A Frolic of Panther Whelps.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 37, 13 February 1892, Page 3 (Supplement)

A Frolic of Panther Whelps.

(By Clarence Puleen.)

The wind and waves and the fortunes Of the quest for ducks had carried the punt containing Joseph Pettins and his ciby cousin, Horace Lee, quibe across Blackwater Lake. Now they were drifbing againsb the peninsula known since early days as Panther Poinb, which rocky promontory was aglow with foliage tints o 1 autumnal red and yellow. Their flat-bottomed crafb the boys had prepared specially for duck-shooting by a, drapery of leafy boughs which wholly hid the boat and its occupants from the view of the wary birds they were seeking. Sundown was approaching as the boat rested againsb bhe shore, looking like a parb of the wooded bankside. Ib was a good place from which to watch for ducks, which a little later would begin to fly past the point, and so the boys lay quieb where they had drifted. . Tho peninsula jutting from a mountainous shoro was like a vasbrock heap formed of greab boulders and shelving ledges wibh sbunbed birch, poplar and evergreen brees growing among bhem wherever bheir roots could gain a hold. The dark holes and crevices among the rocks mighb well serve as hiding places for the predatory wild boasts which had given bhe promonbory its name. « Tho bears and panbhers used to flaako bheir denß here,' said Joe, in answer bo an inquiry from his cousin. "Twouldn b be sbrange if somo of 'em have quarters among the rocks yet.' As the boys after this remark were silenb tho forest creatures seeing no cause for alarm in the foliage-screened object against tho shoro began to show themselves. A squirrel rusbled in a tree, birds flitted here and there, even alighting in the boughs thab covered the boab and a king-fisher resumed his watching-station on a dry tree branch nob far away. Joo Pebbins lying ab full length in the afterpart of tho boab commanded a view through the bushes of a little grassy plot in front of the immense heap of jagged rocks thab made bhe main parb of the promontory. He was thrown into a high state of excitement at the Bight of three creatures, like huge tawny kittens which emerged upon the open space. They ran hither and thither and fell to play, rolling, wrestling, cuffing and dressing. He watched their graceful antics a few moments in delight and surprise before he bhoughb of hi 3 cousin who was gazing on bbc lake ab the widening ripples caused by a fish which had jumped. At the touch of Joe's foot, Horace looked round to see hia companion with finger on lip noiselessly pointing ehorewood where the playful young animals were tumbling aboub on bhe grass in high frolic. Without sound or stir the boys watched with eager attonbion the movements of these strange creatures. 'Wild cats,' Horace motioned with his

