Evening star., 1898-09-10
ADVENTURE WlTHAP PANTHER

The sportsman who has hankering for
exciting hunting, said an Arizona man,
after listening to the story of a friend who
had had several thrilling encounters with
tigers in 1ndiay may have plenty of it any
where among the mountains of eastern
Arizona. Pantliers like those one reads
about in tales of frontier life are stiIl to be
met there in all their pristine ugliness and
strength. l recall a very narrow escape
which L and another cowboy named Burke
had two years ago in one of the forests of
that state. We were returning to carnp
after an absence of several days with a
large herd of cattle, and late in the after
noon we missed two steers which had evil
IDENTIFY entered and strayed away in tue
fCfest along the edge of which our journey
homeWard lay. Not wishing to lose the
animals in the forest where thousands of
partners We're known to abound, We allow
ed the bunch of cattle to go on ahead. and.
urging our horses on, went in search of the
beasts
We'll, we had not gone very far into the
thick of the forest, which was in places
covered With heavy underground OF
pushes, when we thought we heard noise
resembling that made by the hoofs of a
steer IN walking through brush AS we got
little nearer to the bushes where we had
ahead of ne, suddenly refined up his horse
lie must Eave seen something that started
hlIn, Tor he waved me back ana tnen COCK
ed MS gun A moment later big panther
came into view carrying a sQueaiinc cub
bear in its mouth. 1t carried the cub as a
cat would a mouse, and as it did not ap-
pear TO notice our presence Burke took his
gun from his shoulder and we both ga:
there looking and wondering what the wild
least would do with it's prey.
Our interest was still more excited when
1eW moments later the wailing mother
Dear made It's appearance. She was evil
dehtiy afraid to tackle the panther, and
lHat DeaSt appeared to know it. But pres
emily the panther put the cub on the
ground, as If to get a better hold on its
neck, when the bear plunged at :he pan
ther ana caught it round the body just in
front of the hind legs. Like a Hash the
panther flung the cub into the air yanked
Itself loose and, turning quickly, jumped al
the bear. The bear knocked the panther to
one side and a second stroke Of its paw
sent the big cat flying into the bushes. But
at this stage of the nsht the cub squealed
once more, and the mother bear, seeming
TO forget everything but her young one,
ruShed to Its rescue. She had not however
taken more than three or four steps when
the panther Sprang at her throat again.
Its ann was true, for it settled the claws
of Its forefeet in the bear shoulder and its
teeth in her neck. The bear now struggled
nara TO shake the panther Off, but she
S'oi"ii w H. soon the panther tore the
pear entraiis out with its hind claws, and
then 1t leaped away ana went to smClling
after the cub, which had crawled over to a
tree near where We nau been watching the
battle.
"on came the panther shifting along the
ground for the cub, wnca had retreat ed
until IT was within ten feet from U.S. Then
the panther paused, and tor the first time
turned its attention to us. Its attitude was
one of defiance. 1t crouched and curled it's
lips up in a hideous snarl, and Burke real
1zlng the danger we We're in raised his
Nnchester and fired. But his aim was too
hlSh, and the savage beast sitrang fo- my
BACK, tearing my coat into shreds and leav-
ing the marks Of its claws on my shoulder
once again the panther was about to jump
for me. But this time Burke put a bullet
IN a vital spot and ythe panther fell dead
We didn't STOP to look around any
longer that day for our ste ars, but the next
afternoon another cowboy belonging to our
camp ran across their remains in a gorge
about half a mile away from where W. had
shot the panther. They had been killed
and partly devoured by pantAers."