The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-09-21

IT had drifted along beneath these
branches, and twenty feet below the
tree. There / stood up in my boat to
make cast at the edge of bunch Of
alders, some Of whose limbs were
water. As threw my rod forward my
hook stopped suddenly in the air be-
hind me, and my reel hummed at the
resistance. simultaneously with the
stopping Of the hook blood-curdling
screech rent the air. 1 turned quickly
| about. I was just in time to see big
wildcat leap from the lower limb of the
hemlock, and he was pointed straight
for me, although there was a watery
space between US, and all woodmen
have always held that an interveni ng
stretch of water is sure barrier
against the attacks of all fierce ami
mails of the cat kind. My hook had
caught some where in tender spot On
the wildcat, which had been crouching
on the lower limb unknown to me. and
the pain Of the puncture had walked
him instantly into uncomfortable fury.
II was standing near the bow Of the
end, and none too quickly, for the wild
cat bounced into the boat on the spot
where had stood before I'd had time
to steady myself in my new position.
Then l saw that the hook was fast in
one Of the animals ears, and cats
ears are the most sensitive part of its
body. The hook had gone clear through
the tender mem brane and the blood
was trickling down in quite q stream.
Fortunately the paddle was in the stern
of the boat. As the big cat struck the
boat it almost upset the clumsy craft.
The enraged beast came for me again
without an instant's delay. I met it
with blow from the paddle. The pad
die flew into a dozen pieces. The dis
turbance in the boat was too much for
the boats equilibrium, and over it
went, tumbling the wildcat and me
into the water. We foundered there
close together, and instead of the bath
cooling down the wildcats temper it
seemed to make it hotter, and the ugly
beast renewed the fight in the water.
''The boat, when it upset, was with
in few feet of the foot of the pool,
where the water disappeared behind
the tangle Of alders had nothing to
defend myself with against the wildcat
but my fists, and 1 pounded it with
them, with very little effect. except to
their own damage. The wildcat could
swim like a duck, kept it's head well
out of water, and struck and bit at me
with such quickness and agility that
my sleeves were torn in strips in a very
short time, and the blood began to flow
from deep gashes on my hands and
arms. / saw that in the struggle my
hook had torn loose from the Wildcats
car, leaving long and bleeding slit
The persistent animal kept up an I'M
earthly yelling rs it fought We soon
worked our way down against the wall
of alders, and. as the struggle went on
for d moment against it, 1 heard
another screecb, and presently another
wildcat came tearing through the
thicket to the edge of the pool. AS this
second ugly customer crouched as if to
leap upon me to the aid of it's mate, the
alders that barred the channel gave
way, and my cat and l houndered
the maze. Below it the creek
was ten feet wide between the alders,
which closed above it in regular can
opy of netted branches, nowhere more |
than three feet high. 1t was almost as
dark as night in that low-vaulted wat |