Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1891-08-20

The Hope Of 9 Family when At
tackled by Huge Panther.

tackled by q Huge Panther.
sNo," said one OF the guests at q
Dallas CTexas) hotel TO group OF gen
tIemen in the corridor, IL am no hunter
and have never pretended to be one, buf
/ did pretty bit Of shooting once, moi
very far from where we are talking now,
that just about saved my life and posi-
bly, other lives, too
/ The gentleman. who Is old, but never
prosy, Immediately had an interested
audience.
~ am pretty quiet citizen now" he
went on, "but about forty years ago !
was lively enough. People had 10 be
lively that lived In this country then.
hunted and fshed all up and down the
Trinity for good many miles, and never
camc back from one Of my trips without
game.
''But on one OF these trips came
mighty near being game myself when /
came home. Dallas wasn't anything but
a little scattering hamlet then. lived
on farm out here about ten miles, on
the other side OF the river, and used 70
come here to mill, leave my wagons over
on the other side, where Oak Cliff now
is, and bring my corn over in boat.
Sometimes it took us a week, for so
many would be ahead of us, and we
would have TO wait till our turn came.
zone time came with one wagon and
brought my wife and the two babies with
me. We c2mped over there, just about
where the dummy line strikes the hills.
and after the first day my wife got tired
of town and stayed at camp with the Z
children. She never was much OF hand
for town, anyway.
II waited around the mill all the first
day, and the second and third. On the
evening OF the third day was pretty
late getting of from town, and could
scarcely see my way to the camp, after
got across the river. The moon had
just risen, and it made everything
vague and indistinct. / was getting
along. though, the best could, and was
about hundred yards from the camp,
should Judge, when l heard one long,
wild scream in the direction of the
camp, and knew that il was my wife.
had my gun with me, an old fashioned,
muzzle-loading, double-barrel shotgun
and i lit out as though the old Nick
were after me, shouting 10 her that
was coming. Ny only thought was that
some ruffian had stolen into the camp
and frightened her, and / cooked the
gun as ! ran. After her scream there
was silence, and then directly heard
the loud, frightened cry OF the baby.
My, how did rum My foot caught un-
der q root, and fell fully ten feet, dis
charging one barrel OF the gun. but
af, az avn lilxe -hssh. with one bar
rel still left to fight with. And there
was the camp, with Its fire smoking
away, and everything was quiet in the
wagon. where the family were sleeping,
and of in clump OF bushes the baby
was crying in pitiful, frightened way.
OF course, ran in that direction first.
1t was tangle Of underground. and
had to 60 half bent. Stumbling blindly
ahead, almost in total darkness. merely
guided by the child's cries, came sud-
denly upon something that stopped me
ss though were shot The largest pan
ther i ever saw had the child. IT had
bushes and had faced around ~ meet
me, holding the child by its dress. 1t
stood for an instant with its head
lowered and its tail waving wickedly,
and thSn, before knew that had seen
it almost, it dropped the baby and
sprang over its body upon me.
''The attack was so sudden that / was
wholly unprepared for it. Ihad my gun
in my hands, but there had rot been
time to use it. Twas thrown down with
great violence, and ! can feel yet the
crpatnra's fanth n-s,nnl.;~fs into my shnnl-
ders. That's the sober truth, boys.
That old wound has been my barometer
for many year.
"The panther had landed square or
my breast when / fell, but his impetuf
was so great that il threw his body off to
in my shoulder. With q mighty effort j
rolled away from him and struggled up.
A less active man could never have done
it. He bounded away through the
bushes few feet. but withou; pausing
an Instant he turned and leaped again.
This time my gun was ready for him.
Only one shot! and il that failed there
was no chance of escape for any of MS.
But fred that shot and it caught the
animal in mid-air. The shot went
straight through his heart. His body
struck me and almost knocked me down
again. but he fell dead at my feet.
THE baby had been screaming all
afraid to 90 and look at him. When ~
did 60 to him, / found not 81 much as q
bruise on his pretty white skin. The
panther had held him by his dress and
bad lifted him clear of obstacles, even
when he leaped from the wagon with
| him. yr., t
las for my wife, / fonnd her in
dead faint, and it was the longest time
before could bring her out Of it. She
had been awakened from the doze by
feeling Of weight and oppression, and
bad found the panther standing over
her with his two fore paws upon her
breast. She screamed and tainted, and
the panther took the baby away from its
place beside her 1t was providence
about that shot, boys. 1 couldn't do it
again il were to try thousand times.
But it was a providence that came just
when it was needed. - Globe Democrat