Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-10-14
BABY OR PIG NEAT.

BABY OR PIG NEAT.
~rhs Other night. nd straniou, ''vhss
you feIlovs were OF II tho outlet spearing
whttsdah, ~s~ thinking over the various Cd
ventures which have beEaI1en me in my dsvo
tloa 70 birch and paddIs Il surpri<s Ee 70
fsd what ios Of svaps Eve got into With
he pantherz Tbs bruts ss~m 20 fairly
haunt mn OF eour.s. fsilows that 10 every
year into the Squasook woods are bound To
have alventwes, mors or isa You maybe
get cornered by an old bull moose or have .
ciose shave with some excited bear, or strike
an unusually ugly lynx, or get spilled out II
IL canos when you're trying 90 run Toisdo
falla, but In my cass IL b . panther every
tims. Wherever ! 60 in the woods there b
sure TO b one Of the.e creatures uaeaking
around declare, 1t makes me quite uneasy
70 thinkof IL, though I've always got the best
of than 70 far. I'll bet you . trout thers are
ons or two spotting me now from those black
thicksts On the mountain, and one Of thess
days, II don't look sharp they'll be getting
even with me for all the members Of their
family that have cut Oh In their sins'
"Oh, you 20 alougi" exclaimed Sam
You're getting sentimental lean tell you,
IhAve killed more trout than you have pan
TIERS, and there's no old patriarch Of a trout
going 10 get even with mel"
The speakers were lying about the camp
Ore 1t 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
otter . good days sport and . savory supper.
The night was still, and We were waiting
for . story TO go to sleep by. SANS practical
remarks went unheeded. and In . few mo
fnents Stranion resumed:
You see, boys, the beasts began TO haunt
me In my very cradle, 20 TO speak Did any
of you ever hear mother tell that storyr
al havsl" CALCULATED Willis Butler, but
fam and hastened to declare our ignorance.
very WE'LL" said Stranion- Willis shall
- that stick TO the facts."
''Oh, boys, I've . heavy contract on hand,
them" replied Willis
But Stanton biAndly ignored him. and con-
tinuesi:
"You all have seen the old parsonage, 1t
the mouth Of the Keswick river. That's .
historic edifice for you Therein was born
There were more trees round 1t then than
now.
lat the mature age Of 10 mouths moved
away from that neighhorhood, but not before
the Indian devil, as the panther is called In
that region, had found me out and marked
me a. foreor,lained antagonist.
"One bright June morning, when l was
about 5 months old and not yet able to be
much protection to my young mother, my
father set out on one of his long parochial
drives, and we were left alone-no, not quite
alone: there was Susan. the kitchen girl for
That TOD tba arrts< NJ
the parsonage on that eventful morning
mother. Susan and myself
II cannot say remember what took place,
but have 20 often been told it that | feel a.
II 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 is coming through the
grove.
There was q frightened ring in my moth
er's voice, which brought Susan promptly to
her side
Just then the creature, which was long,
and low, and stealthy. reached tho garden
fence It mounted the fence gracefully, and
paused to look about.
with horrified gasp, mother caught me
TO her bosom and whispered:
Its a tigerr
"'No'm,' cried Susan, It amt no tiger
but it's an lnjun devil. which is pretty nigh
as bad And she ran and slammed down the
| window.
THE noise attracted the brute's attention.
He glanced our way, dropped to the ground
and crept stealthiIy to the house.
The att,cr cried mother, wildly. All
the windows down stairs are wide open.
~ need hardly assure you, boys, it didn't
take those two women and me very long to
| get up stairs. As we reached the top we
heard a crash in the parlor, and mother near
| ly squeezed me to death in her terror for me
but Susan exclaimed, almost gleefully:
Il declare, II he amt got in the wrong
winderl Parlor doors shut
by this time were on the attic stairs,
| and the door at the foot OF the stairs-a solid,
| old fashioned. country door-was safely bolt
| ell behind us.
| That door was the only means Of access
| to the attic, and on the head Of the stairs we
all sat down to take breath. Then in mo-
Their the anxious housewife began TO reap
pear
What was that the horrtd brute broke
| in the parlor, Susanr she queried.
Must a been them dishes on the little
table by the winder ma'am. responded the
| girl
And then we heard clatter again. as the
beast in springing out Of the window knocked
the fragments Of pottery aside.
| an a few moments he found another en-
trance. The soft pat, pat of his great furry
feet could be heard on the lower stairs He
our sudden disappearance.
t. 4
| out of the bedrooms, and at last that soft.
persistent tread found its way to the attic
door.
How he did sniff about the bottom of
that door, till the blood OF his prisoners ran
cold with horrorl Then he began to scratch,
which was more than they could stand.
| TERROR lent them invention. and mother
| put me into a basket of old clothes, while she
helped Susan drag heavy bedstead to the
head OF the stairs. This beslstead effectuaIly
blocked the narrow stairway. and when they
had piled chest Of drawers on top Of it they
| once more felt secure.
"All this trouble was unneeded, however,
as that door. opening outward, was an in
surmcuntable barrier TO the panther.
In a few minutes he stole away. restlessly
Then we heard some flower pots, which stood
on the window ledge Of the front bedroom,
go crash on the steps below. The Indian
devil was getting out Of che window.
Now, the attic In which we had taken
refuge vas lighted by two windows-a small
one in the gable. looking out upon the barn
yard, and the other, q very small sky light,
reached by sort Of fxed step ladder from
the attic hoor
As soon as mother heard the animals
claws on the side Of the house she thought of
the skylight, and cried TO Susan to shut it.
The skylight bad an outer shutter Of
wood, which was closed in winter time 10
keep the heavy snowfall from breaking ths
glass
This shutter was now thrown back upon
the roof and the inner sash was raised . few
inches for the sake Of ventilation. Susan fair
ly Jew up the ladder and pulled gu. the littls
stick that supported the sash
she had barely got the hook slipped into
the staple when the pAuther's round head
and bag. light eyes appeared within foot Of
her face She gave . startling shrek and
fell down the ladder
AT this juncture the two women gave
themselves up for lost, and mother. seizing an
old curtain pole which lay among the attic
timber, prepared to sell my infant life at q
pretty high figure.
f-,,,v, th .<<,,, -. hi--LS