Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-10-16
IN A TIGHT PLACE.

ington Star, had been telling few OF
his trials and tribulations in quest OF
the elusive moonshiner in the West Vir-
ginia mountains.
What was the highest place you
ever got into?" inquired the writer with
thirst for the thrilling.
The marshal scratched his head for a
moment
There have been several which it
would be pretty hard TO decide be-
tween" he said, but one that happen
ed to me about FIVE years ago was the
one that seems TO suggest itself streng-
est just now"
That's the one l want" commanded
the writer and the marshal obeyed.
Il had gone out one night" he pro-
ceeded, with six men after a still we
had got onto the trail of, and which We
knew was run by two fellows which
made some pretense Of being right de-
cent citizens, though they had reputa-
tons of being bad men under sufficient
provocation. We worked along through
the woods very slowly for it was dark,
and the darker it was the better the
moonshiners liked it, and after a time
we flushed cur still, but instead of two
men being there there were a dozen.
and they made it so hot for US that we
had to cut and run for It, Naturally
we couldn't keep together, and it wasn't
long till / was by myself, and it seemed
TO me the whole gang was on my trail.
II knew what il meant for nv
health If they caught me and di my
level best to prevent such a result.
They knew the woods, though. and I
didn't, and they gained on me in a way
that was not pleasant to my feelings
At last they were running me so close
that l concluded to 60 up a tree, and
went up it at forty miles an hour l
was so near them that they could hear
me breaking through the thickets, as
| could hear them, and when ! stopped
breaking through they concluded that
l had either lain down fiat in the
bushes or was UP a tree, and they began
going for the trees, aiding themselves
by burning pine knots. My tree was
thick one, though, and felt that had
fighting chance until I heard a noise
above me, and looking up I saw a pair
of glazing eyes that looked as big as
SaucerS TO me.
What they belonged to I couldn' [
tell, but it wasn't long until l could
make out the figure of wildcat or a
catamount that looked as big as q cow,
with al her hair brushed the wrong
way. IN a minute more l expected to
have 4 fight in the tree even worse than
the fight that was waiting for me be-
low, but I held my breath and waited
for developments. AS between a Wild
cat and a mad moonshiner there WASH t
much difference, but just then ! took
chances on the cat, with a halfway no
ton that my posse might round up and
come back to help me. Whatever
thought the cat made uD it's mind for
action, and began growing and spit
ting just as a moonshiner passed be-
low.
II think he must have jumped dozen
| feet into the air as the cat screeched
and the yell he let off brought the 9TH
ers to him. There were only three in
stead of 900, as / fancied while they
were chasing me, and they began at
once to prospect up the tree, the cat in
/ the mainline keeping its eyes on me
and getting ready to spring, / was
sure. About this time one of the men
! below caught the shine of its eyes with
his pine-knot blaze and the next in
slant he banged away at it. I guess ii
must have been luck; don't know what
else It was, but just as it rose to light
on me the bullet took it somewhere in
the head, and it whirled clean over me
and hit the ground with a thud that
was not at all sickening TO me.
"Then the moonshiners forgot all
| about me for the moment and were
glarying over the dead cat, but it was
only for a moment for the shot had
given my men a pointer and in few
minutes they were banging away at the
moonshiners, who went flying through
the thickets, and l came down off my
} perch so unnerved that l couldn't stand
on my feet, though l captured the skin
of the deserted cat as my right"