Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-05

the cold l spied a little cabin on the mex
hill, and was soon there. No one was at
home; but the door was unlocked, and the
pick, gold-pan and drills told me that the
owner was a miner-and so that the house
was free to use by stranger.
A Battle With a Wildcat.
Along in the night great uproar over
head brought me to my feet in sleepy alarm.
By the dying Goals could see two savage
eyes above me, glowing weirdly. 1t must
be cat of some sort-nothing else could
have got to the rafters. My rifle stood in
corner; but the ponderous Remington was
at my belt, and ''turned loose" into the
darkness about those two little angry balls
of fire. There was blood-curdling screech
and something came crashing to the floor
and began scrambling toward the window,
evidently crippled. 1 pulled the trigger
again, but there was only dull click-the
magpies on which had been I acticing
that afternoon were avenged. But A
makes a terrible shillaleh; and with the
crazy zeal which at times catches the least
courageous hunter, dubbed it and "waded
in" 1t was rather O One-sided fight for
those blows would have felled a horse Once
the plucky brute caught the butt in his
teeth and raked my duck coat with his
cruel claws; and both, as the novelists say,
twill carry the scars to their dying day."
At last a lucky whack settled my unseen
foe and L blew up the fire for light ON the
subject.
1t was wildcat, as suspected-but such
a wildcat. Though he was now dead as
Adam, his size actually terrified me. Had
dreamed of his proportions / would have
crawled up the chimney sooner than face
him. One who has scraped an intimate ac-
quaintance with the bobcats and lynxes of
the Maine forests hardly cares for hand
tO-hand struggle with cat twice their size,
and had not then learned that the Rocky
Mountain variety, though far larger, is far
more cowardly. With his long, milk-white
teeth, his needle-pointed sickles of claws,
and his marvellous agility and muscularity,
this fellow would have cleaned out a room
full of men, armed how you will, had he
known his talents. My bullet had broken
his right foreleg at the shoulder, and the
first crack over his head with that trip
hammer of a revolver practically settled the
question. He brought me supper as well
as excitement, for he had killed a hen.
cleaned and cooked the aged bird, and
chewed her tough tissues till nearly day
light As for the cat, I packed him
some ten miles on my shoulders next day
for the sake of weighing him; and ranch
er's scales showed h m up at 531I pounds
His beautiful mottled hide still serves me
as rug.
His Feet Got Too Tough.
Coming down through Pueblo, and
thence striking southwark, was sorely |
troubled by a strange affliction. Did you |
ever hear of feet getting so tough that the |
very toughness made them sore? That is |
exactly what allied mine. The hide on my |
heels was as hard and almost as thick as q |
mules hoof, thanks to the constant walking
in climate so exceptionally dry, and where
fhio horn like sole abuttad on the tandar |
skin of the ankles there came cracks three
inches long and excruciatingly deep. 1t
took several days of careful treatment to
heal these peculiar and painful "wounds. "
1t was section supper time as 1 strobe up
to the section house at San Carlos, and the
men were just lifting the handcar from the
track. A beautiful young greyhound flew
out at me sayagely; one of the laborers gave
him curse and lift with his heavy brogan.
The dog had been left there friendless at
the death of his master If / wanted him
could have him. OF course wanted him;
he was too young and handsome and spir-
tied to be left to the abuse of those two
legged brutes How little dreamed then
what that careless mercy meant-Of the
pleasures, the privations and the deadly
dangers we were to go through together,
his slender black dog and 1; or of the awful
experience that was to mark our parting,
md leave with me some of the brightest
md some of the saddest memories of
crowded life.
SHADOW was his name thenceforth, and
ne was the truest shadow that ever followed.
Two hours later he did me the only ill-turn
If his faithful young life Coming around
spur found myself within 100 feet of
four fat antelope. But just as [ pulled
rigger, Shadow saw them too, and made a
terrified leap aside. His cord was tied to
ny wrist, and he jerked the rifle so that the
oall struck 100 yards from aim. had still
ime to drop one or two of the antelope as
hey ran straight from me, but doubly
frightened at the report, the poor pup kept
Up such dancing and bowling at the end
II his rope that l had to give it up. And
20, empty-hauded and footsore, We came
ate to the town of Spoons-the Mexican
hamlet of Cucharas. c. F. LUMMIs.