Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1906-01-27
Observation-Disclosures;
THE
PROFESSOR'S PANTHER
BY Dallas Lore Sharp.
Observation-Disclosures .

| ed in the central case of the museum
n crouching, crawling figure, so terri
bly, realistic that | had to school my
Sell 10 go past 1t at night without a
SILVER.
You certainly saw that beast when
it was alive, professor" l remarked
one day, as we were rearranglng some
of the smaller specimens in the case.
That's study from life. Look at the
curve of his back! And those shout
ders! l can almost see them work be-
meath the skin"
II can see them work." the old pro-
fossOr replied, pausing moment to
look at the beast; land I'm likely TO-,
as long as l can see anything" he
added.
1 kept discreetly silent, and he went
on:
1T is study from life, as you have
guessed, and the best mount, l think
in the collection, though the study was
made in Florida and the mounting done
here
That was n peculiarly vivid lesson
l had there, quite sufficient in taxi.
dermical way, for the rest of my life.
II was collecting along the Indian
River, near where Niece stands now,
taking specimens of everything, from
the largest alligatorS down. 1t was
rich country there then, as crowded
with wild beasts as a mcnagerie.
Painters were by no means rare. and l
had taken two when l came upon the
tracks Of this fellow in the sand along
the river.
THE print of his foot measured twice
that of the specimens had taken, and
my ambition was stirred. wanted
that big panther-for the very spot
where you see him now. But he was
as wary as he was big. never could
get sight of him-perhaps because
was afraid of his getting sight of me
first.
II trailed him up and down the river,
ana finally found a beaten path that
in fG r6SHhgtlf 4 he bftfsetll Qg ~ used running
bered crest. The grass about the end
of the path was so heavy and the run
NS az htOl lIdI ITO lOOlDElul
showed; but out along the river the
signs of his coming and going in this
vicinity were so numerous that / de-
termined to risk my chances I'm The
path.
"The surest, quickest way to have
taken him. if this We're the runway
of the beast, would have been to lie in
wait at some good place along the path
and shoot him-prOvided, Of course,
that the wind. the light and the aim
were all just right.
But this was asking too much; be-
sides, I was constantly busy collecting,
and couldn't spare the time II might
bear traps that ! had at camp. and set
them in the path, trusting that the
panther, in an absentminded moment
might walk into one of them.
1T is seldom that wild animal, es-
pecially a panther, has an absent
minded moment. Human beings are
much more liable to them, according
to my experience, though up to this
time l had not known it,
II selected narrow, walled-in place
along the path, where the bushes were
so thick on each side that the beast
would not be likely to leave the trail.
Here. too, was sharp rise of ground
for about twenty feet.
"At the bottom of this I set one trap,
and twenty feet away, on the very
crown of the ridge, l set the other.
He could hardly go up and down that
hill without stepping into one of those
traps.
But he did, even though l had con-
cealed the traps so skilfully that no eye
could easily have detected them. That
very night a small manatee that l
had caught late in the afternoon was
dragged from near the tent and half
eaten in the bushes aIOngshOre, the
marks in the sand telling plainly that
the thief was the big panther.
"a visit TO the traps showed them
undisturbed. Perhaps the beast had
come out by some other path.
ITO make sure, fixed four slender
sticks across the run, so that nothing
could pass without brushing them
aside.
1.-THE next day l found the sticks
down. Something had been through
the path, and something large, too; but
the traps had not been touched.
Hoping that the creature might be-
come used to their presence, and so
grow careless, left them several days
without changing. wherein again
showed my ignorance Of wild animals.
ut was folly to imagine that so keen
creature as panther would walk
abroad in his sleep and catch himself.
Nevertheless, l went down the river
late one afternoon and into the path.
intending to make last attempt with
the bear traps.
"The one Mt the crest of the ridge l
moved down about five feet, replacing
its former cover and all the surround
ings precisely as they were, so that to
all appearances the trap was in Its old
place. Then with infinite pains l hid
1t in the new spot, laying back upon 1t
every tiny leaf that l had stirred.
ut was as neat as natrre; but so in
tent had l been upon the work that
had utterly forgotten about time. and
looked up to see the dusk falling rapid
ly The other trap still remained to be
set.
"Hastening back down the ridge.
pulled up the heavy chain, and in doing
so, hit the plate so sharply that the
jaws came to with snap.
II had scooped out a place for it in
the path, and was pressing the stiff
spring down with my knee and the
jaws with my hands, when felt some
thing touching my foot behind.
The strain upon my arms was so
great that dared not risk loosing the
spring with my knee, for fear the long
toothed jaws woi.h close on my hands.
So without pausing spread the jaws
on down and open and held them there.