The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1903-08-13
vEeMoNr's LAST "PAINTER.'
Two countrymeu Track and XIII Him
and Get si2 state Bounty.

"They's people in Vermont as
thought that the painters was
all dead" said BLACK Bear
Joe of Hen mountain TO a
writer In the Boston Journal
as he sat on a barrel in the back shop
of A Main street store in Burlington.
But they want. l heered one on EN-
screech up at Hen mountain In the
middle o. the night this winter, an II
friz my blood up tighter'n a drum.
Il came down by Montgomery Cen
ter way t'other day. an there heerd
tell on the biggest painter that ever
seen.
..some folks call 'em %panthers an
some folks call 'em painters, an more'n
all of 'em call 'em wildcats. But the
real name, | heered tell when was
down TO the sportsman's show, was a
mouptain lion. Them's the critturs
that they let the President shoot down
In Arizony, an they is scheduled TO
run up as far as Canada an down
across the northern end o New York
an over inter Maine, New Hampshire
and Vermont.
bakersfield mountain is bout the
last place that you'd expect 10 find a
real live panther. But they killed II
Their t'other day.
Some of the boys was out In the
hills cunning nm digging spruce gun
an the like when they came upon the
crittur's tracks. They was big enough
TO be n tigers steps an one OF the
lads found where n fox had been
caught and eaten. The sno was all
tracked down aud bloody like and the
hide was torn up somewhat. Bear
never tear up a hide but skin 1t OF
careful like an roll 1t up on the
ground.
None of the young fellers could
make out what the tracks was. But
oil Teddy Sheldon. who Is now going
on to II years, an ! suppose has kill
ed more than seventy bear, shook his
head and said to the young uns. ses
he: That's n painter, or my name
amt Theodore. I'm 20. but I'm bless
ed II | don't git out the old gun an
have a try at the s12 that Its hide'Il
bring In bounty
He an William II. Jewett polished
up their guns an set out. They found
where n deer had been pulled down
an her throat bitten by the panther,
but the deer had evidently shook the
brute of an got away. After running
a long distance 1t fell and died.
Prob'ly the painter was too full o his
earlier dinner to foller an so he never
knew that the deer died.
They got some o. their dogs on the
track of the panther, an after a lively
chase they found the trail leading down
into Cold holler. Now, Cold holler Is
a valley that no one yit ever had good
luck hunting In. callate that they
would "a had II they had gons there,
but the name sorter gives all the Ba-
kersfeld mountain boys cold feet to
hear, an they have fought shy of il.
THE panther was lying along n log
o. maple when they anne up with their
dogs in leash an after letting out one
or two o his bloody screeehes he went
into the trees and began running along
an jumping from limb TO limb an
tree to tree. Every now and then he
would stop an sorter turn back to fight
but the dogs troubled him. l ~cal'late a
full-slzed panther will tackle n man
any time, specially at night.
AT last the dogs driy' him Into n
tree hat stood all alone an there he
turned at bay. Jewett fired at him, the
ball going through the shoulder mus
cles. The great cat fell sprawllng into
the snow, but Immediately ran up an
other tree, where a bullet. fired from
the rife of Sheldon. reached his brain.
"old as | am I'd given n year of
the fust end o my life ter have shot
the last painter In Vermont, for | chi
late that's what II was. Amt been
none shot here for fifty years as I
know on.
when l was n boy they pulled down
cattle an children most every day.
Sheldon an Jewett took him to the
town clerk of Montgomery Center an
collected $12 bounty. Might JUS well
close the recount Amt no more com
ing In"