Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1915-10-15
Blind Death
BY M. QUAD
copyright, 1915, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.l


ton, and one day l left camp on my
own hook and wandered away three
Or four miles. AS l stood resting be-
side a tree | saw a deer only a pistol
shot away. 1t was a fine buck, and
he walked into the open as cool and
unconcerned as if nobody had ever
thirsted for his life.
l ought to have dropped him dead at
that distance, but he fell at my fire to
get up and limp away, and, knowing
him to be MORALLY wounded, l follow
ed after The ground was very rough
and covered with cedar thickets, and,
being bit excited, pushed on as fast
as possible and paid little heed of what
was underfoot. OF sudden l found
myself falling, and as | went down
dropped my gun to clutch at the
branches. l went down ten or twelve
feet over rocks, struck on my feet and
then plunged forward and brought up
beside a big detached rock with a
smash severe enough to have killed one
outright. | did break two ribs and ter
ribly bruise my hip and tainted away
with the pain.
When l came to l was lying ON my
right side, facing the jungle of rocks
over which | had fallen, and l realized
at once that l was badly hurt-just
how badly ] hesitated to find out, re-
membering that l was miles away
from camp and could expect no help.
1 lay quiet, hoping the pains would
soon go away, when l got such shock
as nearly put my wits to sleep again.
Almost in front of me and only TWEEN
ty-five feet away was the mouth of a
den in the face of the cliff, and out Of
this den stalked the largest panther
had ever seen. He stood shutting the
air and looking full at me, and when
l realized how helpless l was even TO
utter a call for aid l almost lost con-
seriousness.
The wind was blowing pretty freely,
and, luckily for me, it blew toward me.
At first this was not of the slightest
llupOl IduSC W hJ l1IlhbJ IhC DCooI
could reach me with one spring, but
soon had reason to conclude that he
was queer animal. He turned to the
left and trotted over the ground dis
lance of about fifty feet; then he
wheeled and passed the den by about
the same distance. When he had gone
over the beat two or three times l dis
covered what was the matter AS he
came toward me the sun shOne full in
his face, and | saw that he was stone
blind. There was a white film over
each eye and he could not have seen
a tree i'll his path.
Disease or accident had blinded him,
but he possessed every other power ma
ture gives to the dreaded beast-grace,
litheness, strength-death!
There is Il curious fascination in
watching the beast as he takes his
promenade. | forget my pains as l
rejoice over his blindness. Had he
been possessed of his erStWhile vision
aye, could he but see ever so little
he would spring upon me, fasten those
long yellow fangs into my throat, and
in thirty seconds all would be over.
But he is blind. He cannot discover
my presence if | remain quiet.
Heaven save me!
A shift of the wind, which here cir
Cles around and eddies about, has car
ried him the scent. He stops midway
in his promenade, rears up and shifts
the air with a savage growl, and my
heart beats so that it seems he must
surely hear it and follow the sound I'M
til his hot breath is on my face.
Sniff! Sniff! Growl! To the right,
to the left, straight ahead!
There; he's lost it as the wind ed
dies about and now he stands stock
still and utters a continuous growl as
he waits to catch it again. No, not like
statue. His long tail sweeps the
ground in half circle, and his ears
work swiftly back and forth. Blind
Death waiting to rend bite, tear and
kill!
The scent again. He rears up, whirls
about three or four times as if on
pivot, and now he points full at me. A
tapeline fifteen feet long would cover
the distance between us-between
where | lie helpless as he crouches for a
spring. If those sightless eyes could
be restored how they would CLINT and
glitter and blaze.
Growl! Growl! W-r-r-r!
There's something in the sound which
chills my bloOd-a menace, a warning
of what is to come which bids me shut
my eyes and utter last prayer. Why
does he hesitate? What delayed his
spring? All, the wind has shifted
again, and now his infirmity reasons
against his natural ferocity. He has
been blind for year or two, perhaps.
He has never left the cave except to
move up and down over that one
me, he may fall over Il cliff for all he
can tell. Had the scent held a mo-
ment longer he might have attacked,
but now the breeze freshens up, the
leaves around him are blown hither,
and he is seeming to argue that his
quarry has passed on and is out Of his
reach. Blind Death crept back to his
cave and entered it with mutterings
of savage disappointment
Well for me that his mate was not
home and did not return until I had
managed to drag myself out of the
neighborhoOd and secure assistance to
reach camp. Had there been eyes to
see me Blind Death might now be fling
ing my cracked and whitened bones
about his dark den as he rolls himself
in sportive mood.