Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1899-02-18

Slid rest FIR Day or two
-'W hats The dream9' saysl.
"'EeF=rc5 ielIsrs iu the woods. I
see f. Of EN- as plain Is day, and
'1s-- cit You fur sure
u didn't 90 much BY the dream.
said u. "5-t I was teei.r' Haryous
and pat or. so 7 lstihe fire 70 out aud
der. =- 30 take q rest. Next day. when
everything was kirersl mp, / shout
5s-e- I-5 rife aad went up tie hin to
l5L a Jew squirrels. Purity so0u ! run
-g-1-. Tom LETTERS and Tom says:
Zsy. ! got sight Of O wild cat q few
minis ago. and ! reckon she is hid
around them rocks. Fur amt no good
fl summer. but ~e might asy some fun
lri1i1' her out.
81 thought SO, too, and we went
I5kil around fur haitian hour. Bmeby
we found a den and started q smoke.
We could hear the cri,te- grow,in' and
c.sWiu'. bu, she didn't come out fur a
long time. When she did there was
three d email big cats. They come
out suar,ju' and sp.,'iu' and hoppin'
mad. and fur q time n looked as ifthey
was goiu' 10 stop and fight US. They
went off grudgiugly, and arter a few
miniJs we follered on. Tom had no gun
al all, bein' out AFTER roots, willie |
had only one bullet left. Three wild
cats was a heap 10 tackle, but | reck-
oned ! might git a shot at one alone.
We fOi!erej and follered, and finally I
got q shot. | wounded q cat, as we
knowed by her yell, and f., was a heap
hetter'n than TO hcy killed her. The
three made a rush through the woods.
and next mint we was hearin' sounds
TO make the hair stand up on a stone
wall"
Were they fighting among them
selyes?" | asked.
NO, sah-fur from it,. We WAS clus
TO that big chestnut tree. and they
made fur it., Reckon them wild cats
knowed all about the hoIler. and they
intended TO dodge in thar. Tom and
me couldn't make out al fust what the
row was all about. Thar was prowlin'
and spittin' aud hissiu', which was
from the cats sure huff, but it Feared
that mems voices was yelin' 'police.'
and 'murder!' and lots of other things.
We hung back fur awhile, as | had
fired my last bullet. but when we was
sure that men and cats was all mixed
up, and heard the shootin' to boot, we
crept up. Lawd, sab, but sunihin'
mighty quare had happened."
What vas liz"
wall, them TO revenoo fellers had
made camp in that holler tree, and was
all in thar eatin' luncheon, when the
cats piled in on EN-. You know the
natur' OF a wild cat, do you?"
I've heard they were very savage"
Let me tell you, sab, that thar amt
nothin' as walks or flies mo- savage
rous nor a wild cat. She's allus en- the
lookout for a fout, aud a big buzz
saw, driv at full speed by a ten.hoss-
power engine, amt no match fur n
fuil-grown wild cat. Them three cats
was rippin' mad from rose TO tail. and
when they jumped into that boiler and
lound men thar they was ,ickled half
10 death. They just begin bizness right
OH, II it wasn't ended when Tom and
me got thar. Lawd save you, but them
men was a sight! II had come sudden
on en- aud they wus too upset 10 fipht.
~ rust They did some shootin' ortar
awhile, and one Of the cats was Killed
bu' II we hadn't come up | reckon Tho
, 10 men would hev knocked nnder =
got one o their pistols and killed n On,
ar'er had clawed my leg, and Tom
sent a bullet into the. other les, as sha
fastened 10 his foot"
And the men were badly used - .,
asked. +
IL never did see anything like !, +,
al, any bon days. They mad on liab,
clothes, and them clothes was ;ss,
J clawed 10 strings. The only ,bino.
that wasn't tattered was their bn,es
Talk ORA man gittin' a ialr into a
} thorn bush, but II couldn't hold n can
! die! Even their hair had been elawed
\ out. and fur every claw mark thar wa,
. bite 10 match. Fur about W hour /
Z 4 ~