The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-06-28


derness. Of course game Of all sorts
was abundant, and Dulin was mighty
hunter, it being an open question
whether he spent the most time on his
farm or in the chase. In the course of
time other settlers located in the neigh
borhood, until at the time the incidents
of this story occurred there were prob
ably dozen families within a circle of
five miles from Dulin's homestead. Ii
was during the late fall and early win
ter of 1880 that Dulin and his neighbors
were much harassed by repeated at
tacks made by some wild beast upon
their little focks of sheep, and the
raids at length became so frequent and
fatal that the entire destruction of the
sheep seemed imminent. There was
mystery about the whole matter, too,
that added not a little to the indigna-
ton and 1nystifcation of the simple
backwoods folk, for notwithstanding
the utmost vigilance, no man had yet
been able to get sight Of the marauder,
and opinions varied vastly as to the ami
nal or animals responsible for tho
trouble.
The focks might be carefully brought
into well-constructedf folds at night and
every precaution taken to protect them,
but sooner or later the farmer would
go out in tho morning to find a score or
more of sheep weltering in their blood,
or torn and bruised SO badly as to neces-
state their being put out of their mis-
cry. Some attributed the damage to
wolves, many of which animals still in
tested the great woods, but the work
done by this animal did not resemble
that of wolves Far greater strength
was evidently possessed by him than by
any wolf. Sheep had repeatedly been
carried away bodily, and that without
leaving any sign to indicate the man
ner of their removal.
A part of the farmers held that bear
had strayed out of tho swamps on the
lower Wabash, and was displaying the
penchant for fresh mutton that bears
possess, but the fact that high ''staked
and ridered" fences had proved no OBJ
stacle to the thief, seemed to indicate
some animal possessing greater activity
than a bear. At length it became
necessary that something be done at once
to save the focks from absolute extinc-
ton, so grand hunt was organized for
Christmas day. The whole neighbor-
hood was to meet at Dulin's cabin at
early dawn, and under duly appointed
leaders open systematic campaign,
which was not to be abandoned until
the mystery was solved and the sheep
slayer himself slain.
On Christmas eve Dulin had killed
and dressed a fine deer, two or three
miles distant from his cabin, and had
brought it home across his horse, and
hung the carcass up in a shed room
built behind the main part of his house.
This common, everyday incident was
destined to solve the riddle of the iden-
tity of the sheep-killer which had puz-
zled Dulin and his neighbors so long, as
we shall presently see. Christmas
morning came, and with it a company
of forty or fifty men gathered at Du
Inns. They were nearly all armed with
the long, snall-bore rife, which was
for many years the favorite weapon Of
the American backwoodsman, and were
accompanied by a vast pack of dogs of
every possible shape, color and mix
ture; but they were determined and
experienced lot of hunters, and in this