San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-07-09

twenty feet of me when l got up, and
pitched my rife into his face as took new
start The roar he uttered lifted me foot
high, and made dozen extraordinary leaps,
but 1t wasn't a minute before I realized that
he was holding his ground, II not gaining q
little No man can guess how far wounded
and enraged beast will pursue him | be-
lieve could have kept clear Of this down to
the mouth Of the ravine, but If he pursued
me far enough he would be certain to over.
take me- | made up my mind as | ran that
| would try the hole in the cliff. 1t was
large enough for me to enter, and might be
large enough for the bear, but once inside
could turn and use my revolver. Old grizzly
was hardly more than rod behind me when
plunged into the hole and scrambled ahead
on hands and knees After going in about
ten feet the hole turned to the left and mar
rowed considerably, and seven or eight feet
further on | came to the end. A. ! did SO
my hand encountered something soft and
furry, and there was hiss and q spit that
told me that kitten panther was present |
felt all around me in the black darkness, but
the kitten was the only living object He
was a little fellow. not more than 4 or
weeks old, but ready to bite and scratch if
my fingers touched him.
The grizzly did not follow at once into the
cave. 1t was five minutes before heard him
working bis way in, and by this time had
recovered my breath and nerve. | was GER
tain he could not reach me within six feet,
and was rather glad to hear him wheeling
and snorting as he pulled himself along By
and by saw his eyes shine. He could come
no further. His claws dug at the rocks and
his roars of rage deafened me, but was safe.
1t was now my turn, and l gave him two
shots from the revolver which caused him to
redouble his roars Of rage For about ten
minutes felt very queer over the situation,
but all of sudden it struck me that had
gained nothing by the change In place Of
being fugitive l was a prisoner. The bear
showed no disposition to retreat, and now
became aware Of the fact that the cave had
a rank smell, and that the body of the bear
prevented the fresh air from entering felt
that | must drive him out, and | did a very
foolish thing. edged nearer to him and
put four bullets into his head, and after q
long drawn moan he closed his eyes and died
l congratulated myself for a moment, but
then it dawned upon me that had choked
up the passage to liberty with the carcass of
a bear weighing at least 600 pounds. |
thought might be able to push it before me,
but when | made the attempt l could not stir
it an inch. | had done an idiotic thing, and
there was no way to repair the error.
| was wondering how l should get out of
1t, when | heard the scream of another ami
NAL at the entrance of the cave and in a mo
ment more realized that the mother of the
cub panther had arrived 1t was well for me
that the body of the bear blocked the EN-
trance The panther went wild with fury
when her kitten began to call She bit and
clawed at the bear. and by q great effort
pulled It back a few inches Had not the
space been so contracted she could probably
have drawn it out, but she did not have a fair
show to use her strength Her eyes looked
at me over the body Of the bear, and if one
ever saw fury it was in those orbs | gave
her a couple of shots, hoping to drive her off.
think wounded her in the head, for she
set up a terrible screaming and ran out, but
in two or three minutes she was back again
with more fury than ever. l now pushed her
kitten forward, hoping she would be appeased
at its restoration. 1t climbed over the bear
and reached her, and she took ii in her
mouth and backed out was pleased maD
over this result for the cave was as hot as an
oven, smelled powerfully stout of panthers,
ing bit ratified had brought on an intense
thirst, and felt that | had got to do some
thing pretty soon or suffocate. Pretty soon
crept forward and began pushing at the big
carcass, but had not been engaged over two
or three minutes when the panther returned.
She had carried her kitten to a place of
safety, and was now bent on revenge She
realized that the carcass must be got out of
th k,fo az md
had | not seized the grizzly by the ears and
hung on she would have pulled the body out
of the cave. She hung to it for half an hour
before she quit the job, and then she retired
in a way which left no doubt that she would
watch at the entrance.
When the panther had gone ! struck a
match and looked at my watch 1t was nearly
noon, and was really suffering for water
There was damp spot on the rocks over my
head, and licked it with my tongue and in
that way got some relief, but would have
traded my whole outfit that day for one glass
of cool water felt that was in bad box,
and as Is generally the case in such instances.
| thought of every way out Of it but the
easiest one | reloaded my revolver and
planned to wait until the panther would
leave the neighberheod, but about 3 O'Clock |
suspected, from the movements Of the tunnel,
that the one had encountered had hunted
up her mate and brought him to the front.
Such soon proved to be the fact, but as only
one could enter the place at time, it was no
advantage to them. They took turns tug
gins at the carcass Of the bear, and the new
conner would have dragged 1T out in short
order but for my interference. There was a
space Of about six inches between the body
and the roof of the tunnel, and, though the