The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1897-02-26
TWO in A SIX HOLE.
A KENTUCKY PRINTER NARRATEs A
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.

THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
While Following the Call Of His Faithful
Dog He Met with . Mishsp-In . Dark
Hole with . Fierce wild Beast-Ths
Escape and Recognition.
Pretty much everybody in the crowd
had told = story Of the gun or dog or
6shpole except . printer who looked
about % much like hunter or fisher.
man as he did like an angel.
Its your turn now. Muggins. said
the reporter.
II never hunted anything but board
ing houses over in Brooklyn" he said.
with wan and lodging kind Of air. as
II people threw things at him whenever
he tried to tell story.
But before you came here In what
we want to know about" put in sew
eral, land you've either got to tell a
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
~ 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 / came here
I lived in Chicago, where was hunted
instead Of hunting Before that / was
in New Orleans. where only hunted .
Job Before that was in st. Paul,
where I was hunting a 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,
I lived in old Kentucky, and, gents.
did hunt there. Nothing but coon.
mebbe, or o fox or postum or as little
as squirrel or only dove in the 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'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 as il he were looking through the
open gates Of paradise. II recollect
had q dog that was considerable of q
hunting dog. but he was an unrestless
kind Of cuss, and when he freed any
thing he would do . lot Of barking at
first, but il somebody didn't come
mighty quick be would give II up and
60 moseying along after the next thing
in sight One night was out with him
after coons, and about o'clock I heard
him bark like be was over in . clump
of woods about . half mile away.
knew I was going to have to get to him
pretty quick il found him there at ali.
and l started across field toward the
woods as fast as could 60. 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. Twas thinking more
about what the dog had than anything
else, and as went banging through the
field. all at once I seemed to drop Of Of
the earth and fall into cellar, and then
I knew / had tumbled into a 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. and / went down through
the weeds and stuff. not knowing just
what had happened. OF course hadn't
much time to think, and when bit
bottom l had still less, for instead Of
lighting on the ground or stones or
thicket. I lie on something alive. 1t was
a wild animal Of some kind, I didn't
know what, and I was scared till my
hair began to feel funny ON my head.
when went down. went hard,
and kind Of knocked the wind out Of
the varmint at first. but in y second it
began to yowl and snap and sparl and to
twist under me and try TO get out and
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
I knew q boy Of my size didn't have
any show with wildcat IL the varmint
ever took notion to fight. and knew
pretty well that q wildcat was about a.
sure to take . notion to fight as any
thing on earth. I don't know exactly
what did in that hole or how did II,
but remem Der it seemed about a month
Of Sundays that was all unused mp in
there with some kind Of wild animal,
and finally the thing got from under me
and scooted as fast a. it could for the
top Of the sink hole. followed after It
a. quick a. could, for became drawer
when saw it run. and when / got up
on the level the moon had come out.
and could see the varmint fairly skin
ming IL out for the tall timber. l yelled
at it with all my might. though didn't
run after 1t very fast, and began to call
my dog. On the second call the varmint
stopped, and began to get ready to skin
ont myself. when got better look,
and. by the great horn spoon. gents, II
WAS my dog. called him then, and he
came back to me, and l could see for
myself that he had holed something
down there in the sink. and his barking
had been smothered and sounded away
on to me, and Of course when dropped
In on him unexpectedly like that he
didn't know anything about it. and nei-
Ak>~ AsA .~a <h~~~ oc-