Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-07-08
A WILDCATS MlsHAP.
An Exciting Adventure in the Forests OF
ArIra

Like the cry of a lost soul came a
wall from the very depths of dismal
little swamp, and most piteously did 10
greet our ears at our every silence. We
were a small hunting party and had
camped at the edge of this swamp one
evening, not knowing the nature of
the broad stretch of reeds and bushes
SO near at hand. Game was so plenti-
full that we had tired of killing it.
There was too little sport, as the true
sportsman looks at the matter, in
shooting deer, beautiful, stately bucks.
without as much of an effort as is re-
quired in some localities to find a cot
ton tail.
We were in the forests of Arkansas;
we had been on this trip about a week
and half, and, as 1 said before, were
tired of such unsportsmanlikes slaughter
as was possible IN these woods, and had
decided to camp for few days and have
a jolly good time before starting for
home
At little distance from our camp was
a small, clear stream in which we found
some very nice fish on which we Toasted
when flesh or fowl had palled upon the
turkeys and bear or two one of the
party had killed wild boar, another a
wolf, and other different kinds of
smaller animals until the camp resem-
bled the workshop of taxidermist.
The rarest of all the animals cap
tured was a beautiful white squirrel
which one of the party had espied in
tall pine, and which he had endeavored
to bring down with only a wound, but
was unsuccessful and shot the little fell
low through the head: his body the
soft white fur streaked with blood.
tumbled from the limb, and bounding
from branch to branch, fell at his muir
derer's feet a ruffied, disfigured sacri-
fee.
AT intervals the whole night through
we heard this cry, and two of us re-
solved that early in the morning we
would investigate the matter and find
out If possible the cause of the noise.
The swamp was overgrown with
thick tangled mass of bushes, with here
and there little tree, while at inter-
walls were little clumps of half dozen
or more trees of quite respectable size.
The cry seemed to come from one of
these little punches of trees about a
quarter of mile from our camp. The
bushes and soft mud made the travelling
quite difficult, and only after much
hard work did we reach our destination
and were rewarded for our trouble by
finding large wild cat, with one hind
leg fast in steel trap, suspended from
limb and hanging about two feet
from the ground The poor creature
had been caught in the trap and in
endeavoring to escape had climbed
the tree, but being encountered
by the trap had fallen from the limb in
such a way as to get the long chain Sc
curely fastened The animal was raw
ing mad with hunger and pain, and the
sight of us only tended to increase it's
fury.
We decided to release the creature if
possible, and give it one more chance
for life; but how to do this with safety
to ourselves was the question | climbed
the tree in which the cat was hanging
and, getting out on the limb directly
over him, drew up the trap till l could
reach the spring and endeavored to
release the prisoner, but it was impos-
sible to open the jaws of the trap
with one hand, so l told Fred, my
companion, to cut a forked stick
for me and then climb tree, which he
did. As l drew up the trap again the
wild cat came very near getting on to
the limb with me, but a rap across the
nose with the stick made him retreat.
Fastening the chain to limb so that
I could reach the trap with both hands,
/ put the fork of the stick over the
spring, and by pressing with all my
strength the jaws of the trap opened
and the animal was once more free. He
did not tarry long, but bounded away
through the bushes. | unfastened the
trap, and descending from the trees we
started for the camp
Upon our arrival we found the rest of
the party absent, with the exception of
Sam, our negro cook, who was up in "a
tree, and as soon as he saw us yelled
that the devil was in the tent lies
maxim things hum" The side of the
tent was toward us, and not caring to
come upon his satanic majesty una
wares, we went cautiously around until
we could look in at the opening, and
there we saw the very same wild cat we
possible within his reach l threw a
stick at him when he turned and, with
his eyes glaring and jaws extended,
rushed toward us. However much we
had pitied him in his helpless position
In the tree, there was nothing now to
do but to stop his mad course, which
bullet from Fred's rifle did in an in
stant.-A. M. Hendee, in Yankee Blade.
"A bold tramp at Scranton, Pa,
carried off the furniture and bric-a- brac
from a mansion in that city to an auc-
ton room last week, and had nearly
disposed of the same before the trick
was discovered. The house was the I'M
occupied residence of lately-deceased
gentleman, a side door of which had
been left unfastened. The articles taken
away were valued at two thousand dol
lars. The tramp told plausible story,
but the auctioneer's suspicious were
aroused and the daring scheme was
frustrated.
High German officials are making a
campaign against superfuous verbiage
in the reports of their subordinates. In
the Danzig district the local police and
city officials have been ordered to drop
from their official vocabulary the
phrases most obediently," 'most re-
spectively," and most sincerely" The
customary 81 have the honor to report, y
ETC., with which all documents from
lower officials have been begun since
Frederick William l., is now dropped
Honesty crime.-Every official of