Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-11-28
TWO IN A SINK HOLE.
A KENTUCKY PRINTER NARRATEs A
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.


Escape aud recognition.
Pretty much everybody In the crowd
bad told . story OF the gun or dog OF
fshpoie except q printer who looked I
about as much like q hunter or fisher
man as he did like an angel.
Its your turn now, Muggins," said |
the reporter.
II never hunted anything but board !
Ing houses over In Brooklyn, ne said.
with = wan and lodging kind Of air, as
IL people threw things st him whenever
he tried to tell q story.
but before you came hers is what
we want TO know about" put in sew
eral, land you've either got to tell o
story or pay for the drinks every time
anybody else tells one"
He moved about uneasily and pushed
his chair back from the table, drawing
IL close up again Immediately and final
lyresting his hands clasped ON the board
In front OF him
"Well, gents" he said with the wan
and lodging look still In his eyes, ''let
me think q minute. Before came here
lived in Chicago. whore was hunted
instead Of hunting. Before that was
IN New Orleans. where only hunted q
Job. Before that I was In ST. Paul,
where was hunting a warm place all
the time. Before that lived in Boston,
where it was too frigid to hunt. and be-
fore that. quite long time before that,
lived in old Kentucky, and, gents.
did hunt there. Nothing but coon,
mebbe. or a fox or q poesum or rs little
as q squirrel or only dove in the dusty
road, but it was finer than anything ON
earth.
81 was only boy, and perhaps that
bad something to do with it, but didn't
know any different then, like do now,
and IL was Just the finest on earth and
no mistake" And his wan face lighted
up as If he were looking through the
open gates Of paradise. II recollect
had q dog that was considerable of a
hunting dog, but he was an unrestless
kind Of q cuss, and when he freed any
thing he would do lot OF barking at
first. but If somebody didn't come
mighty quick he would give It up and
60 moseying along after the next thing
in sight. One night was ont with him
after ooons, and about 8 o'clock heard
him bark like he was over in a clump
Of woods about a half mile away.
knew was going to have to get to him
| pretty quick IL found him there at all,
and ! started across field toward the
woods as fast as could GO 1t was a
stubble Geld with sink holes like you
find all over Kentucky in the limestone
parts, and the place was dark. though
the moon was just beginning to show
above the woods. was thinking more
about what the dog had than anything
else. and IS / went banging through the
field. all at once seemed to drop of Of
the earth and fall into a cellar, and then
knew had tumbled into a sink hole
They are never very deep or dangerous.
and / wasn't afraid Of being fatally
hurt, but it took the sand out of me
right quick, and went down through
the weeds and stuff, not knowing Just
what had happened. OF course hadn'i
much time to think, and when / hi
bottom i had still less. for instead o.
lighting on the ground or stones OF
thicket. lit on something alive. 1t wa
a wild animal of some kind, didn'
know what, and was scared till m,
hair began TO feel funny on my head.
"When went down, went hard
and 1 kind Of knocked the wind out o
the varmint at first. but In a second j
began to yowl and snap and snarl and T.
twist under me and try to get out an,
to raise the dickens generally. In tn
meantime / was yelling and squawkini
and trying to scare the blamed thing
because thought it Yves a wildcat, an
knew a bov Of my size didn't hav
any show with a wildcat if the varmin
ever sook n notion TO fight, and kneN
pretty We'll that q wildcat was about q
sure to take q notion to fight as any
. thing ON earth. I don't know exactl
what did in that hole or how did il
but i remember it seemed about a mont
OF Sundays that was all unused up
there with some kind of a wild animal
D and finally the thing got from under m
and scooted as fast as it could for th
Z top of the sink hole. followed after
as quick as could, for became brave
? when I saw it run, and when got q
| on the level the moon had come out
! and could see the varmint fairly Skin
; ming it ont for the tall timber. yelle
n at with all my might though didn
run after it very fast, and began to ca
4 my dog On the second call the varmiK
r stopped, and began to get ready to ski
s out myself, when / got better lool
b and. by the great horn spoon, gents,
! was my dog. called him then, and h
came back to me, and could see fl
4 myself that he had holed somethin
: down there in the sink, and his barkin
4 had been smothered and sounded ava
n OF to me, and of course when droppe
: In on him unexpectedly like that /
a didn't know anything about it, and ne
n Their did ], and there we was IN an
event. gentlemen" concluded the 70
n mer Corncraoker. 'that dog come tro
= ting back to me, and when we met fa,
y to face in the moonlight he sorter lool
h ed at me, and sorter looked at hin
and don't know which one Of Us fe
most like apologizing. do know
though, we both knocked of for that O
+ casion. and on the way home we toe
= turn about sneaking along behind eaS
4 other, me and the dog. New Yol
= Sun.