The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-03-20
SALLY AND HER CLUB
HOW DARIUS ScOFlELD'S MOTHER
KILLED FOUR PANTHERS.

She Wasn't His Mother Then, and So He
Didn't Remember It-But Former
Cortland County Resident Gives an In
teresting Account of the Incident.
"If the late Darius Scofeld of Cort-
land county, who remembered his grand
mother dickering with bear for him
when he was year old and getting him
back from the bear in exchange for a
loaf of corn bread, and who remembered
a lot of things about other relations of
his, as told in The Sun the other day,
had remembered something his mother
did once, he would have had another
entertaining story to tell, '" said former
Cortland county resident. "But even
Darius amazing memory wasn't capable
of that, for when his mother had this
yet and indeed wasn't his mother until
two years later. She was then plain
Sally Fighter.
"She was going through the woods
one day ON an errand to a neighbor's, a
couple of miles from her fathers clear
ing, when she heard a panther yell, and
looking back saw the animal bounding
along the path toward her. Sally was
only IS, but she knew enough about
panthers to be afraid of them. In turn
ing round to look behind her she had
stopped, and she noticed that the pam
ther stopped too When she started on
again, the panther followed. The faster
she went the faster the panther went,
yelling frequently. Then Sally stopped
again and turned square around in the
path. The panther stopped instantly,
crouching and swaying its long tail.
Sally hurried on again, and the panther
hurried after her. When Sally stopped
and turned again, she saw that the
panther was great deal nearer to her
than it had been when it stopped be-
fore.
'Sally wasn't half way to the place
she was going. She saw that at. one
more turn the panther's tactics would
have brought the willy beast so close to
her that it would undoubtedly make its
spring. She resolved to make an effort
to save herself. Before stopping again
she saw heavy club at the side of the
path. She quickly picked it up and aft
er step or two more stopped and turned
suddenly, facing the panther, which
was now not more than ten feet behind
her. The panther was ready for it's
spring, but before it could leap Sally
rushed upon it with yell that shamed
L,
the savage beast a blow on the nose
that made everything crack. The pam
ther lowered it's head and began to
sneeze and shuttle. Sally brought the
club down again. this time on the pan
theirs head, and the great cat sprang
one side and ran up dead hemlock
tree. Thinking that she had scared her
hungry foe from the chase, Sally started
to run on her way, when she saw the
panther get ready to leap from the tree.
She turned and faced it again just as
the furious animal sprang. Sally jump
ed aside. The panther alighted on the
ground at her feet, and quick as flash
and with the force of a trip hammer the
big club descended on it's neck. The
panther settled down fiat on the ground
under the blow, and two more strokes of
the club ended its career.
"Sally was pretty we'll frustrated by
this lively bout with the panther and
was wiping her face with her apron and
taking breathing spell when she heard
great whining in the direction of the
dead hemlock. Looking i'll that direc-
tion, she saw too good sized panther
kittens tumbling out of a hollow in the
tree trunk. Sally had her spunk up
now. She believed, and no doubt she
was right, that the two baby panthers
belonged to the panther that had been
making her journey SO unpleasant for
her, and she made up her mind to have
little more satisfaction by knocking
them ON the head too She was walking
over to the tree to finish her work when
yell that almost made her hair rise
broke on her ears, and looking down
the path she was alarmed to see another
panther, bigger than the one she had
killed, coming fiercely toward her. This
she set down as the dead ones mate.
She was pleased to notice that his adj
vance was somewhat hampered by the
1uCb lHb1 Ouo VI LIS 1Oio 4SSs was plt az
the knee.
"He was plainly bound for a fight,
however, in spite of that handicap, and
came right on, yelling at every humpy
bound he made. Sally concluded to try
the same tactics on this panther she had
on the other one, and she set up the
most unearthly yelling and rushed to
meet the ugly beast. This surprised
him. He stopped, but kept on glaring.
The next thing he knew he got whack
over the nose that dropped him fiat in
the path. Sally didn't give him time to
peeaperate, and in less than five seconds
had his brains scattered to the four
winds. The two young panthers had by
this time come out into the path and
We're huddled at their dead mothers
side, licking her and crying most pite-
ously. This touched Sally's heart, and
she determined to spare the lives of the
kittens and take them home, She stoop-
ed down to stroke one of them, when it
turned on her, and quick as lightning
sunk the sharp claws of one paw deep
into her hand. Sally then knocked both
of the youngsters in the head and held
the unprecedented record of killing four
panthers in less than ten minutes. Sally
went ON and did her errand and told
what luck she had run against on the
way over. Young Jim Scofield, son of
the neighbor where Sally had the er-
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