Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-04-02
A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE
How Col Jim Struthers Got Away From
the Wild Beasts
Bear, Wolf and q Catnmount
Fighting TO Make a Meal
of Him. III.

Col Jim Struthers leaned in lazy limpness
on the ounet at the National last night
With the colonel story telling comes as
natural as thirst. 1t has been inti,nated
that ne Is not at all times such a stickler
for truth as CULVER or Moody, but The
Star man feels sure that many of the
things which Jim tells are just as true as
many things which are believed. Tell NE
tale to print" timidly said the reporter
as Col Sttuthers poured out a horn about
ten fingers long. "Well," said he. splash
ing the tiled floor with a tincture Of nico-
tine and looking at the ceiling through the
bottom Of his glass. I'm do it."
California may not be the greatest state
In the unity of the manv, but every Califor-
MAN knows that she Ii and can prove IL.
The state conceit of Virginian doesn't
compare any more with that of a Califor-
nian than Grover Cleveland does to Jim
Struthers. California is where the orange
rears Its nest and builds it's young. Her
influence is bounded by Canada and the
gulf and reaches from Bu.zard Point TO
Hawaii. Her lakes and rivers mirror ali
OK heaven but the clouds. and her climate
s %nen the rain and fogs don't interfere. is
flushed with sunshine as tender and bright
as sweethearts glance. Her daughters
are as blushing as the morn and as rosy
as the summer dawn; her sons"
porter; but 1 would rather have You tell
story where you will not be confined SO
strictly to the facts"
In Early California DAYS.,
well, this story. like every other story.
happened once upon a time 1t happened
in those days before Californians learned
to drink lemonade out Of finger bowls and
to eat their hash under a French alias; be-
fore they paid "a a seat to hear music
x1yhi oh fbaxy a.
derstood II, and before they began TO pestsr
the society editor with a lot Of fiunkisb H.
literary hapdoodle about tiddledywinks par
ties and dry teas 1t was before the sons
OF the golden west put on boiled shirts and
airs Then California was a geological gar
den In the original package. Whole ctr
cuses ranged its fields and menageries
roared in her woods The Indian war
Mnoop rang out where now the opera singer
shouts, and altogether the state was che
OF the toughest pieces of American seog-
raphy outside Of the city slums. 1 was of.e
OF party of prospectors who started out
from san Francisco in the early fifties to
develop the mineral resources of the coln-
try and make ourselves more attractive in
the eyes OF the soft-skinned sex by ac-
cumulating dust. We followed the Sacra-
mento river for pretty close to one hun
dred miles and then struck cross lots In a
southeasterly direction. After several
weeks OF signing after new fields to con-
quer We drew up on the western slope of
Gold Run. We found what We Were looking
for and set to work.
The Hunt for Game.
Our labor was almost as hard as a yoy-
eminent clerk thinks his is and each man
| took one day of every week to supply The
camp with meat This off day cast its rays
Of Joy in all directions. We would look
forward to it with pleasure. and then lock
back at IT with greater pleasure, till the
| time rolled round to look forward to the
next. This day bore the same relation to
our camp life that the LIST and 18th of every
month do to the average Washingtonian
Finally my hunting day came to hand 1
crawled out OF my sleeping robes and made
! a rude toilet. 1t was not day. Phoebus
had not crept from behind the airy drape-
| ries of her chamber in the east and the
| oriental end Of heaven was still in gloom
| Stellar gems were twinkling along the
| boulevards OF godland and floating masses
| of feecy cloud yelled the face Of the eternal
| blue. All through the night the Silly still
| ness had been occasionally marred by the
yelping bark of timber wolf. This pc
culiar noise was more unpleasant then Than
now. for then the wolf had not been whip
| ped into cowardice, and when he wanted
| man meat and saw il he helped himself L
| buckled on my knife and threw nv patch
rifle over my shoulder. Hunting in these
| good old days of yore meant something
| more than ii does now. In this era of mag
| azine guns even a callow tenderfoot might
| Kill pear py SnuttlnS DOtn eyes.
| his head and pulling the trigger Wen. /
| sailed forth and headed upward. There was
| no trail to follow and onward l tramped
through the chapparel, over powders and
through clumps Of tall pine. / could stiIl
| hear the. howl OF that persistent wolf 1t
| seemed to me to be coming nearer, but
| refused to pay any heed to it.
The Howl of the Wolf.
| TT was just bright enough for me to see
| the shadowy forms of the ciumps of bushes
| and the trunks of trees. i kept plodding
along. The wolf howl came to my ears
once more and seemed so close upon me
that / stopped TO listen. 1t was coming my
way. 1t was near at hand. Hark, 1t mad
| sighted me and was coming faster. fasterI
| 1t would soon be upon me. 1 felt that 1
was in for fight. 1t was too dark TO see
how to shoot until the enemy was at close
quarters. l pulled in the stock of iay gun
| preparatory to bringing it down from my
shoulder, but the sight hung on the twig
of an overhansing bough. Involuntarily /
| looked up. Two eyes were looking down
| upon me. They were flashing with green
savagery. on and behind me, / thought 1
| could see a black, awkward form gawllily
shambling along. l could not withdraw my
gaze from the eyes that glared upon me
| with a iend-like light. The bark of the
wolf sounded this time, near that 1
could hear the swapping of his teeth. 1t was
| an awful moment. i was too much paralyz-
| ed to think. 1t was just as impossible for
] me W SOileCt myself as my Oils. 1elt as
| frozen as though had attempted to climb
| the north pole, or to play poker with a bob
| tail flush. L was stricken as dumb as
| though mad stepped on the soft corn Of a
trolley. or received an appointment under
this administration. / repeat, IL was an aw-
| full moment. Still the eyes shone and gilt
/ tered, and the wolf barked and snapped and
| the awkward figure shambled toward me
| A Mixed-Up Fight.
There was a kissing shrek above me that
| H. II
I felt a weight fall on me. / felt myself
borne heavily to the earth by mass of fur
and claws. A warm deluge gushed over my
| face. 1 was conscious that / was being
| chewed. I was being killed. All my life
| passed in quick review. Photographs Of
| childhood were swinging in the gallery of
| my memory. l could hear the wild cries
| and feel the wilder Cravings of the animal
| on top Of me. Suddenly the weight in
| creased, and over the steam-like shrielxs I
| could hear the vicious bowling and snap
| ping. Then another load, a crushing load
| was added to my burden. A deep. gruff
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