Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-01-07
A CORNER ON cATAMouNrs.
Encounter of 2 West Virginia Preache,
 with a Family of Wildcats.

Encounter of 2 West Virginia Preacher with a Family of Wildcats. Rev. Shamrick Henderson, . Campbellite preacher of McDowell county, who has travelled these mountains for almost half . century, says Cole Creek (W. Val letter to The Plttsburg Post, and who has in times past had adventures and escapes enough to satisfy any reasonable mortal, was crossing Cole creek in its widest part, close up to MlcaJah mountain, when he saw two cata- mount kittens piayfully tumbling on the creek bank
 The reverend gentleman concluded to cap- ture the pretty, bobtailed, innocent looking punches of fluff and fur alive, and to tako them home as curiosities. He dismounted. and stepping lightly as possible gave chase. One of the little fellows slipped into a hollow log, while the other made a break for the woods. The one which struck for the woods was easily overtaken and captured, after having pretty severely scratched the hands of the reverend zoologist The one in the loe stuck like leech to it's sides, and it was not until after an hour or more of hard work the preacher succeeded in pulling him out with a forked stick, when he, too, was carried back to the horse and consigned to one side of tho saddle bags, whose contents consisted of hymn books and Bibles
 MT. Henderson, finding that time had flown on swift wings while he had been after his kittens, started his horse for tho house of the nearest neighbor, distance of Six miles or more. Before he had ridden half the distance the sun had disappeared be- hind the mountain. The reverend gentle man was riding slowly along through the deepening gloom of the forest in a thought full, half sleeping mood when a shrill screech behind him and up the mountain side re- minded him that it was growing dark and there was rapidly approaching prospect of fight, if not @ pair of them, with the parents of the kidnapped contents of the sad dle bags.
 Dr. Henderson can make a long prayer. and is not averse to a good square fight when he cannot get out of it. He realized that this was one of the occasions when prayer had to take back seat and muscle and grit must hustle for the supremacy. Dismount- ing, he secured heavy hickory club before the cats arrived, but not 8 moment too soon. Both the old cats appeared at the same time In the road ahead of the preacher. They had undoubtedly scented the kittens and made di- rectly for their captor. One of the cata- mounts, an unusually large and ferocious male, made spring for the dominies throat, but received @ whack with the hickory which laid him on his back. Before Tender son could recover his guard the female caught him by the shoulder as it leaped and raked him, tearing section of his coat and about six inches of his skin and flesh into ribbons.
 Fortunately the cat missed her calculation. as the preacher swung about with the weight of his blow on her partner, or 1t would have gone worse with him. As it was, the wound was terribly painful and made the dominic come as near saying unorthodox things as he ever did in his life. By this time the male had got on his feet again, and both cats pre- pared to spring at once. Henderson, seeing that the affair was getting serious, backed up against a tree and awaited their on- slaught He didn't have to wait long. as the male. snarling with rage, made leap at bis throat, while the female crept to one side as if to flank him. This fact saved the preacher, as it gave him time to receive tho biggest one, which he skillfully did by jump ing to the right and striking it as it struck the tree where he had just stood. The blow knocked it senseless. The female made a 1v- ing leap, but another quick movement d. lowed her to strike the base of the tree where the preacher had stood Re gave it one hard blow on the side, but slipped and fell, when the cat buried her teeth and claws in his leg, It vas now rolling, tumbling fight for very brief period, but the dominie's good luck did not desert him, as he was fortunate enough to hit the animal on the back, break ing its spine. As soon as he could free him. self from her embrace he ran to the male, which was just getting on its feet, and hit 1t two or three terrible blows which killed 1t.
 Both cats were now dead, but the preacher was so badly torn and exhausted that he had great difficulty in getting to his horse. When he remounted he rode as rapidly as he could to the nearest house, where he remained al- most fortnight before he was able to 20 about again.