Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1897-01-04
THE FIELD OF ADVENTURE
THRILLING INCIDENTS AND DAR-
ING DEEDS ON LAND AND SEA.
Desperate Battle With n Wildcat
Catching a Big Shark-A Ride on
n CONycafcher

|
himself with the cunning stratagems
of an Adirondack Mountain wildcat.
When Abe came into town one day
last week he was a sight to behold.
His clothes were in shreds, his face
badly scratched, and his gait as un.
steady as that Of drunken man. he
had met wildcat, and though Abe
was the victor the fight was probably
The most savage that ever took place
between man and animal on the
mountains in this region.
al started out about 3 o'clock in the
afternoon" he said, when relating his
story to the Times correspondent the
next day, land had no idea I wat
goin' to run up against the stiffest
fight man ever put mp in this part oi
the mountains. took my gun and
dog, as I always do. L wasn't out fer
anything in particular, but ies' to
shoot any thing in tn way O. good,
seasonable game. And now l wisht |
had left the dog home. Pete wns. the
best dog I ever had. The poor fellow
gone. He's been made mincemeat of.
/ guess it must have been near s
O'Clock when l calculated I'd turn
back T. town. I had been trampin' fer
two hours an didn't see hide nor hair
cf anything wuth shootin' at.
II was kind O. tired. and SO I took
short cut down the mountain side.
And that's jes' where your Uncle Abe
got into trouble. If had KEEP to the
old trail l wouldn't have had to fight
like demon to save myself from
being clawed all to pieces. L badn't
been pushIn' my way through the
woods mo-e'n five minutes when
happened to look up. There in tree
on low limb sat one O. the biggos'
wildcats l ever see. Before l could
raise my gun to fire that cat dropped
from the limb and lit on my shoul.
ders. ] screamed and threw myself
to the ground.
"Quicker than wink the dog was
at the cat. He went at the cat from
behind, and, finding itself attacked
from the rear, the cat let go Its hold
on me and went for the dog.
jumped to my feet, dubbed my gun,
and made smash at the cat. Imissed
it by hair. l was afraid TO shoot, fer
| didn't want to take any chances on
littin' the dog.
81 swung tho gun again, and this
time caught the cat on the back and
knocked it clean out of the dogs
clutches and into the undergrowth.
1t was an ugly blow, but the cat was
so furious and worked up and excited
that it came at me like something in
ferual. Scream? l never heerd such
screamin' in all my life. Its eyes
bluzed like fire, its mouth was wide
open, and when it wasn't screamin' it
hissed like dozen snakes. It was
enough to make any man tremble in
his boots. But | was too busy tryin'
to save my life to do much tremblin'
then. Aforo l knowed it the cat
bounced through the air and landed
plum on my breast. The shock was
SO great that l went down. Fortu-
nately fer me the cat didn't tear my
eyes out. 1t scratched and tore at
my clothes fe1 minnit. Only twice
| did it scratch my face. Pete was at it
i in " minnit, and that was all that
saved me.
"With scream that I'll never fer.
git the cot went at poor Pete. 1t was
a game fight, aud a fight to the death.
Pete was in many fight, but he never
tackled wildcat before. He could
bite and gouge, but be couldn't scratch
and tear. Over and over the dog and
cat rolled, fighting all the time like
sin. couldn't shoot; the two was
mixed up too much. So l dubbed
my gun and sailed in. / was deter
mined I'll kill that cat or die in the
nttemp'. / caught the animal whack
on the shoulder that made it screetch
with pain and let SO its hold ON Pete.
1t was not until tho cat sprdng to one
side that saw how badly Pete was
hurt. His skin and flesh had been
torn into ribbons by that mountain
devil, and he was smeared with blood
from head to foot. l wheeled aroun'
an made fer the cat. But the brute
WAS Quicker'n l was. 1t was at me in
q second. Pete was no longer any use
now; he lay dying few feet away. ]
think-and you may laugh at it-that
the knowledge of his condition saved
lay life, for it made me fight all the
harder. had had Pete fer years; he
went everywhere with me. Whenever
you saw Pete you were sure to find
Abe Daniels, an ies' the other way
about. / clinche with the cat; il
was the only thing could do. II
couldn't fight as hard as before, Ter il
was too winded. l jes' Rugged il
tight. 1t tore my clothes and scratched
my legs in an awful way, but it didn'l
last long, fer 1 ont with my knife and
ies' disemhoweled that cat.
"Ibe blood gushed out, anl even
then the cat made n fearful effort to
bite me in the face. / threw my head
as far back MS l could and ripped and
slashcd with all my might. Then ]
felt the cats struggles gettin' weaker
and weaker. 1t gave few convulsive
kicks, and died still hanging to me.
bad to tear it loose from ne. After
ward measured the cat. 1t was Al
feet long from tip tip. 1t was my
first fight with wildcat. hope thai