The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-10-16

I the door shut and propped IL with ;
: stick OF wood, but not before that dol
I OF his had sneaked In and crawlet
q under the bed.
Scarcely was the door shut wher
the tiger let out another scream, close
10y. Uncle Jimmy was running about
the room, dragging his rife by the
muZZle. He had bullet rammed down
and was searching every shelf in the
cabin for box Of caps Pretty sOOD
the panther screamed again, behind
the cabin now. Afterward we heard
: another scream, farther OFF
BY this time Uncle Jimmy had found
his caps, and Aunt Polly had her pine
knot blazing. When they were both
ready Uncle Jimmy threw open the
door, and after looking about cautious
ly, cooked his rifle ana stepped out |
offered TO carry the torch, but / wasn't
very sorry when Aunt Polly insisted
that she knew better how 10 hold ii.
Uncle Jimmy trampcd about the
yard. with his wife at his heels, hold
ing the pine knot about her head. If
the tiger was near the torch would
make his eyes shine. and Uncle jim
my would put bullet right between
them. He was a dead shot.
/ stood In the door, rubbing my back
The man with his gun and the woman
with her torch moved slowly round the
cabin. Once Uncle Jimmy thought
he discovered the tigers eyes. but be-
fore he could take aim they disap-
peared. It wasn't long before we
heard scream down in the woods.
The beast was going away.
| / stayed in the cabin while; then
| Uncle Jimmy took his rifle ard es-
corted me and my bacon home. /
was afraid to go by myself
That was the first time the swamp
tiger had been seen or heard on Chink
apin Ridge; but II wasn't the last
| time by any means. Even we boys
were afraid to go far to gather nuts,
and the women and children hardly
dared poke their hends out of doors.
The men carried guns, especially at
night. The tiger didn't show himself
in broad daylight. although he was
seen occasionally Mt dusk.
Meanwhile he was living on the fat
OF the land. He feasted on our hogs
and calves. and he even dragged down
and killed two full grown cows. He
was q giant Of his kind, and his size
made him fearless
We didn't know what became OF
the tiger during the daytime. but we
supposed he must retreat into the
swamp. One day Tim Watson saw
him lying on top of big log in the
woods, asleep In the sunshine. Tim
had his rifle. but instead of blazing
away, he stole off and went for help.
When he got back with several men
and dogs. they caught n glimpse OF the
tiger as he jumped of the log and dis
appeared The dogs growled and turned
their hair the wrong way; but they
wouldn't follow the trail. Trust a
dog to know what not to attack!
Things went on from bad TO worse
along Chinkapin Ridge. Every morn
ing some animal was missing, and the
half-devoured remains were generally
found. One evening at dusk the tiger
dashed up to Masons COW pen, grabbed
| n roofing pig, and carried the squeal-
ing thing off under It's owners eyes.
Three different men tried TO kill the
big brute when he came prowling
around their houses at night. but their
shots didn't take effect; and the be-
lief got abroad that the panther's skin
was too thick and tough for an ordi-
nary rifle bullet to penetrate. That
made him more dreadful than ever.
Several times parties gathered to hunt
him down; but the dogs either wouldn't
or couldn't follow n cold trail.
Along in December the first light
snow fell. That was the signal for a
general gathering. All the men on
Chinkapin Ridge. and all the boys
big enough to use guns. came together
for rousing hunt. My uncle was in
the party. and so was |. Every fel-
low had tried to get the gun with the
biggest bore. And remember that
we were all Dragging about what ter
rife loads we had put in. Some had
rammed down two or three big balls
or slugs. and others enormous charges
OF buckshot. was carrying a musket
loaded with nails.
1t wasn't long after noon when We
started out. and an hour or two later
we struck the trail. made in the snow
the night before. He printed the big
geSt panther tracks | ever laid eyes on
Our party followed the trail round
and round over the country. By and
by we came to where the ticer haG
killed hog. From there the tracks
led down into the woods. and through
the woods into n ravine and up the
ravine To its head. where they disap
pcared into hole under some rocks.
Besides the tracks leading in. there
! were others leading ont. But we fel
pretty sure that the tiger was in hi
/, lair The dogs wouldn't SO near IN,
hole, and they didn't bark. But the.
I kept their backs bristled and watchc,
: the hole and growled. Somebody 60
4 long stick and poked II in 20 tn
!. hole: but he jumped hack suddenly, 10
a warning growl came from under th
I | rocks.
e Now we knew that the tiger was n
:. home. and every man and boy OF US
r there were twelve or fifteen in all
{ cooked his gun and pointed at the hole
We expected the tiger TO come ou
d and stood ready 10 make short work G
G him. but he didn't show himself; an