Year: 1875




intended to set for mink on the stream.
Our purpose was to stay out two days
and nights, get all the hazelnuts posi-
bic, and catch trout for food.
We arrived at the stream about ten
O'Clock In the forenoon, dug out three
| squirrels, and then began to shoot part
ridges, so as to have a stew for supper
that night.


Ned's dog, "Rover," would scour
through the grass, among the hazel
clumps, and start up the partridges.
Tom could then shoot them almost rs
fast as he could load. / do not think we
were more than an hour shooting thir-
teen and we should have shot more,
but Toms powder gave out. In the ex-
citement, he had shot his powder-horn
empty before he knew it.
Then we turned our attention to fish
ing. The stream abounded in crooks
and bends, with deep holes under the
banks, which were well stocked with
/ speckled trout. Grasshoppers served
for bait, and we we're not long pulling
out rs many as we thought we should
use that night. Ned caught one that
would have weighed nearly two pounds.
That was certainly one of the best places
for hunting and fishing that ever was
! found


The locality we chose for our camp
was well up the valley. A great rock Of
many tons weight had some time rolled
down from the mountain, and stopped a
few yards from tho bank. Here we built
an open shed-camp, between this big
stone and the stream. First we put up
some poles on crotched stakes, then Gov
cred them with fiat hazel l-boughs and
long dry grass.


Our fire was placed in front of this
"shed," between two stones, and close
to the water. We began to get our sup
per by four in the afternoon !; for we had
had no dinner, and were hungry as bears.


1t takes some time to dress and cook
partridges, and fry trout. Night, too,
comes on early the last of October. So
it was dusk before we had our stew half
done. The camp fire frightened, and
the light cleaned in ruddy streak
across the stream. Crickets sang and
wild sounds of the forest came to our
ears from the mountains on either side.
Here an owl was hootins, and there
raccoon gave its quavering alto cry.
Presently Rover growled and dashed
| off down the bank amongst the hazels.
Then we heard him barking excitedly.


"There's something round here!" said
Tom, setting the spider of trout off the
fire, and getting up to look about.


Ned was splitting wood a few steps
away. He stopped and came up to the
fire.


elisa bear," said he; "and we haven't
grain Of powder :"


We were not much afraid that bears
would come very near our fire. But as
we stood there, we heard the twigs snap,
and saw Rover running towards us,
barking and growing furiously. Tom
caught up the crowbar. and at the same
moment heard queer snuffiing noise,
such as wild animal makes when eating
fresh meat, and saw, not three rods of,
a large, dark-colored creature stealing
up towards us through the bushes and
grass.


1t would be false to deny that we
were badly scared. Rover, in his ex-
citement, fairly backed into the fire.
All three of us jumped to the other side
of the blaze.


The animal was crouching close to the
earth, and crept forward as if about to
spring. 1t then raised itself quickly,
and seizing the string of partridges,
which Tom had hung on a bush little
back from the fire, turned and ran off
with them. That was evidently what it
wanted-we thought it surely meant to
Jump at us.


"He's gone !" exclaimed Tom. "But
what was it 2"


We had never seen any creature like
it before. Though as large as very
large dog, it did not look in the least
like bear. Besides, it had white on
the under parts of its body, as we had
all three seen when it reared itself up.
1t was much larger than an otter or q
lynx, both Of which animals we had fire.
quently seen. It did not look like the
description we had heard of the cata-
mount, either; yet we had never seen
a catamount, and feared it might be one.


Az quick as the animal ran away,
Rover darted after it. We could hear
him barking in the bushes at little dis
tance, and concluded that the creature
did not seem to trouble itself much for
the dog; and Rover clearly did not dare
to spring upon it.


We did not eat much supper after
that. Rover's actions showed plainly
that the beast was prowling about, and
not far from our camp. Ned was 80
afraid that it would smell the trout and
come into the camp, that he threw those
we had not cooked back into the stream.
They foated down, and presently we
heard something splash heavily into the
water below. We suppose it was the ami
NAL jumping into the river after them, as
they foated past.


Rover continued to bark in the woods
for more than an hour. Then he came
back to us for few minutes, but soon
ran off again and continued to bark at
intervals. We did not dare to 20 to
sleep.


About midnight, the dog came back