Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-03-22
FIFTEEN.

Iuo year IOulNl, ID GllG IlOSb genuine nunU-
er and trapper in southern California
While other old time hunters have been
all urged from the forest, the rocky fast
nesses of the mountains, or from lives of
solitude and hardship by the temptations
of civilization or thirst for riches in gold
fields or silver mines, Dan has over 40
years been a trapper and u hunter.
He could fill volume with thrilling
tales of adventure, and his observation of
the habits and characteristics of the flerc-
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 difIident
about telling of his adventures, but when
warmed up he can entertain listener for
hours. He recently related a fight to the
death that he saw years ago between a
panther and drove of wild hCSs 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, l was huntin on top of Blue noun
tain, in Kern county. l had killed big
| buck and had just finished Skinnin him
when l heard the squcalin of drove of
wild hogs You ken bet / hung that buck
in tree just as quick as l could, for them
critters is the pryenest things and tho
mcancst ye over saw. Why, if they get
mad, they ii tackle anything. Well, l had
just got my deer safe when l heard them
a-comin, a-squcalin and a. gruntin
Il had to hunt safe place myself for
there was no use 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. l throwed the
gun strap over my shoulders and took to
u good sized tree about 20 yards from
where l hung the deer
Them hogs put in an appearance Just
as | got on Il big limb, about 10 feet above
the ground. They was led by two big
boars, and there wuz 30 of 'em, all told.
They smelled the blood and the deer, root
ed up the leaves and ground with their
long noses and tore around generally I'M
til they found the tree where the deer was
hung. just about this time 1 heard some
thing jumpin from tree to tree on the
lower side of the RISE and purity soon l
saw the biggest painter l ever saw Jump
on to limb NV 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 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 the tree or hev the fight of his life
for it if it got to the ground After q bit
the painter seemed to make I'D his mind,
for he got his feet under him and suuatted.
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 squcalin and tearin around
and formed tn .nselves in a ring, with the
body of the deer in the center above them.
They began to foam at the mouth and
snap their tusks. What noise they made!
They wuZ the maddCst and awfulest look
in animals l ever saw. All tibet time the
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 |
the 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 lite, 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 We. The
painter wuz SO mad that he lost his judg-
ment, or he wouldn't have done such
foolish thing as he did, fur he gave one
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 the paint
er Now he wuz down and then up.
"Over went hog ripped wide open
here While another got Il wipe with that
big paw that made him see stars, but the
hogs wuzn't idle by no means. They rip
ped 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 l never did see.
In less time than l ken tell it IL NV them
hogs wuz laid out, and two or three more
Wu2 hurt, but the painter wuz purity near
knocked out too. He wuz layin on his
back, and every time hog got in reach
NV his claws he would give him rip
which would knock the hog out, at least
fur awhile. One hog made lunge at the
painters head and got caught by the
throat by the painter, but tibet wuz his last
act, for one NV the bears drove his long
jusks into the painters belly and literally
ripped him open from one end to the
other, and in less than three seconds that
painter was torn to pieces.
The hogs took up the pieces, bones and
Ill, and crunched and ground them until
lothin could be seen NV the animal big
enough to make gun wad. Thet wuz a
'attle, sure. There wuz about Is dead
logs, and six or eight cut and hashed
rom snout to tail. l don't believe sin
'le one escaped some injury, but the liv-
n ones, whether wounded or not, list
,ept tearing around till they cleaned I'D
IL tibet wuz left Nv the deer and the paint
r.
Il had set on tibet limb and watched the
ght until it wuz finished and never
bought of my gun, and if l had don't
elieVe would have used it, but now tibet
wuz over knew I'd hev to kill the rest
" the hogs or stay in the tree all night,
D l commenced ON 'em and killed the last
ne NV 'em. After the first shot the liy-
ones surrounded my tree. and tried to
-