Morning journal and courier., 1890-07-21

lad of fifteen, had been out with my shot- gun. He came home at night a good deal ; excited. He had met some of the boys, and ! they had told him about panther that had | been seen and heard in the neighhorhood. | He talked SO much about the panther that he l forgot to tell me he had fired the charge. of l buckshot, and left both barrels loaded with bird shot.
 "The next morning took my shotgun and went over te the cabin. only looked to see that 1t was loaded, and supposed the load of buckshot was in the left barrel, as usual, as the boy had never interferred with it before. My carelessness, for that's what it was, came very near being disastrous. .
 "Mrs. Birgin was feeling stronger than usual that morning, and we walked e long way from the cabin. One of the servants went with us and carried big basket of pro- visions. We csmped for lunch in a pretty little rsvine over near Little river. After lurch Birgin and myself crossed the little ravine and left the women sitting on the bank. Birgin had bis revolver in his belt as usual, and began hsmmering on 6 rock look ing for specimens, and sat looking on, with my gun over my knees.
 Suddenly I heard a stir in the under brush on the other side of the ravine. I turned my head. and you can imagine how felt when saw @ full grown male panther only few feet back of where the women | 6nts 4t Aa0 pkobabiy bccu dttkdckc6 by tuc | smell of the provisions and was making ob- servstions.
 "My first thought was to give panther a dose of buckshot, and took quick aim and | let go my left barrel over the heads of the women. knew by the light recol that something was the matter, but could not understand it. sent the other charge in- stinotively. The panther was less than one hundred feet away.
 | fsVou oa,, fp,anfpa fbo eHant af ha hfrd- shot in the face of a robust and hungry pam ther. It simply maddened him. The beast prepared to spring upon the women, but I ooald do nothing with only an empty shot gun. At my first shot Mrs. Birgin had
 turned and caught sight of the panther just
 above her and fell in dead faint.
 "The huge beast made the spring, but
 went wids of his mark and rolled down the
 bank to the bottom of the little ravine. Fir
 gin had been equal to the emergency. He
 sprsng up instantly when shot, and draw
 ing his Colts revolver sent thirty-eight
 calibre slug into the psnther's right eye. A
 second slug caught him in the center of the
 forehead just as he sprang clear of the
 ground. He just grszsd the form of Mrs.
 Birgin, and was dead before he had rolled
 down to the bottom of the glen.
 "Birgin hurried up the bank to attend to
 his wife, who soon recovered, and went to
 look over the panther. Its face and necl
 were peppered with the little bird shot, bu
 the empty socket and the hole between th, eyes told the story. While was overhaul l ing the panther Birgin came down and lookes on. Now know what havo been practi
 cing all this time for wss all he said. H
 told me afterward that he did not wait tt
 fairly get the sights, but his long practie
 made 1t impossible to miss his aim. "Birgin and the girl helped Mrs. Birgil
 back to the cabin, half carrying her mos of the way. skinned the panther, leavin } on the head and claws Birein took the ski with him to Buffalo whea his wife's healt was fully restored in the fall.
 "For a while the boys had a good deal
 say about cunning for panther with Dir
 shot, but they won't soon forget the tw
 shots with which Birgin brought down tt l. only panther ever killed in these woods wit IA | a pistol n