The sun., 1894-11-11
BICYCLER AND PANTHER.
a HHEELMAN's ADVENTURE IN
THE OREGON WILDS.
A Morent that Required Good Nerve ana
STEADY Aim and Faith In = Weapon that
was Net BIT too Formidable.

steady Aim and Faith in = Weapon tia
was Net BIt too Formidable.
| Erom the 81. Loun Gicbe. Desocrat.
| Philip Keefe, an Ohio boy and first-class cy
clist, who recently came 10 Oregon, had thrill
| ing encounter with panther on one of his lone
| ly country rides-an experience that is given Il
few TO escape so luckily. The mementoes Of tn,
affair are freshly healed scar on the side OF the
young mans cheek and neck, and in the roomt
OF a city cycling club, Of which Keefe is a popu.
| lar member. Is panther's skin which alwayt
| attracts a visitors attention.
| One Saturday afternoon in the latter part OF
| September, Keefe, together with a companion
| Will Curtis. mounted his wheel and set out for
Portland, for ffty-mile ride into the edge OF
| the Cascade Mountains. Their objective point
was wilhoite Springs, an obscure little watering
place hidden in the mountains some fifty miles
southeast of Portland. The soda springs are
reachable about two OF three months In the year.
and in that short period the place Is tenanted by
campers-mostly from the country because II
has hardly reached that degree of prominence
to induce residents Of the city to endure long,
rough stage ride to reach the springs.
Keefe and his companion were bent on an
over-Sunday trip to the springs. The start was
made shortly after noon on Saturday, and from
their slight acquaintance with the road they be-
leved they could cover it by dark For the first
nail VI lIB LitTS was u lhlTly ROOu TOau,
and the boys made good time. The country was
rolling, and the road, except for an occasional
gulch. was satisfactory. Twenty miles out, how
ever, Curtis hit a big boulder at the roadside
with his pedal, twisting IL so badly that further
riding was out Of the question.
There wasn't house in sight at that point,
and all that could be done was to turn around
and start back on a walk Keefe resolved then
to make the trip alone and let Curtis reach home
as best he could.
Since you must 20. then, better take this
with you-you might see squirrels, you know"
and Curtis held out a 32-calibro pistol 10 bis
Thanks, old man, III carry it, If you think /
should; but, pshawi I'll not see anything. and,
BUT c gHl and Rmy he friend.
parted; Keefe set out as fast as he could
ths wE FEF E and GTr GSc n5 S5ns
ing his luck, keefe was soon lost to view over
At last the open country began to disappear
and one or two stretches Of timber were passed.
About ten miles from the springs the cyclist
valley that wound around foothilis with occa. S !
sional stretches of timber: When he crossed
Bietaner Greek the sun had begun to get so low
In the west that in the timber 1t was al
ready dusk. The road wound up gradually
around mountain side and then descended
mountains Then he struck the timber line
where the well, beaten track ran right aud left
bodies told of the .ravages OF a recent
forest fire. Here and there q tree had
to MAKE SsssnueWav a n Soomv Eus sbnaoo owo
deepened among the trees the scene became
more desoate, and the loneliness, silence, and
fast-waning twilight urged the wheelman to
press forward eagerly in the dizzying. zigzag
track. The cyclist bent forward over his ham
dle-bars. watching kecnly the course Of the
woodland road to avoid possible mlshap from
an obstruction. As deeper and deeper lie tray
more and more the need of a companion. He
knew absolutely nothing OF the character of the
region, and at best he could only. guess at
the probable distance to the springs. He
hardly knew what was to be feared, but Keefe
would have been more comfortable had he had
more day light and known where he was. For
lad of II he was very nervy, and as he hummed
along he drew courage from tondlng the handle
OF the revolver, which he now fervently thanked
Curtis for having given him.
suddenly his front wheel went down, and the
least of all expected mishaps was his-a pune
ture. There was nothing To do but to mend IL
as quickly as possible, for Keefe foresaw that
at the present rate darkness would be on him
darkness was out OF the question. He should
have to walk, and he knew not how far.
matte tires, the cyclist quickly had his prepara-
tion ready, mended the puncture caused by a
when his e Sound IN Tina of
cry at some distance of. Under the circum-
for the chilly feeling which ran up his spine at
that moment
Finishing his work. he hastily adjusted his
tools, and then, before mounting. he stopped q
moment 10 listen. There was absolute silence.
then the peculiar scream was repeated. AL
though he had little experience as u huntsman.
young Koefo's instincts told him just then that
IL must be a panther's cry. Ii certainly was not
a human voice, or his hearing was deceptive.
puncture the dusk had dcepened considerably
and the, wheelman's eycsight could only pierce
the fast-gathering glOC III short distance. Had
there been more daylight he would not have felt
SO nervous. However, the cyclst mounted and
again, but the only sound that reached his ears
was the canking OF the bike chain on the sprock-
For the next twenty minutes, perhaps, Keefe
pumped away. carefully watching the road in
front; HIS iirst excitement was Just beginning
road few rods ahead that nearly caused him |
TO tumble from his wheel.
j., Standing in the middle of the track. as II to
dispute the way TO all passers by, was Mrs. |
Panther.the female Of the gentle Voice whose |
cries had echoed and reechoed through the |
woods few moments before The apparition |
Of the man on the wheel, however was too much |
Keefe was frightened at the suddenness OF the |
meeting, the panther was astounded. In sec |
Ond she had turned and broke into bound |
along the road. This action was still |
greater surprise for Keefe, hut since he |
was to DO the pursuer and the hungry panther |
The cyclist pressed up as hard as he dared 10 run
on the miserable track for fear OF being thrown, |
while the panther lelsursly and lightly bounded |
along at a distance that only revealed 10 the |
cyclist the grayish outline of the animals |
even laughed to himself over the novel situa-
tion., he tried the effect OF the bell on the |
panther, but II only caused her TO put greater |
distance between them.
But alter some time the panther. dceming tho |
present situation of affairs TOO undgnifed, left |
the road with bound, landing upon some logs |
around bend in the road. where she whirled |
and faced her pursuer, as much Ms 10 say, Now
IS my turn Al a glance keefe saw il meant |
now or never. and that IL no attempted to dash |
past her she would be ON him. To race ON that |
road with a panther at his back was impossible,
be thought.
Thinking the animal was preparing To spring,
IN Hash he hung himself of ,at the opposite |
side OF the wheel, using IL as "a shield.
With IA scream that resounaed far down the |
valley the panther leaped from her perch upon |
The daring young cyclist, who had kneeled ON |
The ground and whipped out his gun. lie braced |
and himself, took steady aim at the animals |
head as II came dying at him.
Bang! bang" spoke the pistol, and the next
second boy, bicycle, and the panther with two
big bullets in its body, were rolling over and
over in an indescribable mass. A lookcr-on,
but for the seriousness of the situation. would
have been imPelled TO laugh at the sight. and
i would perhaps have been puzzling 10 tell
= hich was bicycle, boy, or panther Over
and over they rolled into the brush and
wood. Keefe felt AS IL it was all up with |
him buE clunu mn1lV m his tshi oh in |