The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-02-14
A DANGEROUS ANIMAL.

AUt
full Citizens.
The Star reporter was making a win
.,r tour of the geological garden tn,
,ther dav with friend, and as the tw,
stood looking at the bear den the frient
broke into an animal story.
81 badan experience the other night,
:. said. (which I don't care to have
repeated" =,
The reporter.
"Thank goodness, I'm no JONAH" he
| laughed.
"Possibly the bears rushed out of the
GOOD and tore you to pieces?"
Mm somewhat of a bald head" he
said taking off his hat in evidence, "but
il wasn't BEARS
aThen what was it?"
all tell you. I had had good din
ner and after it had gone to my room
| u read for couple of hours. 1 had
Fixed myself in an easy chair close I'M
der soft-lighted reading lamp, and for
an hour had been porting over my book
with great pleasure, when I began to
have queer feeling. l couldn't just
EXPLAIN it, but it was that kind of q
feeling, you know, when you think
somebody is in the room who oughtn't
/ to be there. L looked up and around,
| but saw nothing at first. In min
ute my eyes became accustomed to the
shadows, and over in the far corner of
the room l saw pair Of glittering,
cleaning eyes.
my first thought was that it was
nv Maltese tomcat, fine large fellow,
|but | saw in minute that it was some
thing 40 times bigger than he was, and
|my impulse was to fire an inkstand or
ID paper weight at it, but 1 thought
better of the impulse and concluded to
wait for developments. The fact is l
|felt kind of overpowered, don't you
know, and 1 don't believe I could have
mustered energy enough to have
thrown anything at the brute.
watched it, though, most intently, and
In very short time it began to move
and came out of the shadows toward
me. Then l thought it was st.
Bernard dog that had strayed in and
been shut up in my room during the
day.
"As it came forward slowly, creep
ing like cat, the dog delusion was dis
PEELED, and was at loss to determine
what it was. But it kept creeping up
on me, and 1 simply sat watching it
with strange fascination. / thought
of birds, charmed by snakes, and began
b appreciate how the little fellows
|elt for tried to make some show of
assistance to the thing, but couldn't
. save my life. The strain on me was
earful, for I could feel that, and was
limost smothered by it. Still the brute
tept creeping forward, and when it had
cached point about six feet away
rom me | noticed it crouch low to the
ug, and | braced myself for what was
oming, because 1 knew that was the
rellminary to spring, and was to be
be object on which the animal was to
ght.
MY suppositions were entirely cor
'ct and on the instant the brute rose I
ke a bird and dropped square on my !
lest expected to be torn and s
fatched all to pieces, but for some
aSon it did not bite or scratch, but
emed to be smothering me. Suck
g my breath as the children
y a cat does. Anyway, the shock
the impact seemed to rouse
dormant physical faculties, and
began to struggle. I could scarce
move at first, but the more effort I '
,oe' the greater my strength seemed :
oe' and, finally, in my struggles up =
The chair, and over we went on the
VI with a jar that shook the whole =
use, and / awoke." =
Tome off," exclaimed the indig- 1,
~ listener. what the deuce did s.
'eii me that kind of a yarn for. b
:. was only nightmare" c,
les concluded the garner, "the one q
'serous animal everywhere common, g
sui not mentioned in any natural K
'ory That l know Of" Washington Il
r. n
| W