Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-19


we got close.''
They continued to diSouss the matte
excitedly till they reached George
t home.
You'd better keep away from owe
: there after dark, or you'll get hurt" wa
/ Mr.. Whites comment when they toll,
, their story. And Arch's father made
: similar remark. Neither of the mel
cared anything about hunting.
The boys wanted to kill the lion, ant
discussed the matter for several days
But they had had very little experience
, with guns, and an old army musket be
ing the only weapon they could find
their courage failed. They never visit
ed the trap except in broad daylight
now, and took care that no turkey!
should be left in it over night for tn,
lion to eat.
4 One day, two or three weeks later
Mr.. Kemper came home from the coun
ty seat few miles down the river, anG
said:
arch, if you boys could catch your
mountain lion you could make some
money out of him now. There's a mar
down at town offering hundred ant
fifty dollars for a fullgrown one, alive
| Guess he wants 1T for a show, or 6
! geological garden, or something of the
kind. He's got a wagon and a cage
and is going to stay there for a while
Arch slipped out and went down tc
see George. They talked the matter
over till late hour. The next day was
/ IA ha1 tba
risen when they were at the trap and
at work.
/ First, they removed every rail that
| was not hard and strong, and substi-
| tuted a better one. Then they sharp
ened a number of long, large stakes
and drove them down with a sledge-
hammer, four at each corner and others
along the sides till not rail of the pen
could be moved. With some wire they
had brought they fastened every rail of
those covering the pen to the rails be-
| low, SO that it could not be lifted or
| slipped aside.
Not content with this, they cut off
four sections of fallen tree, rolled
them to the pen, and putting rails
| against the side of the pen rolled them
upon it to weight it down. Now the
pen was believed to be secure and they
We're ready to make a door.
1t was night by this time, and the
rest of their task had to be put off till
the next week, when they finished it by
working before and after school. The
door was heavy and strong, being made
of pieces of rails with strips of plar
nailed across them. 1t could only move
n I,
the door would be held up by a set of
figure four triggers. When the door
dropped into the trench 1t would close
the opening. Arch fixed piece of wood
that would fall when the door fell, and
hold the door in place, SO that the lion
could not claw 1T up
When the trap was finished, they had
no suitable bait for the lion, SO they
baited it with corn, as before, till they
could catch turkey A few days later
they found three turkeys in it. Only
one was left for bait.
How to fasten a live turkey to the
triggers, and yet keep it from spring
ing the trap till the lion got inside had
puzzled the boys not a little. They had
finally decided that such a thing could
not be done. 1t would be easy enough
if they killed the turkey, but they
doubted If the lion would enter the
trap for dead bait.
At last they hit upon a plan they
thought would work. BY sticking
sticks into the ground they made cage
just large enough for the turkey in the
back end of the pen. Then they
stretched strings across the pen so that
ton, tn f,,,,
without pushing them aside. But the
strings, after passing around two
wires, were fastened to the triggers
that held the door up. The instant one
of them was touched the triggers would
let so, and down would come the door.
After setting the triggers, the boys
crawled out of the trap and went home.
Arch stayed with George that night, !
and the next morning they crossed the |
river as soon as they could see, to learn
If they had caught anything. They ap-
preached the trap cautiously, but found
it just as they had left it, with the tur-
key still in the cage.
Before going back they watered and
fed the turkey. AS the lion would not
be likely to come during the day, they I
scattered corn around, not knowing but
what they might catch some more tur-
keys. The trap could be used for one
purpose in daylight and for another at I
night. They found four in it when they
came back after school.
The turkeys flew against the strings
while being caught, and caused the door
to fall. But 1t was soon reset
Early the next morning the boys
visited their trap again. If the lion
1ad been there, he had not ventured in.
ii they were beginning to feel dis
But at last they were re-
varded for all their labor and waiting,
One morning early they climbed the
vest bank of the river and hurried
hru the woods. The moment they
,ame in sight of their trap, they /,
stopped, utterfng EXPLANATIONS of sur II
Prise and delight, for they saw the
ion, large animal of a grayish- yell
ow color, running round and round
n the pen, putting his nose between
he rails and clawing at them in vain {
fort to get out AT sight of the boys
lie stopped ard stood growing They
,ept at respectful distance. :;
After watching the lion for few {
minutes they hurried back to tell their {
athers. The boys had carefully re-
rained from letting any one know
1hat they were doing, and the an
ouncement that they had actually I
raped a lion created a sensation at
ONE. A neighbor on his way to town |
greed to see Howard, the man who
tanted lion, and tell him to come t
t once