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NO. 40
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. ' 'SWAMP
CY C. ULLER.
.1
T ' V"fj
iJ
SiS.
IIAVB worked at handle
making so long that the
swampers .down about
where I live call me "Ax
handle Ike." But my chief
is trapping trapping coon
3 l
5$ 1
O
.occupation
s-nd mink and otter. All the swampy
country of southeast Missouri still
.abounds In fur-bearing animals.
Besides my trapping and handle
making, I usually try to preach on
.Sundays. My-- handle-making goes on
nil the, year round, but trapping be
gins and ends with cold weather. Na
ture never clothes r.n animal with good
fur except when it's absolutely needed.
"When I have accumulated a consid-.
arable slock of furs and handles, I
get somebody to haul me and them
to the river or to the railroad, and
then I run up to St. Louis and sell my
stock. I have been going to St. Louis
for years now, and the shops and fac
tories that use my handles know the?
can depend on them.
There's still some large game in .the
swamps deer and turkey and bear,
and a good many panthers. I remem
ber one time when a big panther came
up out of the swamps and terrorized
.aYAvhole settlement for a few months.
That brute caused as much trouble and
excitement as a-,
I - ever got re:". '
he was so 1 r
called him th" 4'-
four-logged tiling
"T with. Because
'! T "vce we usually
.-;'.! o swamp tiger.
It hc.nponcd a grid many years ago,
when I was a boy, living with my uncle
on a tongue of land that ran out sev
eral miles into the swamps. . The up
land was too rocky and the swimp
too sloppy to cultivate. But the. few
families that lived there were settled
along the edge of the ridge, and had
little farms between the two.
Uin ticij lUHmu niji. jiijy iniLn
rae over to Simpson's to borrow some
bacon. -1 was sun going Dareiooi, ana
had ray trousers rolled nearly up to
my knees, I recollect. I was seventeen
years old, and as big as I am now.
But everybody that felt like it went
barefoot there in warm weather, even
men eighty years old.
T missed the ri ?o to Simpson's, and
after talking with the boys till rather
late, I borrowed a side of bacon
middling, wo called it and started for
home, carrying it on my back. The
middling was long and wide, but thin'
and rather light. Our gaunt, slab
sided swamp hogs never make thick
meat. The bacon had been-hanging
in Simpson's smokehouse by two hick
ory withes., anil-1 was carrying it by
the same vithes, one over each shoul
deiv There was" a piece of tow "cloth
wrapped round - it to keep it from
greasing my shirt.
Dusk caught me three-quarters of a
mile from home, and I. heard what 1
thought was a woman calling. I didn't
recognize the voice, but I had no
doubt that it was Aunt Mat screaming
at mo. I had tarried longer at Simp
hou?s than I ought" to have done. ar.A
I felt certain she had got out of pa
tience and started after me.
"Yes'm. I'm n -coming!"- I shouted
back. Then I hitched the bacon . a
iiitle higher, and hurried along the
rocky road at a trot. The screams
sounded angry Aunt Mat didn't have
a very-gentle, voice when she, was
out of temper.
Before b ug I heard another scream.
"Looking down toward the swamp, I
;yxw not a. Aunt Mat, - but .some big
animal coining up the open slope to
meet me.- lie looked like a cat, but a
cat as big as a cow. The curve of the
land nihde It impossible for me to see
him while he was on the ground, but
whenever he jumped I could see him
plainly enough. - Every juinu must
have carried him eight or t'en feet into
the air, and now and then he would
etop and give one of those loud, wom
anish screams.
r . i i i t 1 - 1 4 I,
i. Bliii ll'U IU run uui u uiun iuui
rocky road as hard as 1 could. I
couldn't step far enough. My hat flew
off, but it never occurred to me to
lrop the bacon. -
Not" far back the road forked. One
fork crossed to Simpson's, the other
led up our side of the ridge to Uncle
Jimmy White's.. It was two miles
back to Simpson's, and only a m'ile to
Where White lived. o I took the fork
to Uncle Jimmy's.
1 I don't recollect feeling that bacon
touch me after I got well underway.
I guess is stood out straight behind,
I hew so fast. The country was part
ly covered with scattering bushes, and
the road was rocky and" soon got dark:
but little time did I lose for rocks or
darkness.
The panther kept right after me.
