Omaha daily bee., 1898-12-11
HE..OINES.
Adventure Of Two Plucky Girls IN the
Mountains.

Adventure of Two Plucky Girls In the
MOuntninS.
Two fair young bellies OF old Kentucky re-
| Gently demonstrated that the average giri ot
| the old commonwealth Is as plucky as she ID
nrettv. The adventure which befell them and
| their escort was one that would send a
! SILVER down the ~stiffest spinal bone, but,
| after the first shock had passed away. the
| young ladies conducted themselves with COOL
| ness and courage. The mountain Businesses
| Of Lewis county, relates the Cincinnati En-
! quirer, are infested with Wildcats, winch are
] a constant source Of worriment to the neign
| boring farmers, because OF their marauo-
| Ing expeditions against the live stock. IL ID
not often that they attack human beings,
but two of the fierce creatures mixed 1t up
with the heroines of his story. The cats were
probably driven to the attack by hunger.
Misses Cora and Rosa Kingdom live al
Petersville, a few miles from Vanceburg.
| The village Is situated almost In the heart OF
| the mountains and is reached from Vance
| burg by a typical mountain road, which runs
! through forests and winds sinuously along
| the edges Of deep gullies. Accompanied by
| Mr.. Frank Clark, the two young ladies left
| their homes last Monday for Vanceburg to
| do some shopping. This they accomplished
in a short time and then started for home In
the middle Of the afternoon. They were
| within FIVE miles Of Petersville. when the
shades Of evening began to fall. The road
was steep and rough and the ascent was
slow to avoid accidents. The horse was n
| spirited animal and was hitched to a light
sidSbar buggy. The top was reached and
! the descent of the mountains began.
The road here runs through a dense for
est, which is almost impossible. 1t had be-
$1,000 l.-r. .-l ~ uoa q NnNtspnfs,llu
through the overhanging tree tops. The
surroundings were Of such a character as
to preclude jolity, and the young people
| spoke but little. Presently the occupants OF
the buggy were startled by the screams Of
a wildcat. which emanated from the forest
about 800 yards to their right. The mourn
full crescendo OF the festive feline frightened
the girls, but Clark treasured them. The
horse pricked up his ears at the sound and
started on a brisk trot. In a few minutes
the scream was repeated. 1t was evident
hat the cat had scented them and was in
chase, as the terrifying yells became more
frequent. There was a pause for an instant
and an answering scream was heard on the
left. The fact that two cats were pursuing
them did not disconcert the girls In the
least. The cry OF a wildcat heard In such
conditions can never be forgotten. The
horse almost became unmanageable and
reared and plunged In fright. The road was
very steep and on one side was an abrupt
precipice. The young people were in immi-
nent danger Of being spilled over the edge
Of the bank. Suddenly the horse planted
all four feet and came to an abrupt stop.
The animal quivered and shook with fear.
Out of the gloom, In the middle Of the road,
shone two blazing balls of FIRE. The cat was
getting ready to spring.
Fortunately. Mr.. Clark was armed with q
revolver. He handed the reins to Miss Cora