The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1897-01-23
THAT PANTHER TRACK.

udu Couc W tuft Tar leNdn Wider
ness, where panthers are still afoot.
some months before, luIed by tales of
the wild adventure and sudden wealth
the wilderness lavished SO freely, in the
early days, upon her adopted children.
My camp was many miles from the
headquarters Of the ranch and l lived
there month after month in charge OF a
flock Of sheep. knew no human com.
partnership other than that sparsely be-
slowed upon me by the foreman on his
weekly rounds Of inspection. 1t was
my daily wont to Craze the sheep away
for two or three miles in the morning,
let them rest at noon and DRIFT slowly
campward as the evening shadows
heightened.
Long before the break OF one OF those
long, dry, breezefreshened sun warmed
days which make the weather of ives.
tern Texas, my camp fire was blazing.
BY sunrise my breakfast Of venison and
fap-iacks was finished. When the clear
twilight Of the dawn frightened with
the first sunshine the sheep commenced
to leave their bedding ground, and /,
stirred up the stragglers and commenced
the long drill OF herding. 1t is strange
art, the controlling Of eighteen hundred
rascal wethers. After an hour or so OF
careful work had the sheep under con-
troll. deployed abreast, as is the skirmish
line in mimic battle, and, as / walked
back and forth in front OF them, the
rearmost straggler was within reach Of
the scare Of a stone whirled from my
Mexican sling; weapon that might we'll
have served for the Draining Of a giant.
AS the sun grew warm | brought the
flock to the margin OF the water hole l
had chosen for our incoming place. As
the sheep caught the smell Of the water
the leaders broke away with the whole
flock trailing in thirsty rabble after
them.
1t is not for a tenderfoot to hold the
long wings Of the bIeating phalanx at
the waters edge until he gives the word
to drink: Such obedience is only found
in the flock of him whose sling thongs,
girt about his loins, are worn smooth
from the chafe Of years of wandering
with his flock, whose speech is slow and
infrequent or breaks in unsteady floods
OF unpent garrulity, whose solitude is so
dear to him that he will not keep dog.
His sheep obey as far as each may hear
the various queer, long-trawn calls, as
does cavalry horse his bugle.
As the sheep drank their fill and
trailed slowly Up to the welcome shade
Of the great live-oak. 1 strayed to the
far side of the water hole to fill my can
teen beyond the muddy trsmpie and
there, in the soft earth at the waters
edge, saw that pan .her track!
There was no doing in the shade of
the great live oaks for me that day.
What a mad thirst for blooG! What
thrilling hope for a chance meeting
with the beast! What wild schemes for
tracking him to his lair! What an
exstacy OF excitement as l stood in the
blaze Of the dry-country sun beside that
panther track.
All me! and yesterday, running land
line across the open prairie. with COM
pass and tripod over my shoulder and
eye fixed upon a distant object, l all but
trod on one Of the great cats where he
lay watching COW with a young calf;
and this with such sad dearth OF thrill
that my eye never wavered. lest
should lose the course, until l had set
I'D the instrument and brought it to