The Opelousas courier., 1895-03-02

when It stopped, as it did frofa time to
time, he could in nc wise distinguish
from it's surroundings.
1t was all that the boy could do to
keep from running. He felt an inde-
scribable apprehension and terror, but
common sense told him that the anil
NAL could easily catch hirn In a few
leaps, once he started to run, and that
the only thing to do was to put on a
bold front; SO he walked along leisure
ly. to simulate Indifference and mean
while tried to choke his heart back
again where it belonged. Presently
he reached the house, walked in and
sat down. Fearing ridicule, he did not
say anything about his adventure. but
merely explained that, as it was late. he
had decided to wait to get the ak till
the morrow. he had a very good idea
as. to the identity of the strange ami
NAL, but he determined not to say any
thing till he had some proof with which
| to substantiate his assertions.
The following morning Mart's father
had an errand up the road, and Mart
started out in company with him. Nose
| Ames also joined them. A short dis
lance from the house they discovered
tracks of some wild animalin the sand.
The tracks We're very large, and Ames
said they had been made by a bear. but
the elder Moody shook his head. AS
they proceeded the tracks became
more and more abundant, and they
saw where the animal had repeatedly
crossed and recrossed the road. Pres
emily, following the tracks, they
| climbed out of the road and looked
into a neighboring field. There their
attention was attracted to a a-year-old
colt lying down. They walked over to
it and found it would never rise again.
made by the sharp teeth of some beast
of prey, aud just over the large vein
a piece Of flesh was bitten out. The
colts slayer had evidently sucked his
blood and then departed.
Mart. now that the evidence was
with him, felt no h~esitancy in telling
his story, and it was generally con-
ceded that the strange animal, which
the old hunters now agreed was a
catamount, would have preferred the
boy to the colt, and had only taken the
latter when the former was out of his
lCnach. Mart had had a narrow escape
and felt duly elated over his adven-
ture.
1t was thought unlikely that the
catamount would come back again to
the scene of its late violenco, but new
ertheless the elder Moody determined
to have a surprise in store for it in
case it should; and he spent the rest
of the day in artfully setting a large
bear trap for it's reception. The next
day, however, greatly to Mart's joy,
the trap was gone, and only a broken
clog remained to bear witness to what
had ~transpired. The old hunters at
once set out in pursuit of the doubly-
dyed villain, who had not only killed
their colt, but who now threatened to
steal from them a bear trap worth
twenty dollars. -
It's trail was easily followed, for the
trap had torn up the ground in many
places, and at the end of ten minutes
brisk walk the hunters suddenly came
in sight Of the catamount. It had at
tempted to cross q large uprooted tree.
and in SO doing had caugha the trap
in q crotch, and in it's Efforts to es-
cape had fallen in such. q position. that
it was impossible for it to release it.
self. A single shot from Aines' rifle
finished it. 1t proved to be a very
large specimen, measuring nine feet
from the point OF its. nose to the tip Of
its tail. This panther was killed forty
years ago, but the old hunter can still
feel in his bones the terror inspired by
his deadly pursuer. ~
Moody has TN interesting theory to
explain the dread of the panther that
still exists, though there are no au-
thentic records OF this animal having
! killed anyone of recent years. lie
says that long ago, when the wars be.
tween the whites and Indians were
frequent, the corpses Of many slain on
both sides were left unburied in the