Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-04-10
WILD BEAST WHIMS.
FIERCE ANIMALS OF THE FOREST WHO
 HAVE PREJUDlCES.

Wolves, Pantheps 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 a coonskin over coat, " said an aged hunter of Sullivan county, "and both also dislike the looks of an overcoat made of buffalo skin, They become enraged when they see a < Sumter striding through the woods with fur coat on. They will start for him the instant they get sight of him, and unless he stops them with rife ball or a charge of buckshot 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 wolf. skin coat, but they will chase a man who wears coat of any other kind of fur and will attack him if they get a chance. In the winters early in the for ties hunted partners, wolves and bears, killing deer once in awhile for a change. When the weather was bitter cold, l wore eoonskin overcoat until a panther ruined it, and here is what is left of it.
 II killed an even dozen of partners and score of wolves while wearing that coat It was i'll January, 1844, <that had to stop wearing it. One very cold morning l put on my snowshoes and started for the head of Kitchen s creek to hunt partners and wolves. The snow was three feet deep ill the woods, and the wolves and partners were slaughtering the deer at a frightful rate. In spruce rayine to the right of the creek saw movement i'll an ever- green treo and raised my rife for what thought might be panther
 hadn't been standing a minute when l heard twig snap back of me, and before I could turn half way round something struck my back and drove mo forward on my hands and knees Of course instantly realized that panther had landed on my back. It stuck it's claws into my shoulders and began to i kick with it's hind feet snarling and tearing at the eoonskin with it's teeth. 1 knew i'll second that the only thing for me to do was to throw myself back ward, and this 1 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 in the ooonskin coat until l stabbed it three times in the side, when it stopped kicking and began fa I Int ba i1xA 0% knife had touched vital spot so lay still till the panther stretched out dead. Then l got up and pulled the beast out of the snow by the tail. I'd hardly dropped it on the surface than there was another movement in the evergreen tree.
 ''This time 1 spied pair of eyes on a limb about 15 feet above the snow and blazed away at them A panther tumbled out, began to pitch and dive in the snow, soon turning up it's toes. Then pulled off the oyercoat and discovered that the panther had ruined it. The Qlaws hadn't touched my flesh. though, for wore three thicknesses of deerskin and two of wool under the overeoat On that trip of three days 1 got five pan thers and four wolves.
 ''The same winter surprised pack of wolves that had oornered three deer in & pen up in the Mehoopany country had on wolfskin coat and the wolves legged it out of the pen the moment they got sight of me. pulled off the coat and put it behind tree, and the wolves, when they stopped to look back, acted as if they had been scared by false alarm. When they saw that the over coat wasn't in sight. they didn't care any more for me than for a sapling. They immediately returned to the deer pen as bold as you please, and 1 shot the whole five as fast as l could load and fire.
 "One winter Joel Wright, who used to hunt and trap all tho way from the Loyalsock to the Mehoopany, rolled up his coonskin oyercoat and placed it on Aa log in the woods till he could go over ~ knoll and look at ono of his traps. When he got to the top of the knoll on his way back. he heard boar below ing down in tho hollow. as if it was challenging another bear to fight with him. In a minute Joel caught sight of the noisy bear, but couldn't make out NhcAo Ouo OoIcI uu6 WAS. u6 CHdliGll- ger was slouching toward the log on which the coonskin oyercoat lay in a bunch. and Joel made up his mind that the bear had got scent of the coat and was about to tackle it.
 "Josl had better fur coat at home, and he didn't care much what the bear did with tho one on the log Anyhow he was going to watch the bear, and, if no got the better of the coat, all right. | He could see that tho fellow was angry before he got within ten rods of the log. Rushing up to the log, the bear seized the overcoat in his paws and began to squeeze and shake it as if it was Q thing of life that he held an old grudge against. Joel tramped dowl the knoll then to see all the fun at short range, and pretty soon tho boar gave tho coat a dreadful huO lat ont a we'll fell over backward