Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-12-20
JESERET EVENING NEWS
Saturday. December go. 1890.
TREED WITH A PANTHER.
A ZIMMERMAN cYoPPED DOWN IN
A PINE WITH A CATANoUNT.

For myself, / was "chopped
dow n" once, and once only. Ii
happened in this way. In til.
midwinter Of 1879 had secession TO
visit the chief Of the Little NADIA
waska. Coming from the city, aud
10 q camp where l was a stranger 10
all the men, | was, not unnaturaiiy,
regarded rs pronounced specimen
Of the greenhorn. l took no pains
to tell anyone what the boss al
ready well knew, that is, that /
had been q frtquenter Of the camps
from my boyhood. Many aud
many a neat trap was laid for my
apparently "tender- feet, but 1
avoided them all as If by accident.
AS for climbing q tree, / always
laughed st the idea when il was
proposed to me, | always suggested
that it might spoil my clothes. Be
fore long the men, by putting little
things together, came TO the con-
clusion that | was an old stager;
and, rather sheepisi,ly, they gave
over their attempts to entrap me.
Then graciously waved my hand,
as It were, and was frankly received
as n veteran, cleared from every
suspicion Of being green.
At last the dsy came when | did
wish to climb n tree. The camp
was on a high plateau, and not Ear
off lowered a magnificent pine tree,
growing on the summit Of knoll
in such a way as to command all the
surrounding country. Its branches
were pbenomenally thick; its girth
Of trunk was magnificent. And
this tree | resolved one day to climb
in order to get n clear idea of the
lay o. the land. OF course | strolled
of surreptitiously and, as thought,
unmatched, but there | was much
mistaken. No sooner was l two
thirds OF the way up the tree than,
with shouts Of laughter, the lumber
nien rushed out of the surrounding
cover and proceeded to chop me
down. The chance was too good
for them TO lose.
concealed my annoyance and
made no attemp. to descend. On
the contrary, L thanked them for
the attention, and climbed few
feet further up, to secure a position
which / saw would be a safe one for
me when the tree should fall. As
did so l perceived, with a gasp and
a tremor, that was not alone in the
tree.
inere, not ten feet above me,
stretched at full length along large
branch. WIS n huge panther, glar-
ing with rage and terror. From
the men below his form was quite
concealed. CHANGING restiessly from
me to my pursuers, the brute seem-
ell uncertain just what to do. As l
carefully RETAINED from climbing
any further up, and tried to assume
an air Of not having observed him,
he apparently concluded that / was
not his worst enemy. Intact l dare
say that he understood what was
going on aud understood that he
and | were fellow sufferers.
/ laughed softly to myself IS l
thought how my tormentors would
be taken aback when that panther
should come down among them. L
decided that, considering their
numbers, there would be at lesis. no
| more danger Tor them th2n tnat 10
which they were exposing me IN
J their reckless fooling. And, al
ready Influenced by that touch OF
nature which makes us SO won
drously kind, / began to hope that
the panther would succeed ID max
ing his escape.
The trunk OF the pine was so
thick that might almost have
reached the ground before the chop.
pers could cut 1t through. AT las,
II gave n mighty shudder and sagged
10 one side. 1 baianced myseil
nimbly on the upper side. sseady.ne
myself by convenient branch: The
great mass OF foliage, presenting a
wide surface IN the air, maue tht
fall a comparatively slow one, bul
the tremendous sweep Of the draush'
upward, as the tree-top descended
It's gigantic aro gave me sickening
sensation. Then came the ma
dull and thunderors crash, ann II
an instant ] found myself standing
in my place, Jared but unhurt,
with the snow thresbed Up all aoou'
me.
The next instant there was An
other roar, or rather sort Of screen
ing yen, oys err, eas sn I,G'o 81,
4 lduKIlltI vi ca0 49,