lips. Joo shook his head. ' They're too big. Then a thought struck and startled him. 'Panther cubs,'' ho whispered. 'There's been a panther round these woods every year, raising a nest of young ones thab nobody can over find ; and I believe we've hit on her den !' In silonco, fearing that a motion might startlo the shy creatures to flight, Joe and Horace watched the graceful kittens' play. Presently tho whelps scampered back among tho rocks out of sighb, and the boys, looking to sco whab had caused their retreat, saw coming from tho mainland a long, low, ruasot-tinted form gliding serpent-like towatd tho grassy space. Then a great, tawny, cab-like head appeared abovo a rock, looked aboub as if to see that all was clear, and then lowered to pick up something it had been canying. While the two boys at tho promontory bad lain watching from their boat tho play of tho panther whelps, in a forest clearing a mile away, tho young housewife, Martha Billings, whose husband worked at the saw-mill further down the lake, had gone out of tho little log house to dig some potatoes for supper. To do this she had bo go beyond the cresb of a bushgrown bank thab hid tho little garden patch from the house. Hor lusty ten-monbhs'-old boy she had lefb in bhe house alone. He was a courageous, lively child, already able to creep aboub and explore things for himself. To secure him ab home sbo had seb the cradlo across the open doorway and left him clad in his homespun frock to roll and tumble aboub the floor ab will until she should return. The poor neat house was a happy homo, and there wore few women lighter of heart than Martha Billings, as with swinging basket ahe wenb on her homely errand. She had hoed from bhe ground and picked up the potatoes when there came to her alert mother's ear a sbarbled cry, an unusual sound from her healthy, good-tem-pered boy. Sho hurried up the slope in surprise and alarm, but before she could roach the house she heard the call again in a fainber nobe. Darting bo bhe door she gave one look within and saw the cradle upset in an empty room. Once more her child's voico came to her, and, rushing to the corner of the cabin she saw at the clearing's edge a great reddish-brown creature bounding into the woods, bearing in its mouth the boy. It disappeared among the trees, as with one great shriek, and hand pressed to her bursting heart, she struggled for an instant againsb a fainting spell; then, recovering her sbrengbh, ran wildly in pursuit. Her screams resounded in the woods as she followed the route the beast \ad taken, heedless of trees, windfalls and iWuibles, in the despairing effort to reach a\d rescue her child. V?he bwo boys in the boat nearly cried oub in horror as the panther came again into view, holding by the back of ibs stout, overlargo homespun dress, the child, which swung drooping as if lifeless. With swift, stealthy tread the beast came down to the grassy space, laid its burden upon the' ground, and, standing over ib, uttered a low, poculiar cry. Ab once from bhe rocks came tho whelps, who ran to her, fawned about her, and sniffed curiously at the child. After playing with her young once a few moments the panbher backed away, and lying crouohed upon her haunches, with slowly swinging bail, wabebed bhe whelps as they turned from her to the child. They gambolled about it as kittens might have done with a mouse, pouncing upon it, striking it wibh their paws, and pulling ib hither and thither.

To add a crowning horror to the spectacle, the boys, who had supposed that the child was lifeless, saw ib move ibs" anna and legs ; then lift its head and try to crawl away from the gambolling whelps. One unspoken thought thrilled the hearts of both the boya : 'The child must be rescued 1 How shall we do it ?'

Their weapons were long, heavy, doublebarrelled ducking guns. Horace had in his pookeb some bullets which fitted his piece, but wore too large for Joe's. Ab the first giimpse of tho panther he had quietly rolled a bullet down upon each charge in tho barroll! of hia gun, His comrade depended

upon heavy loads of duck-shot, which would go compactly, almost with bho force of a ball, bhe disbance of bwenby-five yards, which separated him from the panther. The boys feared to make the slightesb movemenb lesb ab bhe firsb alarm bhe creature should seize the child and dart with ib bo her retreat among the rocks. Both guns were bearing on the breast, bub crouched as she was with her prey lying between her and them, they could not fire upon her without the certainty of striking the child. Even should she come into better view the intervening bushes might cause their shots to glance, and if the panther were struck and merely wounded, the child would first bear the brunt of her fury. The moments went hard and anxiously to the two boys, as with forefingers against the trigger they watched and waited.

Meanwhile, the panther lay purring with satisfaction at the performance of her young ones. When the child had crawled a little distance away, she bounded after ib and broughb ib back bo her whelps, tossing it up into bhe air before bhem to excite bhem bo play. The boy did nob seem to be frighbened or in pain, made no outcry, bub renewed his efforbs bo crawl av»ay. Ib was a beautiful, frightful scene, the soft sunset glow, the grassy rocks, the shadows, the tints of bhe little grassy amphibheabre flecked wibh sun rays sifbed through bhe leaves above, bhe sleek, graceful animals ab play, and the innocenb child, unharmed and unfrighbened, ib 3 hand grasping a blue aubumn flower that somehow ib had plucked. A second and third time the panther pounced upon, the child, bo vigorously at last thab the boys pressed hard against bhe triggers on the very point of firing insbanbly ab any risk, bub once more bheir fingers released as they saw the beast drop the little one before her whelps, and, leaping back, lay with her head between her paws to watch them ab bheir sporb wibh maternal satisfaction.

