Show stories of a IVI wild id beast A few years ago tho the belief became current in our neighborhood that thata a dangerous wild animal lurked in the woods about now low here now there it had been been in the dusk some big dogs had encountered it in the night and one of them was nearly killed then ft a calf anda and a sheep were reported killed and partly devoured women an and d children became afraid to go through the woods and men avoided them after sundown rundown one day aa as I 1 passed an irish mans shanty that in nn an opening la in tiro woods bis his wife came out with a pail and begged leave to accompany ino me as far as the spring which lay beside the r road OR d some distance into the woods she was afraid to go alone for water on account of 0 the wild baste 11 then to cap the climax ot of wild rumors a horse was killed one of my neighbors an intelligent roan inan and a good observer went up to see the horse lie ile reported that a great gash had ien eaten in the top of the horses neck that its back was bitten nud and scratched and that lie was convinced it was the work 0 of some wild animal like a pa panther uther which 1 had bad landed upon the horses back and ana fairly devoured it alive the horse bad run up and down the field trying to escape and finally in its desperation had plunged headlong ot off a high stone wall by the barn and been killed I 1 was compelled to accept his atory but I 1 the conclusions clu cl it was impossible that we wo should have a panther in the midst inid of u us s or if we had that it would attack and iiii kill a bom but how eagerly the people believed it tasted good it tasted good to me too but I 1 could not believe it it soon turned out that the tile horse was killed by another horse forsea a vicious beast that had fit fits of murderous haar hatred toward toward its kind the sheep and call calf were probably not killed ct at alt all and the big dogs had had ft a fight among themselves so the panther legend faded out and our woods beca became meru as tamo tame and humdrum as before century tho the process of oxidation and sedIni sediments euta tion which aforetime was demonstrated by jy anost exact chemical analyses to be capable of freeing water lu lit lakes and running streams from organic compounds abundant in sewage Is still urged by be scientists and frantic tradesmen be here cf and there in of the use of ice cut on sewage polluted d waters but these acts facts regarding the organic products of decomposition have very little bearing in the newlight new light upon the actual actu ill producers of disette the germs gernis themselves for the thes s c are not subject to the same purifying agencies are not demonstrable by chemical methods and ara are lot removed from sell ago polluted lakes und and streams within the tile limits which chemical experiences hava have led us to regard as safe sedimentation docs does remove many harmful germs gerins from elage f polluted waters dilution does diminish the chances to incur disease dai ease for every consumer many in divi duala lire are at it favored times practically invulnerable to the incursions 0 of these tiny foes but after all it is safe to say that in fit thickly regions sewage polluted cd water is not it fit for men ruen to drink without purin puri fleat catlon ion no matter how fast and fur far the river runs or how low wide the lake into which the sewage drains with the bizo bize of the lake and the volume of the river the chanco of harm harin decreases of course but they stay chances detill where none need be As our country becomes more thickly settled and our cities larger the problems involved iu in pure water and ice supplies arc are becoming more and more wore urgent and difficult T MIL chell prudden la in ll arperd |