Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1896-12-08
TWO In A SINK HOLE.
A KENTUCKY PRINTER NARRATES A
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.

THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
While Following the Call Of He Faithful
Dog He Met with Mishap-In . Dark
Hole With q Fierce Wild Besxt-The
Escaps and Recognition.
Pretty much everybody in the crowd
had told a story Of the gun or dog or
fshpole except printer who looked
about as much like hunter or fisher
man as he did like an angel.
Its your turn now, Muggins, said
the reporter.
~ never hunted anything but board
ing houses over in Brooklyn, he said,
with wan and dodging kind OF air, as
II people threw things at him whenever
he tried to tell story.
But before you came here IA what
we want 10 know about" put in sew
eral. "and you've either got to tell
story or pay for the drinks every time
any body else tells one. "
He moved about uneasily and pushed
his chair back from the table, drawing
il close up again Immediately and final
" resting his hands clasped on the board
in front Of him.
well, gents" he said with the wan
and dodging look still in his eyes, "let
me think minute. Before | came here
I lived in Chicago, where l was hunted
instead Of hunting. Before that was
in New Orleans, where only hunted a
job. Before that | was in st. Paul,
where / was hunting warm place all
the time. Before that lived in Boston,
where il 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,
mebbc. or fox or possum or as little
as squirrel or only dove in the dusty
road. but il was finer than anything on
earth.
II was only boy, and perhaps that
had something 10 do with it, but didn't
know any different then, like do now.
and it was just the finest on earth and
no mistake. " And his wan face lighted
up us il he were looking through the
open gates Cf paradise. Il recollect l
had dog that was considerable OF a
hunting dog. but he was All unrestless
kind Of a clss. and when he treed any
thing he would do a lot Of barking at
first, but If somebody didn't come
mighty quick he would give it up and
go moseying along after the next thing
in sight. One night was out with him
after coons, and about O'Clock | heard
him bark like be was over i'll q clump
Of woods about half mile away. |
knew | was going TO have TO get 10 him
pretty quick if l found him there at all,
and | started across "a field toward the
woods as fast as could go. It was a
stubble field 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 as | went banging through the
field, all at once 1 seemed TO drop { II OF
the earth and fall into cellar, and then
| knew | had tumblcd into a sink hole. |
They are never very deep or dangerous,
and / wasn't afraid of being fatally
hurt, but il 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't
much time To think, and when | hit
bottom | had still less. for instead OF
lighting Oh the ground or stones or
thicket, liz on something alive ltwas
a wild animal Of some kind, didn't
know what, and | was scared ill my |
hair began TO feel funny on my head.
When / went down, went hard, |
and kind II knocked the wind out Of
the varmiut at first, but III "A second II
began to yowl and snap and snarl and TO
twist under me and try 10 get out and |
to raise the dickens generally. In the
meantime | was yelling and squawking |
and trying to scare the blamed thing.
because | thought 1t was wildcat, and
/ knew a boy of my size didn't have
any show with "A wildcat If the yarmint
ever took notion 10 fight, and knew |
pretty well that wildcat was about as
sure to take o notion 10 fight a. any |
thing on earth. | don't know exactly |
what l did in that hole or how did II, |
but remem Der it seemed about month |
Of Sundays that was all mussed up III |
there with some kind Of wild animal, |
and finally the thing got from under me |
f.g anrrld
top Of the sink hole. l followed after II
as quick as | could, for became braver |
when l saw il run, and when | got up |
Oh the level the moon had come out, |
and could see the varmint fairly skin
ming it out for the tall timber. yelled |
at it with all my might, though didn't
run after it very fast, and began to call
my dog On the second call the yarmint
stopped, and began to get ready TO skin
out myself, when | got better look,
and, by the great horn spoon, gents, IT
was my dog. called him then, and he
came back to me, and | could see for
myself that he had holed something
down there in the sink, and his barking
had been smothered and sounded away
off to me, and Of course when | dropped
In on him Unexpectedly like that he
didn't know anything about it, and nei-
ther did !, and there we was. In any |
event, gentlemen, concluded the for
mer Corncracker, that dog come trot.
ting back to me. and when we met face
to face in the moonlight he sorter look |
ed at me, and / sorter looked at him.
and don't know which one Of US felt
most like apologizing. l do know,
though, we both knocked off for that &C.
casion, and OH the way home We took
turn about sneaking along behind each
other, me and the dog. New York
Sun.
Partisan Pagans.
Paris is threatened with q renaissance