Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1890-12-13

pocket-kniie and stout cane, and If ]
must die I viii not give up without q
desperate struggle.
Ny fire now burned brightly and
looked rather cheerful within, but with
out those unearthly groans, screams,
and frightful growls made it dismal
enough indeed.
Presently 1 ventured to the doorway,
with my pocket knife IL one hand, my
cane in the other, and addressed my IN
truder as follows:
"If you are a man." q thought 1t
might be possible that some hunters
were trying to play joke on me,
"come forward and make yourself
known and you shall share my humble
couch with me and be forgiven for your
little joke and treated with courtesy IN
every respect.
Before I had finished the sentence l
saw something creeping toward me, and
when within about fifty feet of me 1t
commenced a round of those horrid
noise again. It nearly paralyzed me
this time, for was satisfied now be-
yond doubt that it was panther!
[ seized a fire-brand and hurled it at
him; but he only moved back a little
farther in the thicket, growing saVagely
as he did so.
He circled the cabin a half-dozen
times during the night, and would IN
variably come back and take his stand
in front of the door.
Whenever the fire burned low he
would venture closer to the door, all
the time growing savagely. 1 do be-
lieve if had not "lectured" him several
times during the night, and threatened
him with instant death, he would have
come in and given me battle! He
watched me as close as a cat would
watch mouse, and every time 1 would
stir or move he would growl savagely,
which caused me to shake as if in an
ague.
Oh, how I wished for my trUsty rife,
which / had left at home, little dream
ing I would so soon need it SO badly.
"Oh, that long, dismal, dreadful
night-would that I could forget i'll
For even now can only recall it with
feelings of horror.
About two hours before day my fuel
began to get scarce, and the panther
began to grow holder.
"My God!" thought I, eff my fuel
gives out will surely be torn to pieces
and devoured by this carniyerous
beastp
Iscraped up all the loose rubbish I
could find, such as chips, pieces of
bark and leaves, and put them on the
fire, but they only lasted few mo-
ments; the fire began to die out again,
and this time the panther ventured to
the very door, his eyes glsring like
two balls of fire, while he growled
furiouslyg"
Happy thought! II can brighten up
the fire with the bark which covers the
hutp No sooner said than done. Ibe-
gan pulling down the bark and putting
it upon the fire, and in few moments
it was burning brightly again, which
caused the panther to retreat a little
from the doorway.
As the first streak of gray appeared
in the east, the panther set up round
of heart-rendering, hair-raising noises
as he retreated to the eastward, and
then all noises ceased, and that was
the last I heard of him.
I left the cabin at the first dawn of
day, and for the first two or three miles
of my journey, it would have taken
good horse to have kept up with me.
At sunrise I stopped long enough to
eat cold breakfast, and then on again,
and before the sun went down that
evening L reached the Dry Prairie Set
Element, which was fifty-fve miles from
the Haunted Cabin" or, as 1 after
wards christined it, the "Panther's
Dem"
I cannot explain the strange present.
ment, but must say it was the most hor-
rible night ever experienced.