The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-01-19
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Copyright, 1899. by the Author.l


to nondescript-iooking affair that lay
upon the puncheon floor of his cabin.
Don't look much like it, do it?"
The hide in question was muddy OF
hue, and well ''frazzled' at the edges,
while it had evidently once possessed
much more hair than it did at present.
You see.'' continued Nose. ''me an
my wife, Canzady, have raised nine
children, one after another, an they've
all wallered over it, lettin' alone usin'
it for bed kiver every winter for
twenty years. come next Janooary.'
Nose was a grizzled hunter of the
Blue Ridge mountains, whose long rifle
and coonsBin pouch were better known
in the wilds of Rabun county, Ga. in
those days. than the personalities OF
many more widely noted men. His
cabin was shell of half-rotten logs,
with a dirt floor and rough board roof
held down by rocks and poles. instead
of the less cum bersome but more ex-
pensive nail In summer it was airy;
in winter smoky and cold. Dried yeni-
son and bears meat hung from the
grimy joists; lean hounds slept in the
ashes of the fireplace; on the outer walls
were stretched the skins of foxes, coons
and groundhogs, as odorous trophies of
the chase.
Canada was lank. sallow woman,
clad in dirty homespun. She sat in a
splint- bottom chair, griffin up roast
in ears" for the daily supply of grit"
bread. Several ragged, officiating
children squatted about, vacantly si-
lent and staring The youngest lay
munching bacon rind upon the
panther skin, while Nose himself was
cutting some creased wads for his rife.
PAINTERS nowadays is about as skase
as hens teeth" he went on. But hit
weren't SO in my younger days That
there hide was off'n my fust one,
though I've knocked over a many a one
sense"
So Nose repeated the oft-told tale
that hunters everywhere delight to tell
; or hear. But, without following his
peculiar idiom, it may be said that his
narrative ran somewhat as follows:
Several years before his marriage he
had lived in the same cabin with his
mother. One bitter winters night, he
and younger sister were left alone,
their mother having gone down to Let
ter Gap, seven miles below, on trad
ing expedition to the nearest store.
She would not be back before the next
day. Nose was then lad of sixteen,
and his sister Johanna might have
been three or four years his junior.
The winter was severe one, and
there being no mast in the woods,
wild animals, as well as many tame
ones, were famishing. Bears had been
seen down in the coves, and the VOLTS
melancholy howl was heard at night
with unusual frequency. 1t was said
that large panther-the rarest of
wild beasts that prowl those mountain
regions-had caught young steer
close by Jabe Writings COW pen, and
many We're the injunctions laid on
Nose and Johanna by their mother
not to stir outside the cabin walls after
dark.
When night came on, they brought
in the yellow cur dog, built up rous-
ing fire in the fireplace, and felt quite
cozy, despite the cold draughts pouring
in through the half-chinked logs: nor
did they heed the winds sad whistle
down the chimney, as ''Yaller creek"
imoaned in the ravine outside.
= They went to bed early to keep warm
as the fire grew low. Nose was drift
ing into a doze when he heard tho
house cat mewing outside. Presently
a plaintive cry sounded up the ravine,
not unlike that of child in distress
but for its ending in prolonged snarl.
The cat redoubled it's entrcaties and
scratched at the door. Nose rose shiv-
ering, and, Shipping the bar, let the
poor thing in. The dog now began to
growl, interspersing his plants with
sundry winnings indicative Of fear as