Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-12-26
FIFTEEN.


solitude and hardship, by the temptations
of civilization or thirst for riches in gold
fields OF silver mines, Dan has over 40
years been trapper and hunter.
He could fill volume with thrilling
tales of adventure, and his observation of
the habits and characteristics Of the fierc-
est wild beasts and most dangerous rep
tiles we have in America would be an au-
thority among naturalists. He has hunt
ed all over Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and
about half of California He is diffident
about telling Of his adventures, but when
warmed up he can entertain listener for
shours. He recently related fight to the
death that he saw years ago between a
panther and drove Of wild hogs in the
vicinity of what is now Caliente, in Kern
county. Dams language Is followed as
near as possible in the story telling:
about 20 years ago, near's ken rekol-
lect was huntin on top of Blue noun
tain, in Kern county. / had killed big
buck and had just finished skinnin him
when heard tho squealin Of drove Of
wild hogs. You ken bet I hung that buck
in tree just as quick as could, for them
critters Is the pryenest things and the
meanest ye ever saw. Why, If they get
mad, they II tackle anything Well, had
just got my deer safe when heard them
a-comin, a-squealin and a. gruntin.
II had to hunt safe place myself, for
there was no uso of shootin one when
there's maybe 40. If killed one, I'd had
to kill 'em ALL They'd never leave long
as one of them was alive throwed the
gun strap over my shoulders and took to
a good sized tree about 20 yards from
where hung the deer.
''Them hogs put in an appearance just
as got on a big limb, about Is feet above
the ground. They was led by two big
boars, and there wuz 80 of 'em, all told.
They smelIed the blood and the deer, root
ed up tho leaves and ground with their
long noses and tore around generally UNI
til they found the tree where the deer was
hung. Just about this time heard some
thing jumpin from tree to tree on tho
lower side of the rise, and purity soon I
saw the biggest painter ever saw jump
on to limb NV a tree about seven or eight
yards from the limb the deer hung on.
''Them hogs hadn't yet winded the
painter, and they kept up SIGH a racket
squealin and gruntin that they hadn't
heard him. The painter didn't see the
hogs until he struck the last tree, when he
wuz almost over them He jest laid him
self full length on the limb and watched
them, all the time wavin his tail back
and forth and shown his teeth He
knowed he had to get tibet meat while it
was in tho tree or hev the fight of his life
for it If 1t got to the ground. After bit
the painter seemed to mako up his mind,
L. La Co. J,u L.;
tell ye stranger tibet wuz purity jump.
That painter jest sailed through the air
and landed plump on the limb over the
deer.
'When the painter struck the limb, the
hogs quit squealin and tearin around
and formed themselves in ring, with the
body of the deer in the center above them.
They began to foam at tho mouth and
snap their tusks. What noise they made
They wuz tho maddest and awfulest look
in animals ever saw. All tibet time tho
painter was trying to haul the deer up to
him with his paw, but every time he'd get
the deer swung around the sinews with
which it was fastened to the limb would
make it slip back. Purity soon the painter
seemed to SEQ the trouble, fur he grabbed
tho buck with one paw, while he reached
down and bit the deer loose. There's
where the painter made the biggest mis-.
take of his life, fur he couldn't hold the
deer when the fastenin's was cut, and in
spite NV him it tore loose from his claws
and fell right In the middle nv the drove
Nv hogs They jumped on it and tore it
to pieces quicken kin tell ye. The
painter wuz so mad that he lost his judg,
ment, or he wouldn't have done such a
foolish thing as he did, fur he gave ono
snarl and wuz among the hogs in Sec
ond, knockin two Nv 'em over as he
landed Then there wuz a fight. The
hogs quit the deer and went for tho paint
or. Now he wuz down and then up.
"Over went hog ripped wide open
here, while another got wipe with that
big paw that made him see stars, but the
hogs wuzn't idle by no means They rip
pod and tore that painter fore and aft.
They wuz dozen long cuts on his sides
and legs, and his body wuz covered with
blood. SIGH snarlin, screamin, squeal-
in, rippin and tearin I never did see.
In less time than ken tell it II NV them
hogs wuz laid out, and two or three more
wu2 hurt, but tho painter wuz purity near
knocked out too. He wuz layin ON his
back, and every timo hog got in reach
nv his claws he would give him o rip
which would knock the hog out, at least
fur awhile Ono hog made lunge at the
painters head and got caught by the
throat by the painter, but tibet WIZ his last
act, for one Nv the bears drove his long
tusks into tho painters belly and literally
ripped him open from ono end to the
other and in less thnn three aeconds that
painter was torn to pieces.
1.-The hogs took up the pieces, bones and
all, and crunched and ground them until
nothin could be seen NV the animal big
enough to make q gun wad. Thet wuz
battle, sure. There wuz about Is dead
hogs, and six or eight cut and hashed
from snout to tail. don't believe sim
gle one escaped some injury, but the liv-
in ones whether wounded or not, list
kept tearing around till they cleaned up
all tibet wuz left Nv the deer and the paint
er.
II had set on tibet limb and watched the
fight until 1t wuz finished and never
thought Of my gun, and II had don t
believe would have used 1t, but now tibet
1t wux over knew I'd hev to kill tho rest
NV the hogs or stay In the tree all night,
60 commenced on 'em and killed the last
one Nv 'em. After the first shot the llv-
In ones surrounded my tree and tried to
get at me, and they staid all night there
till keeled over the last one. After had
cleaned them out I started for home, and
for the first time In a long while got there
without any meat. "-Exchange.