Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1891-05-19
BOY AGAINST JAGUAR,
'MlLkSOP DAN" PROVES HIMSELF TO
BE A COURAGEOUS LAD.
Youth Of Twenty Has Terrible strur-
gle with Three Grown, BIoodthirsty
Panthers - Protected by "a Gage, He
wounds Two and Knifes a Third

Night had fallen over the great mount
ain wall Of the Andes, and the foothills
between 1t and the coast were wrapped in
gloom which the rising moon was still
zoo feeble to penetrate. Any one would
nave needed good eyes to make out that
the shadowy mass on the brink of small
stream, which runs down one Of the higher
valleys, was huge iron cage with a man
inside of it.
Was he prisoner Hardly, for he was
unbound and armed with a rife; but, on
the other hand, If he was free agent. il
was odd that he should be lingering at a
4pot which every one else carefully avoid
~ after dark as the chosen haunt of all
e wild beasts in the neighborhood. And,
aDranger still, this strange watcher was "A
mere lad, barely twenty years old, WI se
local reputation was that of "miiksop'-
fellow with no spirit whatever.
Daniel Martin was the junior of the staff
OF mine that had just been started at the
head of the valley. With the other en-
pioyes he was very unpopular, partly be-
cause he was the only Americana" among
them uor all the rest were hatives), and
partly because, instead of spending his
evenings like them, he was always porting
over scientific books or studying the con
struction and working of the mining ma
chinery.
No one ventured actually TO molest him,
for, quiet as he was, there was look about
him that warned the most reckless not to
go too far. But they all looked down upon
him as milksop, and whenever he passed
they whispered spitefui jokes to each other,
which he was luckily not so silly as to
mind.
WAITING THE ATTACK.
NOW, in this wild and thinly peopled
Jdistrict the beasts of prey were so trouble
some that the owner Of the mine, rich
citizen OF Lima, had offered pretty high
reward for every iaguar (panther) killed,
put TO XIII them was no easy matter. The
wary beasts seemed to avoid by instinct
all traps and pitfalls, and would not touch
poisoned meat. II band Of hunters went
forth against them they were no where TO
be seen, while any man who ventured
through the bush alone was apt to see more
of them than he liked.
This was the periious mission that had
brought the brave American lad to the
dangerous spot by night. He had set
trap for the jaguars and baited it with
himself, and now he was watching to see
what would come Of it,
He had not long TO wait. The savage
brutes had already scented him, and ere
long rustling and cracking was heard
among the bushes, and the Frightening
moon showed him three long, gaunt bodies
creeping stcathily toward the cage in
which he stood ready, rife in hand
There was complete jaguar farnily-fa-
= sher, mother and son--the younger beast
being almost full grown and armed with
teeth and claws well nigh as formidable as
those OF his terrible sire and dam With
their huge fiat heads lowered their great
white fangs cleaning Ia the moonlight.
and their striped, sinewy bodies gliding
noiselessly over the ground with a fierce
elastic life in every movement, they were
indeed a grim band the sight of which
might well have made even an old hunter
look grave.
IN THE CAGE
But Dan Martin had faced in his time
the painter" and grizzly bear of the far
west, and he was not the tad TO be scared
by any wild beast upon earth. Cooiiy
waiting till the fearful group came near
enough to make his aim sure, he leveled
his piece at the foremost beast, which hap
pened to be the cub, and let fly.
His aim was true, and down fell the cub |
stone dead bat the fall was followed by a |
frightful yell as the female jaguar, mad !
dened by the loss Of her young, flew raging ]
at one side Of Dams sheltering cage. while |
the male, either by accident or design. |
. dashed at the other.
The attack on both sides at once, whether /
intended or not, brought the gallant lad !
within hairs breadth of destruction, for |
the bars were wide enough apart to let his |
grim foes thrust their paws between so far
as almost to touch him on either side,
while he, standing az erect as he could be-
twixt the clutching talons (for he knew
that one inch to right or left would cost
him his life, reloaded with all possible
speed.
But all at once the she jaguar, mad with
rage at being unable 10 reach the SLAYER OF
her young, rushed around to the other side
OF the cage and leaped up on the bars Just
as the male beast made dash at them
likewise
BOY AND BEAST TOGETHER
Dan fired again and wounded her NOR
tally, but it was too late The weight of
the two huge bodies, suddenly thrown
both at once upon the same spot, over
balanced the cage. 1t tottered on the edge
of the bank, turned over and fell with
loud splash right down into the stream.
carrying Martin along with it,
Happily for our hero (who would other.
wise have been drowned in this novel SEN
try box the shock of the fall snapped the
worn and rusty catch" OF the bolt. and
Dan, bruised and dizzy AS he was, was
able TO push back the door Of the cage and
scramble out into the shallow water,
twhich WAS little more than waist deep.
But just as he was about to Chamber up
on the bank furious splasbing In the ,
stream drew his attention to the third
Iaguar, which, badly hurt by blow from
the corner of the cage as it fell, was strug-
Cling in the water close beside him Come
what might it must not escape Like {
lightning Dan whipped out his long hunt {
ing knife and buried IL in the monsters
throatc-a blow that needed no repetition. {
Just at that moment the other officers Of =
the mine, startled by the firing, came rush t
ing up to the spot In body to see what
was the matter, and stood In blank amaze
ment at the sight Of the dead monsters and
the young milksop" by whom they had t
been slain. {
''senor Don Daniels" at length said the t
chief OF the mining staff, who had always '
been hardest Of all upon the young hero, J.
you are brave man, and for one will b
never say another word against you" - Il