Every scream sounded nearer. If I
! hadn't had half a mile the start, the
brute would have caught me. As it
was, the moment I jumptnVUncIe Jim
my's fejuee the tiger screamed not six
ty feet behind.
Any other time I wouldn't have dared
to go near Uncle Jimmy's without call
ing, "Hello!" He had the fiercest dog
an iue iiciguoornooa a clog tnat would
try to drag a man oft his horse. But
this time that dog didn't even growl j
he was cowering against the wall,
shivering and whining like a fright
ened puppy.
As I cleared the fence t saw light
i shining through the cracks. I made
a straight dash for the clapboard door.
And when the latch broke and the door
Ccw In, I went through like a rock out
of a sling.
Inside I stubbed my toe and tumbled
sprawling on the floor. .The middling
flew over my head. Uncle Jimmy af
terward told everybody that that whole
side of bacon hit the farther wall so
hard that it left a greasy picture of
itself on the logs. Uncle Jimmy was a
great joker.
The old man and his wife were
frightened out of- their wits. They had
heard the scream.-'and thought for a
few moments that the tiger had broken
in. onHhcm; They were just getting
ready for him. Uncle Jimmy was load
ing his rifle as fast as he could, and
Aunt Tolly, his wife, was trying to
light a pine knot at the fire.
While I was scrambling to my feet,
Uncle Jimmy sprang forward, slammed
the door shut and propped it with' a
stick of wood, but not before that dog
! of his had sneaked in and crawled
under the bed!
Scarcely was the door shut when
the tiger let out another scream, close
by. Uncle Jimmy was running about
the room, dragging his riile by the
muzzle. He had a bullet rammed down,
and Avas searching every shelf in the
cabin for a box of caps.; Pretty soon,
the panther screamed again, behind
the cabin now. Afterward we heard
another scream, farther off.
By this time Uncle Jiinmjr 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, cocked his rifle and stepped out. I
offered to carry the? torch, but I wasn't
very sorry when Aunt. Polly insisted
that she knew better how to hold it.
Uncle Tlrufuy" tramped 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 a bullet right between
them. He was a dead shot.
I 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 tiger's eyes, but be
.fore he could take aim they disap
peared. It wasn't long before we
heard a scream down In the woods.
The beast was going away. '
I stayed in the cabin a while; then
Uncle Jimmy took his rifle and es
corted me and my bacon home. I
was afraid to go by myself.
That was the first time the swamp
tiger had been seen or heard on Chink
apin Kidge; 'but it 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 heads out of doors.
The. men carriedguns, especially at
night." The tiger didn't show himself
in broad daylight, although he was
seen occasionally at dusk.
Meanwhile he was living on the fat
of the land. He feasted on our hoss
and calves, and he even dragged down
and killed two full grown cows.' He
was a giaut 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 a 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 a glimpse of the
tiger as he jumped off the log and dis
appeared. The dogs growled ami 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 Ilidge. Every morn
ing some animal was missing, and the
half-devoured remains were generally
found. One evening at dusk the tiger
dashed up to Mason's cow pen, grabbed
a rooting pig, and carried the squeal
ing thing off under its owner's 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 a 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 a rousing hunt. . My uncle was in
the party, and so was I. Every fel
low had tried to get the gun with the
biggest bore. And I remember that
we were all bragging about what ter
rific loads we had put in. Some had
rammed down two or three big balls
or slugs, and others enormous charges
of buckshot. I was carrying a musket
loaded with nails.
It 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 i ever laid eyes on.
Our party . followed ; the trail round
and round over the country. By and
by we came to where the tiger had
killed a" hog. From there the tracks
led down into "the. Woods, and through
the woods into a ravine, and up the
ravine to its head, where they disap
peared into a hole under some rocks.
Besides the tracks leading in, there
were others leading out. But we felt
pretty sure that the tiger was in his
lair. The dogs wouldn't go near the
hole, and they didn't bark But they
kept their backs bristled and watched
the hole and growled. Someboily got
a long stick and poked it iu to the
hole; but he jumped back suddenly, for
a warning gi-owl came from under the
rocks.
Now we knew that the tiger was at
home, and every , man and boy of us
there were twelve or fifteen in all
cocked his gun and pointed at. the hole.
We expected the tiger to come out,
and stood ready to make short work of
him, but he didn't show himself; and
before we could devise any way to
stir him out, night came on.
