Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-01-12
TWO IN A SINK HOLE.
A KENTUCKY PRINTER NARRArES A
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.

THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
While EolloWing the Call Of HI Painful
Dog He Net with . N1ishaP-In Dark
Hole with . Fierce wild Beast-The
Escape and Recognition.
Pretty much everybody in the crowd
had told q story of the gun or dog or
fishpole except a 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.
81 never hunted anything but beard
ing houses over in Brooklyn" he said,
with q wan and lodging kind Of air, az
if people threw things st him whenever
he tried to tell q story.
''But before you came here 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
it 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 lodging look still in his eyes, ''let
me think q minute. Before came here
I lived in Chicago. where ! was hunted
instead Of hunting. Before that was
in New Orleans, where I only hunted q
job. Before that ! was in st. Paul,
where I was hunting a warm place all
the time. Before that lived in Boston,
where it was too frigid to hurt, and be-
fore that, quite long time before that,
lived in old Kentucky, and, gents,
did hunt there. Nothing hut coon,
mebbe. or o fox or o possum or as little
as squirrel or only dove in tie dusty
road, but it was finer than anything on
earth.
II was only boy, and perhaps that
had something to do with it, but didn {
know any different then, like do Eow,
and it was just tie finest on earth ard
no mistake" And his wan face lighted
up as if he were looking through the
open gates Of paradise. 81 recollect ]
had n 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 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. Ono night was out with him
after coOns, and about 8 O'Clock heard
him bark like he was over in q clump
! of woods about half mile away.
knew was going to bave to get to him
pretty quick if found him there ut all,
and I started across field toward the
woods as fast as could 60. 1t was q
stubble field with sink holes Ike you
find all over Kentucky in the limestone
parts, and tho place wis dark, though
the neon was just beginning to show
above tho woods. was thinking more
about what the dog had than anything
else, and as l went banging through the
field, all at once seemed to drop of OF
the earth ard fall into cellar, and ther
| knew had tumbled into sink hole
They are never very deep or dangerous
and I wasn't afraid of being fatally
hurt, but it took the sand out of me
right quick, ard went down through
the weeds and stuff, not knowing JUS
what had happened. OF course / hadn'
much time to think, and when l hi
bottom l had still less, for instead G
lighting on the ground or stones O
thicket. l lit on something alive. 1t wa
wild animal Of come kind, tidn'
know what, and was scared till IN,
hair began to feel funny On my head.
n =
and I kind Of knocked the wind out O
the vafmint ct 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 squawkin
and trying to scare the blamed thing
because thought it was wildcat, an
knew boy Of my size didn't hav
any show with wildcat il the varmin
ever took q notion to fight, and kne,
pretty we'll that wildcat was about q
sure to take notion to fight rs any
thing on earth. I don't know exactl
what did in that hole or how l did j,
but / remember it seemed about mont
of Sundays that was all unused MP
there with some kind Of q wild ANNA
and finally the thing got from under m
and scooted as fast as it could for III
top Of the sink hole. / followed after
as quick as I could, for l became brave
when l saw it run, and when l got u
on the level the moon had come on
and I could see the varmint fairly skin
ming it cut for the tall timber yelle
at it with all my might, though didn
run after it very fast. and began to ca
my dog. On the second call the warmth
i stopped. and began to get ready to Ski
: out myself, when I got a better loci
and, by the great horn spoon, gents.
was my dog. called him then, and
came back to me, ard I could see {,
myself that he had holed somethir
down there in the sink, and his barkir
had been smothered and sounded aw;
of to me, and of course when ! drop,
in ON him Unexpectedly like that
didn't know anything about it. and Mt
Their did I, and there we was. In al
event, gentlemen" concluded the fo
mer Corncracker. THAT dog come trc
ting back to me. and when we met IA
Il 4 - l. l.