The Monitor-register., 1897-01-22
i'WO IN A SINK HOLE.
A KENTUCKY PRINTER NARRATES A
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.

had told story of the gun or dog or
hshpole except printer who looked
about as much like hunter or fisher.
man as he did like an angel.
TITS your turn now, Muggins, said
+! the reporter
I 81 never hunted anything but board.
ing houses over in Brooklyn, he said,
| with wan and lodging kind of air, az
| II people threw things at him whenever
he tried to tell story.
but before you came here ia what
| we want to know about" put in sew
eral, land you've either got to tell q
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
1t close up again Immediately and final
ly 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 minute. Before l came here
l lived IN Chicago, where was hunted
instead Of hunting. Before that was
in New Orleans, where I only hunted
job. Before that l 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 possum or as little
as squirrel or only dove in the dusty
road, but it was finer than anything on
| earth.
Il was only a boy, and perhaps that
had something to do with it, but didn't
know any different then, like do now.
and 1T was just the finest on earth and
| no mistake" And his wan face lighted
up as if he were looking through the
open gates CT paradise. 81 recollect /
had dog that was considerable of a
hunting dog, but he was an unrestless
kind of cuss, and when he treed any
thing he would do lot of barking at
first, but if somebody didn't come
mighty quick he would give it up and
| go moseylng along after the next thing
In sight. One night was out with him
after coons, and about O'Clock heard
him bark like he was over in q clump
OF woods about half mile away.
knew was going to have to get to him
pretty quick if found him there at all,
and started across field toward the
woods as fast as l could CO. 1t 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 seemed to drop off of
the earth and fall into a cellar, and then
l knew had tumbled into sink hole.
They are never very deep or dangerous,
and wasn't afraid of being fatally
hurt, but 1T took the sand out of me
right quick, and / went down through
the weeds ard stuff, not knowing lust
what had happened. OF course hadn't
much time to think, and when l hit
bottom l had still less, for instead Ct
lighting on the ground CT stones or
thlcket, lit cn something alive. 1t was
wild animal Of some kind, didn't
know what, and was scared till INV
hair began to feel funny ON my head.
when l went down, went hard,
and kind CT knocked the wind out CT =
began to yow1 and snap and snarl and to
twist under me and try to get out aud
to raise the dickens generally. In the
meantime was yelling and squawking
and trying to scare the blamed thing,
because thought it was wildcat, and
l knew boy of my size didn't have
any show with wildcat if the varmint
ever took notion 10 fight, and | knew
pretty we'll that wildcat was about as
sure to take q notion to fight as any
thing OH earth. l don't know exactly
what l did in that hole or how did it,
but l remember it seemed about month
of Sundays that was all mussed up in
there with some kind of wild animal,
and finally the thing got from under me
and scooted as fast as it could for the
top of the sink hole. foilCwtd after it
as quick as could, for became brayer
when I saw it run, al d when 1 got up
on the level the neon had come out,
and could see the yarmint fairly skin
ming it out fer the tall timber. l yelled
at itwith all my might, though l didn't
run after j very fast, and began to call
my dog. On the second call the varnint
stopped, and ! began to get ready to skin
out myself, when | get 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 il 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 any thing about it. and nti-
ther did /, ard tltre we was IL any
event, ge!ulemen, concluded the fer
mer Corncracker. "that cog come tIct-
ting back to me, and when we met face
to face i'll the moonlight lie sCrter lock-
ed at me, and ] sOrter locked at him,
and l don't know which one Ct us felt
most like apologizirg l do Lnow,
though, we both kncf ked off for that oc-
casion, and Oh the way home We took
turn about sncakina tlcng Lehind ,ach
other, me and the Gcg. New York
Sun.
Strange Nursery.
On the slopes Of the Himalayas the
native women have most curious plan
Of disposing of their babies and keeping
them quiet while they are engaged at
work in the fields during the greater
part of the day. Before the mothers set
out to work in the morning they wrap
their babies i'll swaddling bands, leav-
ing nothing but their little fac es ex-
posed. Then the babies are taken and
laid under ledge of rock from which
water is falling, and by means of
Al. -, IL