"Let's smoke him, boys," somebody
proposed. And while some of us stood
guard around the tiger's den, the others
went to piling dead brush against the
hole. When there was a good sized
pile We set fire to it.
The snowy brush burned slowly and
smoked a great deal. As the fire be
gan to crackle the tiger began to
growl, "and when the smoke worked
into the hole he growled louder. My
uncle called out:
"Be ready, boys! It's either come
through that brush pile or suffocate;
and he'll come through the brush pile."
We backed oif several yards, and
every gun, was aimed at the point
where the tiger was expected to ap
pear. It was dark by this time pitch
dark everywhere except around the
fire. For a time we could hear the
tiger growling under the rocks.
We waited and waited, but still he
didn't show himself. The fire climbed
among the loosely piled brush until
the whole pile was ablaze. Finally
somebody Simpson, I believ'e it wras
spoke up:
"He's smothered to death, boys.
That's why we don't hear him any
more. No animal could live In that
hole with t' at fire in the mouth of
it. He was so afraid of the fire that
he would rather suffocate than come
through it."
After standing guard a while longer,
we all agreed that the tiger must be
dead. None of ua knew, that there
was a little cave under those, rocks.
Now we closed up around the fire
and stood with our gunstocks on the
ground, warming ourselves. , We felt
jolly over getting rid of our trouble
some, dangerous enemy, and were go
ing to pull straws for the skin. Iu
fact, Simpson was arranging the
straws, when suddenly something hap
pened to the fire. As nearly as I can
describe it, that blazing brush heap
exploded!
There was a roar behind it, and the
next moment the brush was flying, and
the panther's frightful form came
crashing through. As the big, savagt!
brute burst out of the fire, he knocked
one man down, and two or three more
fell over one another trying to get
out of the way. I jumped back to
dodge the flying fire, and stumbled
over a dog.
The dog howled, and as I tumbled
backward the hammer of my musket
struck something, and the oM mus
ket exploded with a roar. The load
of nails went off through "the woods,
but I thought I was killed.
The second leap carried the tiger
away from the fire, and another car
ried him into the darkness. About
this time the men recovered from tho
panic and began to shoot; and they
kept banging away down the ravine.
The heavily loaded, guns spurted fire
and roared till every report seemed to
snlit the very trees as it went echoing
through the woods.
, When the excitempnt w:?s past, we
gathered round the fire again. Most
of us felt rather sheep'sh over the
escane of the tiger; but several de
clared that he must be mortally wound
ed, and that we'd find him dead soire
whre. But as we couldn't track b'.m
in the dark, we all returned to our
homes.
The next morning we cf me back a?d
took uo the trail. We found several
badly scarred trees; but there wasn't
any blood on the snow, or any other
evidence that the tiger had been lift.
In fact, there was pretty good evi
dence that he wasn't hurt at all; for
we, tracked him as far as we could
into the swamp, and the If st we saw
of his trail he waff' still going, fifteen
feet at a jump. He mut have been
pretty badly, scorched, and ne was
certainly badly scared.
For a year we half expected him to
come back, but he didn't; and after
that night we never heard of h'ra
again. I suppose his '"experience with
the fire couvinced him that life on the
uplands wasn't. very attractive. So he
went back, to his native swamps and
stayed there. Youth's Companion.
Higher Education in Siberia.
The University of Tomsk is well sup
plied with buildings including a very
large one for clinics. The museum is
amply stocked in every department, be- I
ing specially rich in its archaeological
relics and its anatomical specimens.
The library, of over 100,000 volumes,
received at the outset a most valuable
collection of books, engravings and
original designs aiul sketches, contrib
uted by Count Storoganoff. Some of
these volumes would be coanted rare
treasures in any European capital. The
chemical and physical laboratories are
specially fitted up to meet the demands
of the numerous mining industries of
the region, while the botanical garden
is scarcely excelled -in Europe in the
Variety and completeness of 'its collec
tions. George Frederick Wright, in
The Chautauquan.
Emancipated Welh' Women.
There is a village in Wales, by name
Llandryllin, which possesses a lady
barber, a lady doctor, and a lady lamp
lighter. The lady barber has scraped
the chins of men for forty years, and
is an expert and adept at her vocation.
