Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-08-08
BABY OR PIG NEAT.

The other night" .aid stranion, when
yuu fellows were Oh at The outlet spearing
whiteAsh, was thinking over the various adj
ventures which have befallsn me In my devo-
ton 10 birch and paddle. It surprrsss me TO
nnd what lot Of scrspss I've got into with
the pantherx The brutes seem 70 fairly
haunt me- OF course, fellows that go every
year into the Squatook woods are bound to
have adventures. more or lssa You maybe
get cornersd by an old bull moose, or have .
close shave with some excited bsnr, or striks
IN unusually ugly lynE, or get spilled out Of
The canoe when you're trying 70 run Toledo
falls, but In my case 1t 70 . panther every
time. Whereys ! go In the woods there 10
sure to be one Of these creatures sneaking
around | declare, It makes me quite uneasy
10 thinkof ii, though I've always got the best
Of them 10 far. III bet you trout there are
ore Or two spotting me now from those black
thickets on the mountain, and one Of these
days, II don't look sharp they'll be getting
even with me for all the members Of their
family that | have cut off In their sins"
.Oh, you 20 alongi" exclaimed Sam
You're getting sentimental lean tell you,
have killed more trout than you have pan
Tiers, and there's no old patriarch Of a trout
going to get even with mel"
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 a savory supper
The night was still, and we were waiting
for a story to go to sleep by. Sans practical
remarks went UNDECIDED, and In few mo-
mants Stranion resumed:
-.
NE In my very cradle, 40 b. speak. Did any
Of you eser hear mother tell that storyf"
al haver' CALCULATED Willis Butler; but
Sam and fastened TO declare our ignorance.
VERY well" said Stranion- willis shall
sse that | stick TO the facts.
''Oh, boys, I've = heavy contract on hand,
then, replied Willis
But Stanton blandly ignored him. and con-
tinued:
"You all have seen the old parsonage, at
the mouth Of the Keswick river. That's a
historic edifice for youl Therein was born.
There were more trees round it then than
now
AT the mature age Of 10 months moved
away from that neighborhood, but not before
the Indian devil, as the panther is called in
that region, had found me out and marked
me rs foreorlained antagonist.
''One bright June morning, when l was
about 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
company. That constituted the garrison of
the parsonage on that eventful morning
mother, Susan and myself
II cannot say remember what took place,
but have 50 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 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 the garden
fence. 1t mounted the fence gracefully, and
paused to look about.
with Mortified gasp, mother caught me
to her bosom and whispered:
It's tigerT
Nom 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 brutes attention.
He glanced our way, dropped to the ground
and crept stealthily to the house.
Z" The attcr cried mother, wildly. All
the windows down stairs are wide OPEN
IL 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 crash in the parlor, and mother near
ly squeezed me to death in her terror for me,
but SuSan exclaimed, almost gleefully:
" I declare, if he amt got in the wrong
winccr' Paror doors shut'
"By this time we were on the attic stairs,
and the door nj the foot Of the stairs--a solid.
old fashioned. country door-was safely bolt
e,l 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 he anxious housewife began to reap
pear
"'N It was that the horrid brute broke
in the parlor, Susanf she queried.
4" 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
'In few moments he found another en-
trance. The soft pat, pat Of his great furry
feet could be heard on the lower stairs. He
was evidently hungry and much puzzled at
our sudden disappearance.
I'VE could hear him shifting around in and
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 horror Then he began to scratch,
which was more than they could stand.
Terror lent them invention. and mother
put me into basket Of old clothes, while she
helped Susan drag heavy bedstead TO the
head Of the stairs This bedstead effectually
blocked the narrow stairway, and when they
had piled chest Of drawers on top Of 1t they
once more felt secure.
"All this trouble was unneeded however,
as that door. opening outward, was an in
surineuntable barrier to the panther
In 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 the window.
Now. the attic In which we had taken