Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-04
The Awful Fate TO Which the Hand
some Jaguar and the Big Black
Bear Are Doomed.
AMERICAN GIRLS AFTER THEM
Chauncey N. Depew After Becoming God
father to Some Five Hundred Chill
dreu has Called a halt.
GENERAL MAHOSE ALL BROKEN UP.
Short Stories IN Which Humanity Appssn IN Vssieni
Amusing situttiuna

Scientific folk are mourning the extinction
Of so MANY wild animals The American
buffalo is practically gone. and it is said
that It will be but few years before the
Rocky Mountain sheep and the grizzly bear
in this country and the elephant, kangaroo
and dozen more in other countries must
follow the buffalo. The carrying of bad
news is not pleasant business, as has been
noted in effect by William Shakespeare, the
English dramatist, but when duty calls we
usually respond, and it is our sad duty to
inform the scientific folk that still another
animal is rapidly becoming extinct and
probably will not hold out later than next
spring, if, indeed, they are not all gone now,
says the New York Tribune. We refer to
the jaguar or American tiger, now having g
war of determination carried on against it
by the sanguinary Western girl.
OF the many instances OF jaguar slaughter
by girls and young women lately we have
noted two, those of Miss Pauline Collier, o:
Texas, and of the Misses Carrie and Maude
Eames, OF Bob Creek, Col. In each Of these
cases the ladies met the jaguar and subse-
quently hung his skin on the fence, to use a
THE JAGUAR ISN'T A PET.
The reader who has never met a jaguar
Cthe felis onca OF Linnaeus) NAV have an
idea that il is sort of an overgrown cat de-
signed by nature to sit and howl on the
larger back fences nights, but such is not the
case. The jaguar is the most formidable
feline of the New World, and though in
ferior to the tiger or lion of the Old World,
- ic nat harsr hot ha INF i'm hos Sl-at
and smuggled into the cars of the elevated
road. 1t delights to attack horses and cat
tie, and finds no trouble in dragging them
down and drinking their blood, but when it
tackles the Western girl its SKIN, as We
have already intimated, soon flaps on the
front yard fence.
Mrs. Susan Handfeld lives near Painted
Cave, Tex, on the Pecos river. She is
married, but is still young. A few nights
ago her husband was away from home and
she was left alone with her little boy, named
Jesse and aged years. Just before bed
time the chickens in the barn were heard
making disturbance, and Mrs. Handfeld
sent esse to investigate.
THE INTRUDER ON THE ROOF.
The boy soon returned, and breathlessly
informed his mother that a monstrous ami
NAL was stalking about on the roof of the
barn, like bad actor giving Hamlet's
soliloquy. Selzing a lantern, Mrs. Hand
field went back with the boy. They had
Just started when there was a loud crash in
the direction of the barn, and as they came
nearer they saw that the animal had broken
through the roof and fallen inside. Mrs.
Handfeld sent Jesse back after her hus-
bands gun. While he was gone she
thought that she would take peep at the
animal, and so opened the door a little
anG4ooked in. She saw an immense jaguaf
on top of PROSTATE 2-year-old colt sucking
its life's blood.
With cry which caused the other horses
TO tremhle with terror, the great cat sprsng
at Mrs. Handfeld. Not being as vet
thoroughly aroused, she turned and ran
toward the house. Mrs. Handfeld ran as
fast as she could, but the agile beast KEPT
close behind her, covering 20 feet at every
jump and jumping with extreme frequency
When Mrs. Hand6eld turned her head she
could feel its hot breath on her cheek. 1t
was all the time uttering unearthly cries
and, as it were, beating the air into foam
with its tail.
DONE WITH A LANTERN.
Mrs. Handfeld had almost reached the
house when her foot caught in a croquet
wicket and she fell The beast leaped upon
her with its mouth open to its widest extent.
Mrs. Hsndheld rolled over slightly and
stuffed the lantern down its throat. The
monster backed of, crunchlng the lantern
with his horrid jaws. The kerosene took
fire, and moment later blue blazes began
to pour out between his teeth and SINCE off
his whiskers.
AT this point the boy came with the gun,
having stopped while in the house to take
advantage Of his mothers absence and eat
six spoonfuls OF jam and paint yellow streaks
on the family cat with a toothbrush and the
mustard pot, and Mrs. Handfeld took it
and Joined in the pyrotechnic display by
giving the jaguar both barrels" He
rolled over, but still continued to lash the
helpless earth with his tail, SO the lady
loaded up and again let him have both bar
rels, when he became quiet and died.
AN EVERYDAY PERFORMANCE.
She then went in and spanked the boy,
washed the cat, locked up what was left of
the jam, put up her front hair in papers and
went tO bed.
We take great pleasure in giving full
credit to that able Western paper, the St.
Louis Globe Democrat, for most of the facts
which we have narrated. Its enterprising
correspondent was on the ground early next
morning, measured the jaguar, and found it
= feet long. Mrs. Handfeld was attending
10 her household duties as usual and seemed
composed, but Mr.. Hand6eld, who had got
home some time in the night, was still badly
frightened, and watched his wife closely
and talked in a whisper. Thus the slaughter
goes on. The Smithsonian Institution
should lose no time in securing a specimen
Jaguar before the species becomes extinct
forever.
AND THE DEAR Is DOOMED.
But the American girl has also turned her
attention to the huge black bear, On the
edge of the worst side of No-man's-friend
swamp, In the State of Georgia, near Adel,
lives man named jackson Respess. He has
.our small children and daughter, aged Is.
na aned Margaret. Mrs. Respess died some
months ago, and the care Of the children has
since devolved on this daughter.
A few days ago Mr.. Respess went to
Savannah on business and was gone over
night. When it became dark Margaret put
the children to bed and finished up her
household duties for the day. Then she
read an hour or two in "History of the
American Theater," she being anxious to
so on the stage and play Juliet" after
which she, too, retired. At about o'clock
In the morning the four children began to
cry ior drinks of water, having the usual
peculiarly of childhood which demands
more drink between midnight and A II.
than during any other hours of the twenty
four.
IT WAS NOT HER ROMEO.
Margaret arose and went to the well, 100
YARDS distant. The moon had set and the
sky was overcast She could hear the wind
moan among the trees in Norman 's-friend
swamp. To her ears there also came from
the same place the howls of wild beasts, en-
hafr cd in