The Forrest City times., 1891-09-11
IN A PANTHER'S JAWS.
TERRIBLE ADVENTURE IN 4
 TEXAS WOOD.
The Sleeping Babe Torn From It's Mothers Breast-The L!ttle Ones Father 10 the Rescue, and Then Followed a Fight to the Death.

They still have good storv-tellers in Texas. Some tell little lies and others tell lies of larger proportion, bu St Louis paper vouches for the veracity of this one. He was one of . party at the Mcleod house, Dallas, recently. Every body opened their eyes wider when he said that he was no great story teller. But" he continued. II once did pretty bit of shootiug not very far from where we are talking now that just about saved my life, and pos sibly some other lives too.
 The gentleman, who is old, but never prosy, immediately had an ln- terested audience.
 Il am n pretty quiet citizen now, ' but about forty years ago l was lively enough. People had to be lively that lived in this country then. l hunted all up and down the Trinity for good many miles, and never came back from one of my trips without game.
 Hut on one of these trips I came mighty near being game myself when l came home. Dallas wash anything but Il little scattering hamlet then. | lived on a farm out here about ten miles on the other side of the river, and l used to come here to nil. leave my wagons over on the other side, where Oak Cliff now is, and bring my corn over in boat. Sometimes II took us week, for 50 many would be ahead of Us, and we would have to wait till our turn came.
 "one time l came with one wagon, and brought my wife and two babies with me We camped over there, just about where the dummy line strikes the hills, and after the first day my wife got tired of town aud stayed at the camp with the children. She never was much of a hand for town, anyway.
 Il waited around tn mill all the frs: day, and the second and third. On the evening of the third day I was pretty late getting off from town, and l could scarcely see my way to the camp after l got across the river.
 The moon had just risen and ii made everything vague and iudistinet | was getting along, though, the best could and was about 100 yards from the camp, l should iude e hen l heard one long, wild scream in the direction of the camp and 1 knew that 1t was my wife. had my gun with me, an old fashioned, muzzle-loading double bar reled shot gun, and lit out as though the Old Nick were after me shouting to her that l was coming. My only thought was that some ruflan had stolen into the camp and frightened her and cooked the gun as l ral. After her scream there was silence and then directly l heard the loud, frightened cry of the baby My. how l did run. My foot caught in root and l felt fully ten feet. discharginp one barrel of the gun. but l was UT again like a flash, with one barrel still
 eff to fight with.
 And there was tine camp with its firt smoking away, and every thing was were sleeping. and off i'll clump ot bushes the baby was crying in pitiful frightened way, Of course l ran il that direction first Ii was tangie O undergrowth, and l had to gt half bent. Stumbling blind \ ahead, almost in total dark ness, merely guided by the child cries. I came suddenly upon some l thing that stopped me as though wa l shot, The largest panther l ever saw had the child! 1t had dragged the poor baby out into the bushes and ha faced around to meet me, holding tn, child by the dress. It stood for m in stant with it's head lowered and it tail waving wickedly, and then, hefor, | l knew l had seen it almost. it dropped the baby and sprang over it's body up l on me