Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-02-25

patiently to work and picked them off
one by one as they fitted from tree to
tree.
In doing this I was of necessity
obliged to turn around and around to
get favorable shots, and, after 1 had
finally secured seven out of the flock
and driven the others clean away.
couldn't tell, to save my life, in what
direction to look for the clearing, the
house or anything else-the sun being
now quite obscured by the dense clouds
of an approaching thunderstorm as
well as by the forest itself
In short, I was lost! But this cir
cumstance did not trouble me at all,
knowing that if l did not find him
SELF" Hector would be certain to do it
for me as soon as he had driven the
cows in, their yard
Nor did care cent about getting
drenched by the heavy rain, now begin
ming to patter on the leaves, but dis
liked to have my beloved gun and pow
der wetted, and so looked hastily about
for shelter, quickly finding a perfect
one in the shape of great, hollow
Eastwood log (for, of course, the forest
contained many trees besides beeches),
into which l showed myself, feet first,
and there 1 lay a half-hour or more,
dry and comforta BILE, quietly looking
out upon the storm now in the height
of its fury.
At last the clouds rolled away, but
the evening grew no lighter, and 1 saw,
little to my dismay, that the sun had
really gone down.
The collie had not yet put in an APP
pearance, and / Legan to fear that the
heavy rain had washed away the scent
of my trail.
If this were actually the case, I
should perhaps have to spend the night
in the woods, or, at best, so much of it
as might elapse before my relatives
could locate me by the signals 1 in
tended to fire, after / should have ex-
| hausted every device to extricate my
self
1 felt considerably vexed in thinking
of the anxiety my aunt was doubtless
| suffering on my account. and was about
to crawl out of my snug retreat, with
| the idea of trying to reach the house.
when 1 heard a curious sound near at
hand, and, supposing that the dog had
| at last found me, called out:
| Hector, Hector! Here, good dog
here!''
| But instead of the Joyous bark / eX-
| pected to hear in answer, the mysteri-
Gus sound suddenly ceased altogether,
and showing my head a little way out
| of the log, l looked wonderingly
| around
| One glance was enough. 1 quickly
jerked back to the shelter of my bass
wood log, for there, at one side and
not six feet from the mouth of my
refuge, crouched full grown panther,
attracted, no doubt, by the scent of the
game I carried as we'll as by my own.
But how came the animal there? Only
the night before, when was inquiring
about the wild beasts to be found in
that part of the country. Uncle Eben,
among other things, assured me that
no panther" ''catamount'' or paint
er''-by all of which names he indiffer-
emily designated the American puma
had been seen in the neighborhood for
the last five years.
| Nevertheless, a very fine specimen of
that Identical animal lay watching me
now, exactly as pussy watches the hole
of mouse.
did not for a moment mistake the
kind of beast with which had to deal;
for, as much by instinct as by the fact
that l had, two years before, seen the
! dead body of one killed by my father, l
| know it, at first sight, to be veritable
panther.
| If my position had not been so dan
| gerous, it would have been one Of al
most comical absurdity.
There l was. cooped up in hollow
log, in quarters so strait that could
not effectively use my arms, and yet
not daring to come out lest l should
be bounced upon in the act-the great
cat having meantime risen from the
ground, and being now engaged in q
series of sportive gambols directly in
front of the opening.
The creature did not appear to be a
all angry as yet, and it's antics Were
exceedingly curious and no doubt
diverting-to itself. It would crouch
low, make a light bound to the en-
trance of the log, as if intent on drag
ging me forth, and then, whenever
shouted, spring playfully back AGAR
in real or pretended alarm, precisely a:
does the domestic tabby when tanta
lizing an unfortunate mouse.
This performance, accompanied al
ways by kind of coaxing, self-satis
fed, purring sound, was several times
repeated before 1 had fairly recovered
from my surprise and determined t,
take the aggressive; for, scared as
was, the idea of going home withou
killing that panther never once oc
Cured to me. But how to do it?
, Although the log itself was a yer,
large one, the diameter of the cavit,
in which lay was certainly not NOR,
than fourteen or fifteen inches. Whe1
1 entered it, had first. thrown far il
my bag of game, powder-horn an,
shot-pouch, and then myself followe.
by crawling slowly backward, wit
: z|llE|ttE E.|R'iii\ LIIn,