Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-23
HUNTERS
VIGIL IS FRU|TLESS
Lure of Warm Blood and
Bleating Goat Fails to At
tract Wild Beast.

lure of warm blood from slaughter
house and bleating goat failed to at
tract the wild beast of the northeast
last night, despite an all-night vigil by
eleventh precinct policemen headed by
Pvt F. r. Mckee.
The vigil by the panther bait was
kept after police had cleared the woods
about 1t of huntsmen and dogs and
police on their beats and at the police
telephone booths throughout the neigh
borhood had stopped all persons enter
ing the hunting area.
One incident enlivened the long night
watch. Pvt. Mckee reported that at
about O'Clock this morning party
Of colored huntsmen came beating
through the woods near the bait. When
! within. about 100 yards of the tethered
goat, he said, the huntsmen heard the
stamping of the goat around the peg
and made haste away from there.
Elsewhere throughout the District
which has been haunted by some wild
animal, believed to be a panther, it was
q quiet night. The beast failed to show
up in any Of its haunts of the past
fortnight.
Shots were fired, however. at some
Sinking animal near the pig pen of
Bernard Chapman, Fifteenth street and
Sixth place northeast, whose pig pen
was raided by the beast Sunday night
and one hog Slashed by the marauder's
daWs. The bullets, however, hit moth
ing but the pig pen.
AII-Night Vigil FruitIess.
An all night vigil at the pig stye of
Harry Fowler about a mile and a half
from the District line, on the Marlboro
pike, was kept, but no trace of the ami
NAL was found. Fowler's pig stye was
broken into by some predatory beast the
night before last, one hog killed and
nine others torn by the claws and fangs
of the animal.
Across the road from Fowlers farm,
at the place Of Philip Bolts. shots also
were fired at a supposed panther" but
the beast, or whatever 1t was, that was
seen prowling about the Bolts pig stye
escaped unhurt.
Capt. Charles T. Peck of the eleventh
precinct today granted his chief panther
ENJ. MChCC, icSb AlOHl AlAS
labors of the last week. For five nights
straight now Mckee has taken to the
fields and woodlands of Northeast
Washington In search Of the elusive
beast, and Is in desperate need OF sleep
and rest. Mckee will take the trail
again tomorrow night, however.
Farmers to Guard Stock.
Farmers Of Southern Maryland, in the
vicinity of the Bolts and Fowler farms,
have told the eleventh precinct that
they will keep nightly watch on their
pigs and other domestic animals and
will be ready with buckshot when and
II the marauder shows UP.
Capt. Peck this morning issued
warning to all residents Of the section
where the beast has been seen to Inn
mediately notify him or whoever is IN
command of anything when they sight
the animal and warned whoever does
see the animal not to broadcast the
news. He did this because on past Gals
police have arrived at the scene of the
animals appearance with huntsmen
and dogs, only to find all trails obliter-
ated by curious throngs, amateur hunts
men and stray dogs.
Strain Tells on Police.
The two weeks strain Of panther
nunJlng Is JelllnR on the members OF
the eleventh precinct staff. They have
put in long hours in answering more
than a score OF calls each night from
frightened residents of the northeast
Deanwood and Benning section. Every
time a big animal of any species has
been seen by the terrorized residents
the police of the eleventh precinct have
been called.
Capt. Peck, when he has been on
duty, has answered many of these calls
personally. So has Lieut.. S. j. Marks.
And at night both are out until the
small hours of the morning with the
hunters in hopes of bringing the beast
to bay and killing It.
At flrst it was q lark for the police
men. They did not believe there was
any ferocious animal loose in the neigh
borhood, and they openly scoffed at
those who claimed to have seen the
beast. But when the reports got past
the coincidence stage and the beast took
to slashing things in the pigpens of the
neighborhood, they got serious about
the matter.
I'm all my IS years on the police
force" said Lieut.. Marks, I've never
run across situation like this" Lieut..
Marks Is one of the Stanchest believers
now Of the existence of the beast and
he Is convinced that 1t Is nothing less
than q mountain li0F