Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-06-04
WILD BEAST WHIMS.
FIERCE ANIMALS OF THE FoREsIwHo
 HAVE PREJUDICES.

Wolves, PantherS and Bears Sensitive
 About Fur Overcoats-An Aged Sullivan
 County Hunter Tells Some Experiences
 Illustrating This Queer Fact.
 "A bear or panther can't stand the sight of wolfskin or coonskin over. coat, said an aged hunter of Sullivan county, land both also dislike the looka They become enrGged when they see hunter striding through tho woods with a fur coat on. They will start for him the instant they got sight of him, and unless he stops them with 8 rife ball or 6 charge of buckEhoG they will inVaria- bly, tackle him. A wolf or even a pack of them will always turn tail and run away from hunter that wears a wolf skin coat, but they will chase a man who wears a coat of any other kind of fur and will attank him if they get a chance. In the winters carly in the for ties l hunted partners, wolves and bears, killing deer once in awhile for change. When the weather was bitter cold. wOro a coonskin ovprcoat until a panther ruined it, and hero is what is left of it.
 II killed an oven dozen of partners and a score of wolves while wearing that coat. It was in Janunry. lS44, that l had tO stop wearing ir. One very cold mornin; 1 put on uy slowShocs and started for tho head of Kitrhcn's creek to hunt panth"r| an lw)lves, The snow was t.iTt Q f,tt Ct, =, i.l tho woods, and the wolves and l>n;hcrS were slaughtcring he deer at n tri-htful rate In spruce ravinc to tho right of the creek l saw movement in an ever green tree and raised my rifle for what l thought might be panther
 II hadn't been stuLding minuto when heard a twig snap back of me and before I could turn half way round something struck my back and drova mo forward on my hands and knees. Of course 1 instantly realized that panther had landed on my back. It stuck its claws into my shoulders and began to kick with its hind feet, snarling and tearing at the cOOnskin with its teeth. 1 knew in q second that tho only thing for mo to do was to throw myself back ward, and this I did at once, burying the panther in the snow beneath me. The panther then started to scream, but the snow and my weight kept it from making much noise. It continued to claw great rents ill the Coonskin coat until I stabbed it threo times ill the side, when it stopped kicking and began to gasp. l knew that the point of the knife had touched vital spot, so 1 lay still till the panther stretched out dead. Then got up and pulled tho beast ont of the snow by the tail. I'd hardly dropped it on tho surface than there was another movement ill the evergreen tree. This timo spird a pair of eyes an a limb about l5 feet above the snnv and blazed away at them A panther | tumbled out, began to pitch and dive in the snow, soon turning mp its toes. Then 1 pulled off the OvurCnat and discovered that tho panther had ruined it. Tho | claws hadn' touched ny flesh. though, | for WON three thickucssts of dccrskin and two of wool under tho ovcrroat On l that trip of three days l got five pan thers and fnur wolves.
 The same winter l surprised a pIcl, | of wolves that had CornrTrd three deer l ill n pen Up i'll the Mrhuopany country l had on a wOlfSkin coat and the wolves 1 legged it odt of the pen tho moment they | got sight of me pulled of the coat and put it behind atrer, and the wolves, when they stopped to look back, act, q as if they had been scared by false | ,In l,,,, sl tl, IL. coat wasn't ill sight, they didn't care any moro for ms than for q sapling | They immediately returned tn tho deer pen as bold IS you please, and shot the whole five as fast as I could load and l fire.
 "One winter Joel Wright who used to hunt and trap all the way from the Loyalsock to tho Mehoopany, rolled up his cOonskin Overcoat and placed it on | log ill the woods till he could go over | knoll and look at one of his traps. l When ho got to the top of tho knoll on his way back, ho heard a bear below ing down in the hollow, as if it was challenging another hcar to fight with him. In q minute Joel caught sight of the noisy bear, but couldn't make out where tho other ono waS The challrn- ger was Slouching toward tho log ou which the cu0nSkin uvcrCOat lay ill q bunch, and Jo"l made up his mind that the bear had got scent of tho coat and was about to taHkl2 it.
 | "Jncl had q better fur coat at home, and ho didn't care much what the Ival did with tho one un the log. Anyhow he WAS going tn watch the bear, and, fl | he got the better of the coat, all right. He could Scu that tine fell! Was angry before h" Eut within ten rods vf the log. Rushing up to the lu-;, the bear seized the uvrrcu.tt i'll lis paws and b, gAn tc | squr,Lr and shake II ', If it W.i, d tniu- | nj life that hv hrld all oid rui.,.'ugajnst. Joel tramVtd down the knoll then to ~, all the fun at short range, and pretty suun the bear cIy,' th" coat d dr, a,Ifu
 hug. l.. oU, yell, fell uy,r Iu"kw..rC and w,nt 10 sprawlinS anu rolling il the snow. Joel knew what the trouble
 was, but ho didn't say wrrd. Th>
 beard had his own way, and llo WAS d. dead as flint when Joel got tu him.
 Joel's hunting knife was in q pocket ul the ovorcoat, and tho point of it haC pierced the heart of the angry anima
 when he hugged tho coat to his breas
 in fit of rage. '-Scranton Letter il New York Sun.