The Portland daily press., 1894-01-25
A PLUCkY WOMAN.
She Gives Wildcat Who Attacked Her
Baby More Than He Bargained For.

Baby More Than He Bargained For.
A lively scrimmage, in which a wildcat,
a woman and baby were mixed up,
with bad results to the wildcat, occurred
near here few days ago. Mrs. Kilt, the
wife of herder ON the Prairie Lea ranch
was engaged in washing the family lin
en-, and her 3-year. old son was playing
about
The child had been forbidden to go
beyond the limits of the inclosed yard,
but his mother having to enter the
house for something, the little fellow
took the opportunity to go outside In
few moments the woman heard the
shrill cry of the boy, and ran out hastily
to see what the trouble was. She missed
the child. and going out of the gate,
saw large wildcat, the remains of a
chicken, which the animal mad evident
ly been in the act of carrying off, and
her baby lying under the cat, which
turned it's head at her approach and
snarled at her.
The child appeared to be insensible,
and the mother, thinking him dead,
in her fury attacked the cat with her
bare hands. The creature turned and
bit her severely, without letting go its
hold on the body of the baby.
The woman now ran back into the
yard for some weapon with which to
kill the cat, but could find only hoe.
With this she few back and struck the
animal over the head. 1t leaped up
and made at her, but she evaded the
attack by stepping behind the gate
post.
The cat now entered the yard, and
the woman ran toward the house. On
her way she passed the big iron kettle
in which her clothes had been boiling.
Without stopping to remember that the
thing was very hot, she picked it up
with the strength Of desperation and
threw the contents on the wildcat
The creature turned then.sss.with a
scream and ran off; but, determined that
it should not SO easily escape, the woman
Went into the house and, Selling her
husbands gun, pursued the cat. She
caught sight. of it, just as it was running
under the house, and STOPPING, sent the
load after it. She ONLY succeeded in
wounding it, owing to the imperfection
of her aim, and the cat, rendered wild
with pain and rage by it's injuries, again
ran out and flew at her throat.
She raised the gun and fired again
and this.time broke the creatures law.
Undeterred by this, the cat again at
tackled her. 1t was unable to bite, but
| tore at her with it's powerful nails,
scratching her skin cruelty on her breast
and limbs. She caught it by The throat
| and wrenohed at it until half choked, it
| fell from her, and again tried to run.
| She ran after it with gun, and, with
out waiting to fire.. be1ahored it with
the muzzle. Snarling and snappin {,
the cat turned back on her, but made no
attempt to attack her again. AS the
| two went out of the gate the woman saw
| her Ratchet sticking in cleft of the
| newly built fence, and catching this up
she once more ran after the wounded
and exhausted beast, and struck at it
again and again with the hatchet. and
| finally succeeded in laying open it's skull
| by well directed blow.
| She returned now to look after the
child and found that it was sitting uu
and not hurt beyond few severe
scratches, and that it had probably
| tainted from fear. In an hour or SO he1
husband returned to find his wife
spattered with blood and brains, unable
| to move from nervous prostration, and
his yard torn up as if a fearful battle
had taken place, while the baby was
trying to drag its late enemy, the wild,
cat, about the place by it's tail.-Phila,
! delphia Times.