The savage instincts of their nature were arousing in bbc whelps, whose play became fiercer and fiercer. Ib was plain bhab their romping was drawing to an end, and thab things coon would take a deadly turn, when the boys must act ab all risks. Hitherto the cubs had caught and bibben, kittenlike, ab bhe homespun frock, bub now, wibh oubsbrebched claws, bhey struck savagely ab the face and hands of the child, which gave a little cry aa one sharp stroke tore a long furrow in its chubby cheek. At the smell and sighb of blood bhe whelp 3 became wildly excited, and wibh cries and snarls fell furiously upon bheir vicbim, while the mother, with ears laid back, and lithe tail swaying more quickly, seemed to smile at tho sight of bheir ferocity.

The boys from the boat could see that the child, hurt and cowed ab bhe fierce onslaughb of bhe young panthers, now lies still. Seeming mutely to realise its danger, and that cries and struggles were useless, it only softly sobs as the devilish whelps tear and worry it.

But the panther-mother's cruel nature is wakened ab the flow of blood, and bho pale, breathless watchers, with set, drawn faces and eyes fixed upon her with unswetving purpose, now see her rise from the ground with arched back, and lips drawn up from the sharp, white teeth. With feline grace she comes lightly to her feet, standing behiud the child in the very act to pounce upon it.

It is the firsb chance she has offered for a shob.

Bang-g 1 both pieces roar together, and the creature struck full in the face by a charge of duck-shot and in the breasb by shob and the heavy bullet, bounds straight upward with a frightful screech. Bang-g ! They have caught her again while she is still in the air, and she comes to earth howling, rolling, rearing, clawing and biting the green sward, berribly wounded, dazed and full of blind desbrucbive fury.

The whelps have shot like tawny streaks bo concealment among the rocks ; the child has turned its wondering eyes toward the sound of the firing as if to see what obher sbrange danger has como to ib ; and, with the echoes of their gun-shots yeb rattling among the crags of the shore, the two boys are out of the boab and- upon bhe panther, desperately swinging down upon her head and body their clubbed guns. Only Joe stopped an instant to troop and catch the child, throwing it toward the shore into a hollow carpeted with soft bracken, and than dash on to the aid of his companion. Upon the head of the savage beast Horace shatbera his gun sbock as tho panther rolls past, jusbmissing him in a wild plunge aud clutch of tbe terrible claws.

The child is safe, and tho breathless boys draw back towards it. Here standing their ground, they watch their enemy, which, fatally wounded at last, lies motionless except for her panting flank. The ground is reddened with blood and torn with her struggles. She revives, and with dying effort crawls in bhe direction her cubs have taken, and partly scales the first largo rock in her way, then rolls backward dead, lying upon her side, with white breasb and beebhand outsbrobched claws turned towards her slayers. The boys picked the child up and found thab, except from some bruises and scratches, it wa3 unhurt. Ib shrank and complained when ita back was touched, and they found that while its stoub frock had for the most part saved ib from teoth and claws, its back between its shoulders was discoloured and swollen where the panther's teeth, without breaking the skin, had bruised the flesh.

' Now for the cubs !' Horace cried, bub checked himself. ' Whab am I thinking of 1 The thing for us to do is to take this child to its mother as fast as we can 1'

' The panther must have snatched ib from some house aboub the mill sebblemenb,' Joe said. ' We'd besb pull down to the mill, and if the youngster's folks don't live there we can perhaps find out something about them.'

They had paddled a half-mile along the shore, when a woman broke from the forest ahead. With flying hair and dress torn by brambles, ahe gazed wildly, despairingly, upon the approaching boat. Joe dropped his paddle, held up the child, swung his hat and gave a great call, * All right.'

They forced the boab forward at their besb sbrokca ; bub bhe woman, nob enduring to waib, dashed into the water waisb deep to meet them, to catch up the child and half smother ib with tears and kisses.

The boys went with" her along the wood path, but to their offers to carry the child, she only held it the closer. Her husband, returned frorrj his work, was at the cabin, and after telling in few words of the rescue, they sbarbed away bo avoid bhanks bhab were bard for bhe excited parents to frame in fitting terms

'It beats duck-shooting, eh, Joe V cried Borage. * It's a great wind-up to our day's trip. Now we'll go for the panther's skin, and to-morrow we'll have those handsome whelps or know the reason why.'

(the end. )