St. Landry democrat., 1893-07-22
roof vtthart di1..eultv. Running along

the ridge, knife in hand, | lcaped to the
stack, and driving knife downward into
it, pulled myself to the top Tearing
away portion of the thatch, worked
nv way, head foremost, into the newly
gathered hav, to the centre OF the stack.
Half dead from the cold and exhaustion,
1 lay there with the quick surge OF my
pulse sounding i'll my ears VIII h the DIS
tinctncss of drum beat.
While | did not care to hope that L
had wholly outwitted the panther, L was
at least safe from immediate attack.
Moreover, | was assured of a breathing
spell, without which should have been
as child in the clutches of the power
full brute that was making the clearing
rcsound with its cries.
Suddenly the cries ceased, and the
stiffness of death relgncd in the great
gloomy bottom. l clutched roy knife
tightly and listened. | had just begun
to fatter myself that the panth er had
lost the trail at the creek, and had aban-
doned the pursuit, when deep thr Dated
growl came from the roof of the sh. Hnty,
and in the next breath the stack was
shaken from top to bottom, as the savage
beast landed upon it directly oveT ray
head. And there it lay, dead, sui o~
eating weight, waiting, no doubt, fur
some untoward accident to betray my
true position.
For fully fifteen minutes lay there.
hardly able to breathe, much less to stir
q muscle, when | was suddenly taken
with an acute chill, and in spite of every
effort to keep it back, convulslve shlVer
ran through my frame. That settled it.
IN the next instant the swaying and rock
ING of the stack told me that the fcro-
cious creature was digging down to me-
with teeth and talons, and that the crisis
Of my life was close at hand.
The brute was digging right over the
spot where my head lay. Changing my
position slightly, turned on my left
side Just as paw was thrust into the:
space which my head had lately occupied.
OF course I could not see the paw, but |
could feel it, for it brushed against my
face as it buried itself deeply into the:
hav alongside me- I knew that the
sharp fancs would soon follow
clutched the sinewy leg that rested
so close to my face that | might have
touched it by simply thrusting out my
tongue. With quick movement of my
right hand I forced the knife upward
through the hay until | felt a spasmodic
twitching in the muscles of the Leg
around which my left hand had closed
in death grip. The point of the knife
had found the panther's hide. Throw
ing the whole of my failing strength into
the effort | drove the knife sharply up
ward-once, twice, thrice, as far as the
hits would let it go-and loosencd my
grip on the leg.
With a yell of agony the MORALLY
stricken brute sprung upward, fell back
on the stack, thrashed around there for
a while, and, finally rolling off, struck
the ground dead thud, that told me
how we'll the knife had done its work.
had not the faintcst recollection of
leaving my hiding place that night, but
when morning dawned | was found by
one of the Mission herdeTS miles down,
the river wandering about the woods in
delirium of fever, and with a bloody
hunting knife dangling by its loop from
my wrist
In little whitcwashed bedroom OF
the old Mission saw, during the follow
ing fortnight, panthers enough to have
stocked dozen menagerics. When at
last | was able to sit up and talk |
learned that during the first week Of my
Illness searching parties had secured the
woods in quest of the supposed victim of
the bloody knife that had been found on
my person. At last an Ojibway trappor
struck my back trail and followed it up.
At the foot of the haystack in the clear
ng he found the carcass of the panther
living just where it had fallen, with its
heart divided III two. The creature
weighed 1872 pounds; and measured
seven feet three from tip to tip.