Show A family of panthers Putli tri I 1 cincinnati inquirer I 1 in the evening after ag leaving i roaring gap we listened liate ned to the follow 11 owing ing etoff sto r y by old bill leathers 14 the most noted hunter in the mountains i of north carolina k I 1 one day while I 1 was dowl down to sandy creek near the gap in big 0 smoky the settlers complained t I 1 that a big family of painters pain tera tero panthers had bad taken possession of af a rough stony section odthe of the moun i tain about three or lour four miles away nd that they made mighty raids upon the hog pena pens and chicken coops of the settlers and even occasionally casio nally would kill a good sized 1 1 calf they asked meito meto wipe out I 1 the garments var ments the next day I 1 took three of my biggest dog dogs if 1 snap nig and old id jack and started for the wooda woods during the W day I 1 shot a half balf grown grow n bear but P did not get eight tight of ft it panther that night I 1 camped on a small chiek in m a narrow valley close to a big poplar tree I 1 I 1 noticed that the dogs logs were smell smelling in 1 and growling sat at something in ane the 0 hollow bollow of he the old poplar but 7 thinking it nothing more than a u v conn coon or a possum or two I 1 c called filled them fco offard aixa built a fire about ten ctet away from frow the tree the dogs I 1 hoever tr seemed mighty uneasy I 1 t and every once in a waule one or all of them would get up lip and gu go to to 11 the hole in in that tree and ciui 1 1 and alid growl A good deal of loose wood logg logo and branches broken off 1 1 1 from the trees lay about aud and I 1 hail bad no trouble ic jr keeping k cepi 11 9 up p a good fire for it was very chilly it wat woo lucky for me rile that thia this was the tile case 1 for along in the night I 1 suppose I 1 about 10 or 11 I 1 heard beard the X 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 wa above me on 6 cream of a panther the mountain side which was al not arst at immediately follow followed A bj by another eftim off to m my y left and then to rny my right I 1 was surrounded by panthers there have been legs lets than four or five of them hem us as I 1 could easily tell by the and yells the dogs were as brave BB as any doga dog a that ever lived but they certainly showed the while white feather for the f first trot time chilt night it was something unusual even in that wild section to find more than two panthers in one locality but here were certainly not less than four or perhaps more all about in roe e I 1 and evidently bent on maki making da an attack I 1 eee tee into trie woods fil fifty ity feet and of course my only pro ec tion was the tire fire and the dogs and the litter litte r I 1 saw be fadely depended upon I 1 began to col collect lec t the wood as fast as possible and find to pile more ot of i it t upon the fire until I 1 got a big blaze which threw the rays off into into the w woods 0 0 do I 1 I 1 heard beard another scream almost in front of me Io booking looking oking closely I 1 taw a pair of big yellow eyes glistening through a narrow darrow op opening where the firelight pet penetrated letra ted the animal was stretched along a limb of a 8 tree about forty fiet above the ground and slid was eying the dogs logs and myself I 1 drew up my winch winchester ter and taking a as a close aim aa as possible let drive when the pun gun cracked the panther sprang square equate out toward me and struck close to the outer edge of the fire the dogs sprang at him t then lien followed one of the fiercest fights I 1 ever saw the panther was not mol molt tillY til wounded and made it lively for the dogs in a minute or two he had ripped old jack w de tie open and ond had knocked snap six feet away with a aide side wipe of liis his long ion claws jack was woe done for and snap was terribly torn and slid old nig brave as he wan wait tuckie his tail and broke for me for protection As soon as I 1 got a chance I 1 put a bullet through the panther and laid him out J just net then I 1 heard another scream from the vry v ry tree under which I 1 stood and looking up I 1 saw the biggest I 1 ever laid my eys ays on goliber lie was as crawling out on a long limb lina b almost over my head and nail appeared to be getting ready to make a jump jum 1 juit jua as I 1 threw up my gun to fire I 1 heard beard a meorl like the sound of a good sized kitten close to my ray feet v and on turning my eyes down ward I 1 saw two young panthers about the size size of a full grown cat peep peeping it J out olit of the hole in the big poplar I 1 had made my CA ump m p at all the opening of a den dell or of panthers this accounted for the boldness of the brutes cut but I 1 tune time to fool with the kit kitten teni there was more important blaine 8 on hand 1 16 called old nig and hided him on to the kittens while I 1 took charge of the big fellow overhead I 1 knew it pay to miss BO so I 1 took careful aim ain as all closely as I 1 could bel behind hind t the he shoulder of the brute and juat just as he helas was about to jump I 1 let go the ball went squarely at the mart mark and rind the painter sprang straight out ut and fell plump in the middle of the fire great how the red hot coals hew flew and how that fellow fl hindered about until he finally threw himself out of the fire almost 1 rn t at my feet lie ile wai was a goner however and lay kicking right where he be fell until be di d meanwhile old nig had pulled one of the kittens cut out and waa was baking it like a rat the other one crawled back in the hollow out of reach afier after I 1 had killed the second panther I 1 piled orl on more wood until I 1 had bad a big file which lighted up the woods for a long distance I 1 I 1 hear any more from the living panthers for balfan half an hour ali if I 1 heard beard a scraping scratching found about fifty yards away throwing on more wood woo it long till I 1 located the fellow in a big I 1 oa oak k lying right in the forks the fire light ight evidently blinded liui urn and between that and the sound of the gun and the smell of burning flesh and hide bido of the last 1 painter I 1 had bad killed the beast 13 seemed emed c to be in a quandary lie hauled to attack me rile but seemed afraid of some trap he lay a perfectly still and glared elret at IL aa e while I 1 raised the gun and aimed just under his t as he be lay fronting me As soon as I 1 knew I 1 had bad a good sight eight I 1 pulled the trigger and down he be tumbled that was the last I 1 heard of the panthers i that night but I 1 let that fir fire go ou out tl by a long shot until darek daybreak dav break when n the s eun un came up I 1 felt safe and then for the first time examined my game I 1 found that I 1 had killed two of the biggest panthers I 1 ever saw and another one half grown they must have all belonged to the same family and only made their attack when they found me iu in possession sion of their den As soon as it was light enough I 1 got a long pole and making a flit olit in one end 0 of f it I 1 soon hauled the other kitt kitten i out of the hole it bit and scratched some but I 1 coon foon had it tied ant and muzzled my dogs logs old jack and snap were both dead but old nig hurt worth mentioning about 10 I 1 got back t to the cabin of old davin davis where I 1 had had started from the morning before when I 1 told him of the fight he could scarcely believe it but ho he soon hitched up a sled and with one of hia boys we went back and got the hide of the panthers but one of them had been so badly scorched that it was of no use the story of my biggot painter killing and say saying ing a good deal fr for I 1 have spent over forty years on these mountains and have had lots of narrow escapes I 1 don t want went any more adventures like that though |