ..,1sal. - ...,, tL- ,s-1N
without returning to the cabin. / found
an old tree that had been blown down by
the roots, and the cavity made in the
earth was filed with dry leaves, evidently
drifted in by the cddying currents OF the
wind.
"'What n capital place TO sleepr /
thought, and, standing my rifle against a
tree, / kindled a fire, broiled some quails
Tor my supper, and after satisfying my
hunger l lay down upon my leafy bed,
with my revolver under my head, and was
soon in II sound md restful slumber.
Several hours must have elapsed when |
was awakened by feeling n warm breath
upon my cheek, accompanied by n snuff
ing sound.
I'm n moment l was fully aroused and
became conscious of the fact that some
large animal was standing over me. |
could see the greenish eyes just above my
face and discern by the dim starlight the
outlines of n powerful frame, while the
snufing and smelling about my face con-
WINGED me hat the beast was trying to
discover the nature Of the intruder, for
the thought flashed across my mind that 1
had taken possession of this creatures
lair.
"And | was equally anxious to know
what animal was thus attempting to make
my nQDuninfnnRa SnrplV TINT nOxyQrfuI
frame could belong to no other than the
great scourgc Of the wilderness, the Amer
lean panther, and | was completely at his
mercy; the least movement on my part
might cause him to seize me by the throat,
and with heart beating audibly, l lay per-
fectly quiet awaiting the conclusion of
the examination. 1t seemed as II he
never would be satisfied, but Mt length he
paused, stood still for a moment, then lay
down and curled himself up by my side,
evidently reconciled to having me for u
bedfellow.
~ remained m~otionless until l thought
he was usleep, then cautiously reached for
a revolver, but at the first movement the
beast uttered a low growl and placed his
huge paw upon my arm. Again | lay
quiet, and after n few moments he laid his
head against my shoulder, and again went
to sleep. | dared not stir; the paw
upon my arm was as large as my hand,
and / felt the long cat-like claws, when
he placed it there, although they were
drawn back so rs not to pierce the flesh,
as long ms | remained m%otionless, but the
least movement caused a retaining pres
sure which | feared might draw blood,
and, If II was indeed n panther, | had
good reason to dread such n result. l had
no alternative but to lie still and await
the coming day, but the situation was
tedious. Every bone in my body ached
for n change of position, which / dared
not make, and IL seemed as II the night
would last forever; but at length the red
dening clouds in the east announced the
WELCOME fact that day had dawned, and
rs the suns first beams came shining
through the trees the animal slowly rose
and stretched himself lazily, like some
overgrown mastiff, and l had n good
opportunity OF estimating his enormous
size and power. | had not been mistaken
in %supposing it TO be n panther, but l was
astonished ut the proportions which he
had attained.
'The great paws were fully as large as
my hand, and he placed his ~forefeet upon
my breast and began licking my face,
while l fairly trcmbled least the great
rough tongue should draw blood, for ut
the instant of tasting 1t knew he would
become ravcnous for more, but at length
he turned from me and commenced eating
n turkey that | had left lying by the
smouldering camp fire, still keeping m
eye upon me. l thought, perhaps, he
might become sufficiently absorbed to en-
able me to reach my revolver, but at the
first movement OF my hand he dropped
the turkey and looked at mt with n growl.
'If that was only enough to satisfy his
hunger | would probably be safe for n
time, at last, but whether it would he
sufficient or not was n question. lie
finished Il ut Inst. md cnmr hack within