Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-08-03
BRAVE ALTHOUGH YOUNG.
HOW ARTHUR KEPT A CANADIAN
LYNX UP A TREE.
Although Under a Fearful Strain, for
Full Hour His Crit and Bray
cry Kept the Animal Away,
Thus Saving His Life.
Thus Saving His Life.

run Aour his Grlr ana 3raV-
cry Kept the Animal Away,
Thus Saving His Life.
A family named Beals, who had gons
from Ohio to Montana, consisted of the
young father and mother, and bright
boy Of six years, named Arthur. On
the way from the railroad to the ranch
they had been joined by rather rough
looking dog, which followed them and
became a member OF the family in
good standing. He received the name
Of Tramp.
rheir ranch was a lonely valley in
the northwestern part of the state. In
clearing the ground for his cabin, Mr..
Beals left standing a thick branched
fir tree. For a season Mr.. Beals was
obliged to seek employment at the
town, ten miles away, and left his wife
and boy alone must of the time. They
did not fear, for there were no Indians
about, and as they did not venture in
TO the woods, they thought they ran
no risk of encountering wild animals.
One day when Mr.. Beals had ridden
away to the town. taking his gun with
him Mrs. Beals, accompanied by Ar
thur and Tramp, was picking up chips
N the edge of the woods, when she
noticed queer-looking cat come
around the corner of the cabin. 1t
was not much larger than an ordinary
cat, and was gray in color, but Mrs.
Beals observed that it had strange,
long, pointed black ears, which she
afterward described as kind Of wavy
and wiggly."
1t also had a tuft of grayish "Side-
whiSkers' on each of its cheeks; It's
feet and legs were large and strong
and its tail, thick and '-stumpy," was
only about half the length of a COM
mon cats.
Mrs. Reals had for some time wished
for a house cat. and her first impulse
was to make friends with this creature,
ard adopt 1t as she had adop ed Tfamp.
she did not know but this might be
the Kind of cat that belonged to the
country
Her design was thwurted by Tramp,
however who, with fierce grOwi,
rushed AT the cat. 1t flew from him,
snarling horribly, and hard pressed,
scurried up into the fir-tree. Tramp
| remained at the foot of the tree. bark
ing
Mrs. Reals took a position where she
| could see the cat, perched on branch.
All her notion of adopting it fled now,
for the creature had most feroci0us
aspect. 1t was splitting and snarling
savagely. Nevertheless, she had no
thought of its being any more danger
Gus than tOm-cat-and she had never
thought of being afraid of tom-cat.
Indeed, she had but one motive. and
that was curiosity. She wanted to get
hold of the cat, and show it to her hus-
band. She could shoot very we'll; but
there was no gun in the house.
There was, however, a neighbOr on
the next section not more than half a
mile away. She would go there and
get n gun and leave Tramp and Arthur
to watch the cat. SO away she went,
first putting the axe into the little boys
hands. Tramp stuck to his post at
the foot of the tree, still barking. Ar
thur gripped the axe firmly.
All might have gone well, if another
animal Of the same kind rs the one in
the tree. only larger, had not suddenly
appeared in the edge of the woods and
SET up a strange Shrek. Tramp ut
once abandoned the tree, and chased
this other creature, which disappeared
in the woods.
Then the animal in the tree display
cd marked disposition to come down.
It descended to the lowest branch: but
that was so high from the ground that
evidently the creature feared to leap
to the earth. With its head downward.
its claws set in the bark of the tree.
its teeth exposed, and its voice uttering
horrible snarls, it threatened the little
boy at the foot of the tree.
Arthur began to be scared, but he
had no notion of running away. He
brandished his axe bravely, and shout
ed in piping voice:
Scat! You stay up in that treew
The animal stayed. but continued to
snap and snarl and now and then
made felnts at descending. The bow
kept on brandishing his axe, and shout
ing at the cat as well as he could.
This went ON for a long time. Arthur
grew very tired and discouraged. WHY
did not his mother come back? She
had surely had time enough. Tramp
kept on barking fiercely in the woods.
His banks seemed to go farther and
farther away. Arthur grew faint and
sick He wanted very much to cry.
| but it occurred to him that If he cried
the eat would know he was scared and
would come down and scratch and bite
him to death.
1t seemed as If hours had gone nv
when the mother at last returned
bringing the gun. At the neighbours.
much time had been lost in finding the
cartridges, so that che had been gone
more than an hour.
The moment that she came up her
little boy dropped the axe and sank to
the ground, crying ptifully. The ami
NAL fed up into the tree. Mrs. Beals
first caught up the child, and had great
| difficulty in quieting him; but after a
whilo he became little calmer, though
still sobbing pitifully, and his mother
turned her attention to the animal.
By and by she caught the CLEAN OF
its eyes; she took aim, fired, and in n
moment the creature came tumbling
down dead. Then, leaving it where It
was, she took the child into the house
and rocked him long time, while he
still sobbed and gasped
Indeed, she spent most of the dav
with him, and it seemed impossible 10
get him out of the notion that the
strange, great cat was still threatening
him.
When Mr.. Beals returned. he declar-
ed that the animal was undoubtedly
a Canada lynx, and this judgment was
confirmed by older settlers. This ia
a large species of the lynx kind. and is
often quite fierce. If the little how
had not maintained a very bold front.
and made threatening use of the AKA
the creature would probably have da'