The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-01-06
TWO In A SINK HOLE.
A KENTUCKY PRINTER NARRATes A
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.

while Following the Call OF His Faithful
Dog He Met with Sfishap-1n = DARK
Hoic with q Fierce wild Bcast--The
Escape and Recognition.
Pretty much everybody in the crowd
had told . 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.
''It's your turn now, Muggins," said
the reporter.
."I never hunted anything but board
ing houses over in Brooklyn, he said,
with wan and dodging kind Of air, as
81 people threw things at him whenever
he tried to tell a story.
"But before you came here Is what
we want to know about" put in sew
eral, "and you've either got to tell n
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
II 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 dodging look still in his eyes, ''let
me think minute Before l came here
lived in Chicago, where was hunted
instead Of hunting. Before that was
in New Orleans, where only hunted n
Job. Before that I was in st. Paul,
where 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,
lived in old Kentucky, and, gents,
did hunt there Nothing but coon,
mebbe. or fox or possum or as little
as O squirrel or only dove in the dusty
road, but it was finer than anything on
earth.
81 was only boy, and perhaps that
had something to do with it, but didn't
know any different then, like I do now,
and ID 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 81 recollect l
had dog that was considerable Of a
hunting dog, but he was an unrestless
kind Of cuss, and when he treed any
thing he wonld do a lot of barking at
L
mighty quick he would give it up and
60 moseying 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 IL / found him there at all,
and I started across field toward the
woods as fast as could go. 1t was o
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 I seemed to drop Off Of
the earth and fall into cellar, and then
knew had tumbled into sink hole.
They arc never very deep or dangerous,
and wasn't afraid Of being fatally
hurt, but it took the sand out of me
right quick, and I went down through
the weeds and stuff, not knowing just
what had happened. OF course hadn t
much time to think, and when I hit
bottom ! had still less, for instead Of
lighting on the ground or stones or
thicket, lit on something alive. 1t was
wild animal Of some kind, 1 didn' I
know what, and I was scared till my
hair began to feel funny on my head.
"Wben went down, went hard,
and kind Of knocked the wind out of
the varmint at first, hut in second it
began to yowl and snap and srarl 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 q wildcat, and
I knew boy Of my size didn't have
any show with wildcat il the varmint
ever took notion TO fight, and knew
pretty well that wildcat was about as
sure to take notion to fight as any
thing on earth. I don't know exactly
what did in that hole or how did it,
but / 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 mo
and scooted as fast as it could for the
top Of the sink hole. followed after it
;as quick ~ could, for became braver
when ! saw it run, and when I got up
on the level the moon had come out,
and I could sec the varmint fairly skin
ming it out for the tall timber. Iyelled
at it with all my might. though didn't
run ;sfsor it very fast, and began to call
my dog. On the second call the varmint
stopped. and began to get ready to skin
out myself, whom I got better look.
and. by the great horn spoon, gents, il
WIS my dog. called him then, and he
Same back to me, and could sec for
myself shat he had holed something
down there in the sink, and his barking
had been smothered and sounded away
OF TO me, and Of course when dropped
In ON him unexpectedly like that he
didn't know anything about it, and nei-
fher did ]. xnd there we was. In any
event. gentlemen. ~ concluded the for.