The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-24
IS Elm Street, New York.

! feet in hight and thin-waled entrance
| passage about as wide and half as high
| as an ordinary doorway and with a semi
| circle at the top. Dowie drilled, at care
| fully measured distances, holes in the
| sand rock at the top and bottom of this
passage. He drilled deeper at the top to
| pass up his rods and drop them into the
slots or sockets below. He set the rods
some three inches apart, and his cougar
| cage was finished
Then, on a moonlight evening, after old
| Manuel had helped to inclose the sheep
| in their night corrals, Dowie mounted his
pony-out of sight of the hacienda-and
rode uD the Verde. He carried gunny-
sack and lantern filled from precious
supply of oil in an out-celar. He picket
| ed his pony for safety some half a mile
down the river below the ledge. Then he
went to his cave and waited, sitting in
the entrance.
On such night the cougars were sure
| to be out. one or both, in search of meat
Dowie intended to wait until midnight be
| fore attempting to enter their lair, but
he had sat for only an hour or SO when
he heard the wailing scream of a puma
far up the river. This was quickly an
swered by another screech somewhat near
er at hand. Both cougars were out, and
some poor beast-an antelope or a deer,
likely-had been caught in the tolls! Dowie
had not hoped for such luck. He speedily
lit his lantern, boldly mounted to the cou-
CARS cave and entered. Away at the fur
| Their extremity, after passing through sew
eral musty, ill-smelling apartments and
passages, in a dark, low hole, he found
the cougar kits-two little tawny beasts
which blinked at his light with newly
opened eyes from a sand nest which reek-
ed with a sitting, musky odor.
He promptly thrust the big-legged,
harmless creatures into the mouth of his
sunnysack, swung them over his shout
der, and hurried out. Then while the kits
whimpered and miauled, he ran at reck-
less pace down the path and along the
broader terrace, and out of. breath but
triumphant, entered his own den with his
prize. Such a simple, easy trick to catch
cougars! He wanted to shout and dance
in his joy and triumph. He had expected
to take big risks, to find, very likely, one
of the old cougars at home, to retreat al
the first note of warning. and to follow
up his attempts on other nights until
chances should favor him perhaps at last.
He took his small prizes into the cage
he had prepared for them. There he sat
and fondled and cooed over them, for they
were clean enough outside their ill-smell-
ing lair, and got small scratches and
snuffiing responses for his pains.
"O-o-o-h, We, b-e-e-o-o-ful leetle COO
gars!' he crooned, holding them in his
arms, and rubbing his face along the soft
fur of their backs.
Thus he sat for long time, wholly alb
sorbed in the pastime of cuddling and
fondHng the whimpering, wriggling little
things until his lantern burned low and
with sputter and hiss went out He
had put but little oil in the lamp can
kerosene was too scarce and precious an
article. Then, in the sudden blackness of
the cave cell, a chill of alarm struck to
the very marrow of his bones and played
in prickly waves over the surface of his
DIV T1cf "a
or did the deadly presence of the fierce
old cougars actually make itself felt
through the gloom and blackness of the
cavern? He had forgotten the parent cou-
CARS, and their stealthy approach, in the
joy of his capture.
Dowie nervOusly thrust the kits, which
he had sOothed TO drowsiness, into the
mouth of the gunnysack, upon which he
had been sitting. Then, In trembling
dread, he turned silently to the passage
and faced the CLEAN of light which came
from the entrance to his cavern. He saw
what he had feared and half expected
to see-the shadowy outlines of both the
old cougars, standing in the passageway,
silent, grim, motionless peerng within.
The animals had tracked him from their
lair, and had been standing and watch
ing, i'm fear of his light, no doubt, for
no knowing how long. And he had lifted
out three of the cage rods giving Just
left them leaning against the wall of the
cell!
In breathess, terrible suspense he wait
ed, peering at the silent, watchful fig
ures. Could they see him. He dared not
move hand or foot-dared not attempt, in
the darkness, to replace the rods. In two
or three bounds either of the fierce beasts
could reach the cage. and could squeeze
its slim body through the opening, too.
Seconds, which seemed to lengthen into
ages, went by. He could hear a faint
rustic of the kits now moving about in
their sack; then one of the small crea-
lures gave a snuffling, piteous maui, and
instantly the cavern was filled with a rat
Ting, vibratory uproar of horrible snarl-
ings which the hollow walls re-eoched and
redoubled as If all the tongues of an
Internal pit had broken loose.
Instinctively Dowe lunged forward,
thrust his hands along the rock, grasped
one of the loose rods, and braced himself
for an encounter. The spirit of a savage,
awakened in that horrible din, blazed up
in him. He was none too soon in the
breech, for one of the cougars, in answer
to the wall of it's kits, flung itself tearing
at the bars of the cage. Dowie grown
more used to the dim light, saw the crea-
ture press head and shoulders in at the
opening, and heard the ominous creaking
and grinding of a straining rod. He
thrust savagely at the cougars head with
his sharp weapon, and felt the hardened
steel point grit upon its teeth and skull
bones. and he fought it with the fury of
young gladiator. The beast met his at
tack with the courage of ferocity, and
fought madly to get at him until its pain
must have been something fearful; then,
with a hoarse howl of rage and agony, it
gave up the attempt and leaped back out
of reach. Then the continued mewling of
the kits brought on a charge from the
other cougar.
Dowie, seeing still better now, met the
animal with a vicious thrust In the neck
and held 1t al bay. its shoulders squeezed
partly through the opening. The beast,