The sun., 1903-12-08
s.s.SH! PANTHER OYER BACK !
4 SPOTTED RUMOR WITH A TAIL
~ WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
Rockefeller Employees Hear OF Pan.
ther Through New York Newspapers
An Authentic Investig atiOn--Details
Via Mount vernon "(Date TarrytOwm."

PANTHER loose over DICK lou Detter De
good
With these dread words have the nurses
NJ Irvingto ton-on-H Hudson and Tarrytown
chilled the souls of youthful sinners for
three weeks past. They have been nobly
aided by the bucolic correspondence Of
this and neighboring communities. Lovely
word pictures portraying John d, Rookie
fplIer quakng in his country home while
the mad and hungry howls of the animal
have been borne in to him on the snow
laden winds, have been disseminated
through the public prints. 1t has been
told how the millionaire, leaving Standard
Oil to it's fate, has stood like a general on
Pocantico Heights directing his minions
where to place traps bated with raw
meat" here and there about his 35 900 acre
estate
In view OF this widespread interest in
the Westchester panther, The SUN organ
lied an expedition which entered the wilds
of Buttermilk Mountain to-day with full
apprcciation Of its orders to return with
the skin of the panther or within It. The
expedition regrets to report that 1t has
done neither. 1t has returned skinned.
There is creature infesting Westchester
county far more voracious and ruthless
than the wickedest panther that ever lashed
itself into a bloodthirsty frenzy. This
creature is called hereabouts, a livery
stable owner.
From Mr.. C. v. Hemenway, the superin-
tendent of the Rockefeller place, the fol-
lowing facts we're cleaned, which are i'm
mediately placed at the disposal Of science.
Mr., Hemenway said:
About six weeks ago two Of our men
came in from over back and said that they
had seen strange animal. They said that
it was wildcat and that it had tail 80
long Mr. Hemenway indicated length of
some four feet told them wildcats didn't
have any such tails as that and that they'd
better take another look at 1t next time
they saw it, Nevertheless they said it did
have tail and was about as big as fair
sized dog and that it had pink spots all over
it. Well, they were pretty steady boys
and | never had any reason to think badly
of them before and decided to overlook
it Wildcats with long tails and covered
with pink spots are not what we expect to
have our employees see around here. No
sir.
About month afterward-come to
Mr.. Theodore H. Mead of Wilson Park
teephoned over to me and said that there
was some sort Of strange animal straying
around on our place. He said some of his
people had been out driving on Sunday
of the brush. They said it was about as
big as dog and that it had spots.
I asked them whether it had tail like
broom handle, and they couldn't say.
OF tn brush for that. After that thought
there might be something in it until heard
about there being a big, spotted hog loose
at Elmsford, and since then haven't wor-
,.l lrt.t III
over this place pretty much every day,
and the widest thing | have seen was two
red foxes once. No stock has been killed
and nobody has heard any bloodcurdling
e@t n1M's when suh he Il Is the popuaoe. and
nobody has seen any panther tracks. II
was you, I'd go back to New York guess.
and ind something better to do"
ton moved to the home OF Abram Clear,
the chief game warden of the Rockefeller
estates, Abram, it will be remembered,
had been described in the dispatches from
the seat of war, as setting forth with hve
intrepid companions, on Sunday night, on
moonlight quest for the panther's gore.
Abe was not at home when the expedition
called His father was.
Abe aint here" said the old ma. hes
gon off somewhere o write telegram
Tor one OF them darned fool newspaper
reporters who sent him a despatch from
Port Chester asking him to describe his
death ruggle with monstrous panther IN
dark woods in hundred and hfty WORDS:
for use in New York papers Tomorrow
But II tell you anything you want to know
providing you want to know what's so.
I'm tired Of answering questions rom
Them darned fools who know more about
what you've done than YOU do yourself.
If youll stay awhile mayb' Abe will come
ill., He aid there was 90 many OF us around
for him to write here, We di tracted his
mind" -,.,, o.
the leader Of the expedition
"Nothing!" exclaimed the elder Clear
"Not a blamed thing. They had read so
much about this thing in the newspapers
that they thought there must be something
They took one hound and lot of guns
and went out about moonrise and came in
along about II O'Clock last night, They
said they hadn't seen hair nor hide of any
panther or any other thing that lives. nor
guns of to make noise, because they got
kind of lonesome. You know what boys
is, out in the woods.
A careful canvass OF other residents of
Pocantico Hills and Elmsford and Tarrytown
Heights and other communities in the vast
wilderness known to those along the Hud-
sons verge as over back failed to dis
close any symptoms Of panther fear; No
body had seen such beast Nobody had
heard of it except through the newspapers.
and small boys were sliding down the long
hills as though there were nothing more
dangerous than village constable to inter-
fere with the sport.
local newspaper of this vicinity. in
commenting on the panther scare which
had been raised in some of the New York
newspapers, explained last Friday that the
scare was doubt less due to the escape OF
big spotted hog at Elmsford which had
been recaptured. For the reassuring OF
the children of Tarrytown and 1rvington,
THE SUNS expedition feels warranted
in reporting that although there may be
panther in the Rockefeller woods, as
nurses and others have said, it is certainly
very retiring panther, and one that will
not invade schoolrooms and nurseries
until it has experienced a very decided
change of disposition.
The following despatch was received in
this city last night from the editor OF the
newspaper, who, in his own columns, dis,
missed the panther story with the escaped
hog explanation:
MouST VERNON, n. Y, Dec. T. CTo Editor:
Date Iarrytown. Dec n Six hunters had an
exciting chase early this morning after u
panther on Buttermilk Mountain on John D;
kockeieller's domain at Pocantco Hills. and
though five shots were fired at 1t. yet the
animal escaped.