Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-11-05
A TIGER FIGHT.
q CLOSE CALL FOR A HUNTERS
LIFE.
The Monsters Teeth Tear His HANK I,
Shreds.

-f-~eceS 0Ac IL luc and
Giia river districts He has taken part
In number of severe brushes with the
Apaches and other tribes, but in his
old age, owing TO the military forces
on the frontier, and the lesseuing of
Indian difficulties, he Is not now de-
voting more attention to hunting. His
eye Is yet undimmed, and though now
nearly seventy years of age, he is
strong and stalwart. Ii would take q
book TO tell of his varied experiences.
Moreover he is inclined not 10 talk
much OF himself. However, he con-
sented TO tell of strange experience
he had with = royal Chihuahua tiger,
An animal OF waich nothing is known
quite so far north a. San Francisco.
"1ou must know said he, "that
these tigers are the most beautiful ami
mails in America They are robust
and seven or eight feet long, beauti-
ful golden color and spotted like
leopard. The royal tiger of Bengal is
striped and has no dots on him. More
over, his general color is dun, and not
gold, like the tiger of the Aztec races.
A thorough-going cat in all his move
ments, sly and light of tread, and with,
the strength of q Hercules, a man can,
not afford to fool round too much
when he meets one out under the
Southern pinion trees. Ii was in Sep
tember that myself. Tim Estabrook
and John Wilkinson were camped at
our mines at the head of Dolores can
yon- A party of Mexicans came in
and reported that they had found an
old Spanish mine a few miles out.
The Spanish mines We're, to q great
extent, covered over and concealed at
the time of the Revolution, and many
OF them were lost. 1t was one of
those lost mines that the Mexicans said
they had found. We set off after il ;.
carrying our express rifles with Us, for
we never in that section go unarmed,
Tor fear of renegade Apaches, let alone
vicious wild animals.
After sn eighteen mile iaunt we
came To the entrance of the mine. The
esrth-coveri had fallen in, and
though wre OK and ruin were all around,
there was a good-sized aperture, and
We had no difficulty in entering it. We
had advanced about fifty yards in the
long, desolste tunnel, aud if there is
anything desOlate in this world 1t is the
dark, damp tunnel of 8 desc rted mine.
We carried pine fagots in hand to give
US light. and were moving along in a
stopping posture, as miners go, when
all of q sudden 1 noticed great big
tracks in the soft mud at the bottom.
Good Heaven said I, there are
bears in here, and if we don't get out
we are done for We beat 8 hasty
retreat, and reaching open air again
gathered dry bushes and sticks TO
smoke them out. We stacked them up
pretty high in the mouth of the tunnel,
and threw dirt on them to cause them
10 shoulder and throw the smoke back
ward Then we sat down with our
guns to await the enemy. We had sat
were tired of holding our gun. so
long, and began to talk about other
things. Still nothing came
We discussed variety of subjects,
our attention became entirely relaxed,
and / WAS in the midst of = story. when
boob! boob! q great golden tiger
ieaped over the fire and US with a great
bound. In twinkling another, with
the same boob! boob! and bigger than
the other, lesped the barrier, collided
against Estabrook, knocked him down
and went fying beyond like q CREASED
streak Of lightning. Every last one of
, rs forgot his gun and went racing
around trying to find trees TO climb.
An old she tiger and two kittens, with
piercing howls, next followed, and
| went clambering up the hillside after
the other two. By this time every one
of Us was either perched in tree or
shining up q sapling. Our guns
were lying scattered on the ground,
and, old hunters as we were, we were
clearly beaten. Perched in our trees,
after our fright was over we INDUCED
in loud shrieks and laughter The
dtuation was too ludicrous. But we
resolved to get after these tigers, and
we did 1t.
We got a skilled Mexican trader to
70 with US, and we trailed them across
gulches, through shrubs, and finally
catching = glimpse of one perched In
rocky cleft, wilkinson brought him
down by q shot in the heart. He was
. very fine one, large and powerful,
and with q magnificent skin Into the
next canvon we traced the other tigers
They travelled almost together, going
only fifteen OF twenty feet apart in
places. The Mexican at last corraled
them in Q soft limestone mountain,
crumbling in pieces like chalk, and
with holes in one side made BY weather
and animals. Ii was their other re-
treat. This time, while We made prep
arations to smoke them ou:, we station
ed ourselves one hundred yards away,
spread far apart so we could get good
aim at their bodies while they ran.
The first came bounding out like shot
out of a gun, but we were on the alert
this time. and three bullets pierced him
and laid him low. Then the old one
and her Young came along. We shot
into them, wounding the big one, and
she turned on US. Estabrook was
caught and his coat torn off. Turning
To dee, the tiger caught him by the
left hand and put her teeth through 1t
and crushed it.
The kittens, weighing about one
hundred pounds apiece, would not run,
and advanced to aid the fight. A rifle
lb.ll from one of US crippled one and
laid the other low, and on we rushed,
firing all the while, and to aid of Esta-
brook. Some way we missed the
lbrute. We had to fire with the great
est care to keep from hitting the hunter,
and il seemed to me it was fully five
minutes before we planted the fatal
hall in her Estabrook was so badly
MANNED by the teeth Of the tiger that
he has never recovered from it. His
hand was so torn that two Of his fin
gers hung by shreds Of flesh, and his
arm above the wrist was also lacerated.
Rear and dear and other kinds of
,ana on the borders I have killed in