Yet this Welsh lady is modest, unas
suming, and thinks little - of her
achievements. The lady lamplighter
has lit lamps enough in her time to
attract the inhabitants of Mars if all
the lights could have been condensed
into one simultaneous bonfire and no
one has ever complained about her.
She never missed a lamp, never over
slept herself by five minutes in the
morning when the lamps had to be ex
tinguished, and never failed to light
a lamp at night at the precise time of
her instructions.
Kain " of Butterflies.
Milan has just been the scene of a
remarkable "rain," or downfall, of but
terflies or moths. They settled in tens
of thousands on almost every available
iBch of space on the ground, and on
the buildings of the central quartersof
the cify.x The insects" are described as
perfectly black and marvelously active.
Their presence is ascribed to an air
current swept along in front of a hur
ricanes. -
Sir W. Ramsay and Trofessor Soddy
have found distinct evidence of the
presence of helium in the spectra of
gases emanating from radium bromide.
Present observations, therefore, indi
cate that radium shines largely by
the light of the rare eas helium which,
it evolves.
A public analyst of London reports
the finding of a notable quantity of
arsenic in a sample of candy sent him
from the Isle of Wight. The poison
occurred in small, apparently choco
late colored, sugar cubes. As a mat
ter of fact, however, the dark brown
coating was not due to chocolate, but
to oxide of iron, which almost in--variably
contains traces of arsenic. Mr.
Hehner, the analyst, also refers to
finding the same dangerous" coloring
substance in such food substances as
bloatef paste, anchovy sauce, and
chocolate powders. '
An English paper says that the Brit
ish .Consul-General at Coburg states
that a simple process has just been
invented for, manufacturing petroleum
briquettes, very similar in appearance
to those made from coal. A mixture of
130 grammes of soft soap, lo0 grammes
cf resin, and 300 grammes of soda lye
are added to one litre of petroleum
and the whole heated and well shaken.
The briquettes can be used within an
hour or two of being manufactured.
By the addition of sawdust and sand
the briquettes will be more solid and
at the same time cheaper. From ex
periments said to have been conducted
on tugs the Inventor claims'it to have
been clearly shown that 'these
briquettes give out three times as much
heat as ordinary coal.
Mr. Edgar JX. Waile, of the Austral
ian Museum at Sydney, in support of
Mr. Ilenschel's account (recently given
la this column) of the duet which his
bullfinch and canary used to sing, cites
a somewhat similar feat performed by
two magnies. The first one had been
taught a simple little song, which he
piped very often and accurately, even
maintaining it exactly in F, the key
in which it was first given to him.
A -second magpie was purchased, and
this bird soon learned the tune from
the other one. When the first bird
commenced its song the newcomer im
mediately came to attention, and with
half-open beak awjiited a certain note,
at which point the tther bird stopped,
and the song was finished by the sec
ond singer. No matter how far sep
arated, if the birds were within hear
ing distance of one another, the duet
was always sung in this waj
The most reliable method to deter
mine the steam consumption of an en
gine is to make an evaporation test;
that is, to measure the Water fed to
the boiler in a given time and delivered
to the engine in the form of steam.
This method, however, entails consid
erable trouble and expense. So engi
neers often figure out the water con
sumption from indicator diagrams. The
terms water consumption and steam
consumption are here used indiscrim
inately, for a pound of water will
jtroduce a pound of steam at any pres
sure. Figuring that way can never
be wholly accurate, because the data
requisite to insure results are not thus
procurable, states the Mining and Sci
entific. Tress. That is, the amount of
water accounted for by the indicator
is always less considerably than it
ought to be, because of cylinder con
densation, valve' and piston leakage, to
the extent that it might be that only
fifty per cent., or at best not more
than ninety per cent., of the water
passing through the cylinder would be
accounted for by the Indicator. But
if the cylinder were properly steam
jacketed, or If superheated steam were
used,' and 'there was no leakage of
steam from valves and pistons, the
water consumption could be closely,
calculated from an indicator diagram.
few Theological Students.
The number of theological students
In Germany has diminished gradually
from 42S7 in 1S00 to 2140, or less than
half, although the population has
doubled since 1SC0. :
No CHfmlcal'y Tare Iron.
Chemically pure iron does, not exist
commercially. The purest irons are
those from Yorkshire' and Swedish
rei.