The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-27
HUNTING IN DISMAL SWAMP.
BunaIOniHns Find a Panther I'm
Possession of the shack They In
hmbffed

] 4
swamp and I had one experience there
/ that made my hair assume an erect posi-
/ ton. which # has maintained ever since.
Il was a novice in the business in those
] days. but had read so much about the de-
/ lights of a hunters life that when a
/ friend asked me TO accompany him on
two weeks outing after deer 1 was only
I too anxious TO go with him. / borrowed
/ a rifle, borrowed a pair Of duck leggings
/ and corduroy hat. and thought was
| completely equipped
We started out from Washington one
/ Gay IN November. and reached Norfolk
Ihe IouoWlng morning. The trip over
/ lana TO the confines Of the swamp was
snort one, and there we found waiting
| q negro guide and another friend who
was 70 ald us in the enjoyment Of our
outing We started out In a big cum
ner, as they call the canoes dug out of
2 souu log, which are universally used
NY tne hsnermen Of the Lower Chesa-
ptahe region and by dilligent padding
reached our destination, a little wooded
island IN the Interior of the swamp, just
before shutdown. Both Of my companions
ndu Deen IN the habit Of making annual
! trlps 70 the swamp for several years, and
on tnls Island they had built a lOghouse
or snack that served the purpose Of a
temporary domicile far better than a
tent, even though the cracks between the
logs were big enough to poke ones fist
surrounding the hut were great cypress
Ifees that hung down TO the water Of one
/ u lne many canals that thread their way
tnIoush the swamp, radating in all direc-
IONS from Lake Drummond and pene-
udtlng INTO businesses that no white man
I'd even seen There is probably an
area OF hundreds of square miles i'm this
lonely region where none but the primeval
Hti ~ doIlahts ana few fugitive slaves who
/ nll IN me wilderness in ante-belum days
| nave ever set loot, and there is a large
proportion of the tract where the opers-
ION Ion. u settlng loot would prove disas-
IlouIs 70 any one VINO might make the ex-
pSIiHlent, not only on account of the noXi-
Gus serpents that infest certain portions
OIL t me swamp, but from the numerous
qua8nlres that are hungering for prev
tor this reason the only safe way to get
IN tne swamp Is to go by boat
our camp was located in a part of the
swamp that is frequently visited by hunt
ers ana others, but was still In as isolated
a posllOn as the most confirmed nissan
thrope IA search of solitude could desire
any hlns more calculated to give a man
lhe horrors than to pass a night alone on
an island in the Dismal swamp has never
come WITHIN my ken, and L do not believe
y exists. Stlll, after one gets used to it,
mere Is grandeur and sublimity about
Dame Nature untrammeled by the con-
qlNahce OF man that sends Q thrill
tIIough one who con templates undisturbed
sile BloIles or the primeval forest and
Ieads 10 reflections of not unpleasant
But am wandering from my story.
We mad been in camp week going out in
me me mornings to search for game and re-
already got five fine deer as a result OF
our weeks sport. besides accommodating
dPpettes that threatened famine when we
IttuIpeu 10 civilization. on the night in
question we were returning to camp haV-
IhS lett the loghouse unguarded for the
lev lev. VINO were likely TO pass that way
were manly honest, and there were no
wiz beasts in our part of the swamp that
were likely to enter the hut
III was nearly dark when we pulled the
CGnheI up on shore and started to ira
verse the two or three rods that Law he
tween the brink Of the watercourse and
our shack. As we drew near Tom orr ne
go GUIDE and cook, noticed that the door
winch swung outwards. was wide omen
Whlle we mad left it closed, as we thought
aug adil. ialched, W. were talking among our
serves wondering who could have been
there in our absence, and had-nearlv reach
ca the door, when Van Hook, who was
tteadlng' Jumped back and motioned to us
p" There's some kind of an animal in
there, he said in an excited whisper Il
saw lts eyes SHINING IN the dark just as L
was about 10 step inside. A hurried coun-
Ell OF war was held, and it was decided
tnat we should try to imprison the beast
whatever it was. and then devise some
plan Of dispatching it. Tom and Van cTept
quietly up behind the half-opened door and
hurredly slammed it to, bracing them
sizes agalhst II while they got the rude
wooden latch into position to prevent the
escape of the occupant of our home. A
loud, reYerberating growl from the beast
as the door was shut told the more ex-
pereneed hunters of the party at once
what kind of an animal they had TO deal
with. It's pantherr exclaimed both
Van end Wilson, while Tom shuddered in
fear, for in spite of his lifelong expert
ence in the swamp he was an arrant cow
ard, and would no more have slept out of
doors at night or padded a canoe through
the swamp alone than he would have fac
ed the devil himself.
"A few minutes conversation decided us
on the best way to get rid of our unwel-
come visitor. 1t was arranged that Tom
should go around behind the shack with
long pole cut from a neighborng tree
and prod the panther through the crevices
between the logs, while Van and Wilson
stood on either side of the door one with
an AK. the other with his rife, in readi-
the animal.
"The plan worked to perfection had
been left out of it. for the reason that [
was as likely to put a bullet into one of
my friends as into the animal and / felt
that l lacked the courage to face an ami
NAL like panther with only an AK as a
weapon. / was told that l could help Tom
prod the beast, but l preferred to seek a
place of safety, and climbed a large CIV
press tree directly in front of the door Of
the hut.
"A few vigorous prods from Toms pole
soon convinced the panther that the in
! terror of the hut was an uncomfortable
| abode. and when Van swung the door open
| he came out with a leap that almost took
! him past the ambuscade that had been laid
! for him Wilson swung his ak, but instead
! OF hitting the beast on the head he struck
| him blow on the haunch that did not
/ appear to disable him in the least. Mad
! dened by the pain, the panther turned
! only to face Van. who with his Winches-
/ ter at his shoulder. got fair shot right
! in the animals face Turning from this
| unexpected attack. the panther caught
| sight of me- half way up the tree With a
| magnificent leap he sprung toward me be-
| fore l had presence of mind enough to
| grasp another limb and ascend TO a place
| of safety.
Il felt my grasp loosening as the ami
| NAL sailed through the air, and although
! only second elapsed before he was
| upon me l thought of the horrors of
! death by the teeth and claws of such a
| beast. He looked as big as an elephant
/ and seemed to be coming directly toward
4 me with the velocity of a common ball
/ l gave a wild Shrek, and as screamed
| one af the massive paws struck against
/ my foot. 1 lost my hold on the limb and
! fell down, down, through what appeared
| interminable space and became uncon-
sciOus.
when I came to I was lying before
/ the door of the hut. Van was standing
over me with an anxious look on his
face, while Wilson was putting bandaga
/ on my foot, which had been severely
! scratched by the claws of the panther as
/ he struck me. A few feet away lay the
/ body of the animal, stretched out at full
/ length and as dead as they make EN-
| He had dropped like a log after striking
/ the tree, and we found that VANS bullet
| had lodged in the center of his brain. |