The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-09-12
NAN AGAINST TIeER.
The Thrilling Struggle Of a Merry
Half-Breed with q Man Eater.

18u'0Io9U VIII b man G6CeE.
1t was in the State Of Mirandeo. New
Venezuela. 1t was in the morning and
was with Manuel, the tiger hunter, on the
mountain.
I do not know how long Manuel and
the tiger faced each other there in the mar
row path like gladiators. 1t seemed a
long time. This was the test. The tiger
waited instinctively to see the strange
thing before him turn and run away as
everything else in the forest invariably
did. but greatly to his surprise the thing
stood his ground like an immovable rock'
The tiger was king of the Forest ana he
knew it. and when be had made up his
mind that this thing was not going to rum
he came forward slowly to investigate.
This was courage. even IN wild brute,
and respected him for it. | doubt II
the lion or the tiger of India has this un'
shakable nerve.
l looked at Manuel as the tiger came
slowly and cautiously along the path. He
stood like bronze statue, with his spear
held over his right shoulder. Not so much
as an eyelid moved. l confess that dur
ing this trying time l was bit ner-
vous. This was new way of hunting to
me, and a decided novelty in the actions
of wild beast which had not been at
tackled. should expect an attack from a
grizzly bear after it had been wounded,
but, assuredly, the bear would not take
the aggressive, as this 1.-the and beautiful
beast was doing. l will acknowledge
that my heart thumpcd against my blue
flannel shirt so hard that I was afraid the
noise would attract the attention of the
tiger.
Slowly came the tiger, like big rock
stood Manuel. It looked as though the
case had been reversed, and that the tiger,
instead of the half breed, was the hunter.
At length the tiger was within touching
distance ofthe man. He looked the bronze
figure over from head to foot, and then
thrust forward his head and shifted at the
mans feet. Back the great beast sprang
like steel spring. The figure was flesh
and blood.
The tigers tail twitched back and forth
like fail. The great jaws opened in
enarl. Quickly the beast measured his dis
lance and crouched with quivering sinews
for a spring. Such calm courage was
grand beyond all description. 1t was
matched only by the steadfast nerve of the
man. Now came the crisis. could see
the huge muscles heaving under the
striped skin. In another second the tiger
would leap upon his prey. In that in
slant the hunter made motion with his
left arm as quick as light itself. He tore
a handkerchief from his neck and thrust
it full in the tigers face. Up went the
tigers head in culver of electrical
emazement. Then the hunters poised
right arm shot forward with incredible
force, and the spear buried itself half way
to the handle in the tigers neck.
All, it was nobly done, and throughout
it all, from the beginning until the won
derful ending, all the hunters nerve
never fsltered so much as hairs breadth.
Before could catch my breath and swal-
low the Jumps of apprehension that had
risen unbidden in my throat the fierce
beast was dead in the path.
I scrambled down from the rock and
stood beside the dead forest king. Man
uel picked up his handkerchief and pulled
out his spear. There was faint sugges-
ton of smile about his impassive face.
"Does the SENIOR Americana believer"
he asked.
HE does," answered, and l reached
him my hand in that universal brother
hood of man which civilization can never
efface. BY the side of that dead tiger the
savage and the son of civilization were on
the one common level of man. There
could. be no difference.-N. Y. Recorder.
SOME months ago e. C Warmoth, con
vict in the Kentucky penitentiary, sent to
the chairman of the Kentucky State Ed
ucational Convention, gavel, accompa-
MED by the following words:
"Please accept this gavel, made by a
convict in the penitentiary, and use it in
presiding over the Educational Conven-
ton to be held in frankfort to day, for
the purpose of doing good to the poor
children of the state. Ignorance and
whisky have filed this prison with GRIM
mails, and We send our prayers from
prison cells that the children of Kentucky
may be so educated in mind and morals
Is to be able to avoid the sad fate that ig-
norance and whisky have brought upon
u.s." The Kentucky convict isr,ght. Ig-
norance may be overcome by education
in mind; but ignorance and whisky must
be overcome by education in mind and
morals. A man is but half educated
whose moral nature is unframed. Mental