Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-09-27
BABY OR Pig MEAT.


"wben YOU fellows were of at the
outlet speariug whitehsh' l was
thinking over the various adven'
lures which have befallen me IN
my devotion to birch aud paddle.
1t surprises me to iud what lot
of scrapes I've got into with the
panthers. OF course, fellows that
90 every year into the Squatook
woods are bound to have adYen-
lures, more or less. You maybe
get by an Old bull moose,
or have a close shave with some
excited bear, or strike an unusually
ugly lynx, or get spilled ont OF a
canoe when you're trying to run
Toledo falls, but in my case 1t is a
panther every time. Wherever L
20 IN the woods there is sure to be
one of these creaturers sneaklDg
around. | declare, it makes me
quite uneasy to think Of it, though
l have always got the best of them
so far. I'll bet you a trout there
are one or two spOttlng me now
from those black thickets on the
mountoin, and one OF these days,
if don't look sharp, they'll be get
ting even with me for all the men,
bers of their family that have cut
of in their sins"
"Oh, you 60 alongl Exclaimed
Sam. "You are getting sentimen
tai. | can tell you, | have killed
more trout than you have panthers
and there's no old patriarch of a
trout going to get even with me 3"
The speakers were lying about
the camp fire at the foot of the
"Big Squatook" lake, IN Ontario
There were four of us in the party,
and we were in the genial mood
which comes after good days
sport and sayOry supper.
The night was still, and we were
waiting for story to 90 to sleep
by. Sans practical remarks went
unheeded, and IN few moments
StraniOn resumed:
"YOu see, boys, the beasts be-
gan to haunt me in my very cradle,
so to speak. Did any of you ever
hear mother tell that stOryl'
81 have ~ calculated Willis But
Ter; but Sam aud l FASTENED to de-
clare our ignorance.
every WE'LL" said Stranion.-
fWillis shall see that | stick to the
facts.
"Oh, boys, I've heavy contract
on hand, them replied Willis.
But StraniOn blandly ignored him,
aud continued
"You all haye seen the old par
sOuage, at the mouth of the Kes-
wick river. That's a historic edi-
fee Tor you. Therein was l born.
There were more trees round it
then than now
"At the mature age of 10 months
| moved away from that neighbOr-
hood, but not before the Indian
devil, as the panther is called in
that region, had found me out and
marked me as a foreOrdanined an
tagOnlst.
zone bright June morning, when
| was about 3 months old, and not
yet able to be much protection to
my young mother, nv father set
out on Que of his long parOchlal
drives, and we were lett alOne-nO,
not quite alone; there was Susan,
the kitchen girl, for company. That
constituted the garrison on that
eventful mOrning-mother, Susan
and myself.
81 cannot say | remember what
took place, but ! have so often
been told it that | feel as if had
taken an active part. Mother and
were sitting by an open window
down stairs, looking out on The
front yard, when suddenly mother
called out sharply:
"Susan Susan. Come here and
see what sort OF creature this IL
coming through the grove"
"There was a frightened ring Ii
my mothers voice, which brOugh
Susan promptly to her side.
"Just then the creature which
was long, aud low, and steathy
reached the garden fence grcefully
and paused to look about.
"With a Mortified gasp, mOthe
caught me to her bosom and whis
pered:
"It's tiger ?
4" "'Nom,' cried Susan 'it amt n
tiger but it's an Injun devil, whic
Is pretty nigh as bad Aud sh
ran and sIamed down the wlDdo'
"Tbe noise attracted the brute
attention. He glanced our wal
dropped to the ground aud creT
stealthily to the house.
"'The attic cried mother, wlldl,
All the windows down stairs al
wide OPEN
al need hardly assure you, boy
it didn't take those two women an
me very long to get up stairs. 4
we reached the top We heard
crash in the parlOr, and moth
r nearly squeezed me to death in b
, terror for me; but Susan exclaime
almost gleefully;