THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, NOVEMBER 3, 1907.
n ( r Ov a
"T73'
OF.''
W2t THE,
J LAV L i L s Ui U
i . ' II ll I I I' ' i 'Win I
BT B. A. CHILDERS.
THE Incidents licreln related may
seem far-fetched to some of those
who read this story Others, .more
bdld, with less regard for an author's
feelings, may pronounce the whole thing
a tissue of lies. It Is difficult for the
ignorant and narrow-minded to admit the
truthfulness of any statement which falls
without the circumference of their limited
understanding. This accounts for the
slowness of scientific, facts being accepted
by the masses. I shall not be surprised
to find among the doubters a few edu
cated persons, and. occasionally, a teach
er, who requires her pupils to accept,
without question, as to their truthfulness,
all her statements, and yet regards my
stories In the light of fairy tales and
takes them, cum grano salie.
During the Summer of 1907 I was hoof
ing It over the trails of the Necanlcum
and North Nchalem Mountains, in the
capacity of fire warden, for a Portland
timber company. I usually spent the
night in some deserted cabin, and often
days would pass without my seeing a hu
man being. It is needless to say I was
often so lonesome that I would have wel
comed the company of a digger Indian.
Jly thirst for something to read was so
Intense that I -often followed, the section
lines solely for the purpose of readthg
the Inscriptions on the corner posts, and
when I found some familiar name, like
Cy Crumbly, SIph Johnson, John Leasey,
or Billy West, on a stump or tree, tears
of joy welled to my eyes and pattered
down on the moss at my feet. The sight
of a familiar name., in these tangled for
ests, thrills the lonely wanderer, and
fills him with unutterable joy. Once I
found a woman's name on a tree, and I
camped near that tree and cried all night
I was absolutely and perfectly happy.
True, I did not know her, but she was
one of those angelic beings at whose
shrine every true man worships, and,
on departing next morning I poured out
an oblation of pure mountain water, the
only beverage God ever brewed for man,
to her, and inscribed her name in mem
ory's tablet, to gloat over In my hours
of solitude.
One morning, while wending my way
along the most lonely trail of the moun
tains, I heard the most plaintive sound
that ever fell on my ears. It sounded
like a woman in distress, whose sobbings
were so faint and far away I could barely
hear them. Pausing to locate the sounds
more perfectly 1 set out In their direction,
beating my way through the tangled un
derbrush; lacerating my hands with the
"devil's walking canes" that barred my
way, and saying my prayers most back
wards. Soon I came to a dense clump of
elder bushes and. In them I located the
moanings. I called, but received no an
swer, although the moaning instantly
ceased. I called again, still no reply.
Then I parted tha bushes and began to
work my way slowly towards the center
of the clump, wondering at the same
time, how a woman ever got into that
God-forsaken locality. I had almost
reached the center of the clump of bushes
when I was horrified to find myself on
the edge of & well-like crater. Into which
another step would have plunged me
headlong.
Carefully clearing, the brush from the
edge of the crater. I gazed down Into 1t
murky depths, but at first could distin
guish no object. Finally, when my eyes
grew accustomed to the gloom, I could
see the form of a huge animal lying on
the bottom of the crater. At last the
animal raised Its head and two glowing
eyes gazed piteously Into mine. There
was none of the fierceness of tire forest
marauder in that gaze; only a piteous
appeal for help, and my heart went out.
in tender pity to the poor brute lying
famished and helpless at the bottom of
that pit. Ordinarily we were enemies,
but now the universal tie of suffering,
which connects all God's creatures, made
us friends on the broad ground of sym
pathy. Hastily unslinging my pannikin from my
pack. I went to a little stream nearby
and secured about a quart of water,
which I carefully lowered to the famish
ing brute by means of my pack-ropes. .
This, after two or three efforts to raise
Its head. It lapped greedily. Fortunately
I had several pounds of fresh venison In
my pack and of this I gave It about a
pound. The famished animal devoured
the meat eagerly and mutely appealed for
more, which I refused It.
That evening I fed and watered it again
and talked to It constantly, calling It
"kit." and other pet names; and it
i HE certainly Is mighty su-
perlor-looktn'," said the House
Detective as the young woman
in the evening gown cruised across the
marble and gold lobby of the Hotel St.
Reckless and tacked down Cockatoo
Lane in the direction of the ladles'
writing-rooms. "I'll bet It takes a pile
of money to keep her in clothes."
"And at that they ain't able to keep
her more'n two-thirds of the way In,"
said the Hoel Clerk. "Possibly five
elghs, but I should say at a rough
guess, two-thirds. Let's see, I can
play the buttoiirbutton game on the
joints of the lady's spine as far down
as 'doctor, lawyer, merchant' no,
she's out of sight now!"
"She suits my notion of a real girl,
all right," continued the House Detec
tive. "She moves along so hlgh-spir-lled
and independent-like. I like to
see a girl that's got her mind above
what's she's wearin'."
"And In this case not only the mind,
but several other vital organs, such as
lungs," said the Hotel Clerk. "Well,
It's a way they have In this town for a
young woman to put on a skirt and a
pair of silk suspendersand call heraelt
full-rigged. The more they're dressed
up the less they have on. Still, I ad
mit that the young person' who Just
passed here filled the eye In a satisfac
"S
Friendship of a Mountain
i i
- fTyffi'fflig iniiwiiiiiiw iiiiiini , TW-gqgVBgfri I ju Mmwvdwwm!i jLasw-jiW
seemed to delight in hearing the sound of
my voice.
On the morrow after feeding Kit. I be
gan devising means to rescue him from
the pit. I did not apprehend any dan
ger from it. In fact I felt toward It
much as If It were a suffering fellow
creature needing my help. I cut a good
sized sapling, trimmed It. leaving the
limbs long enough for a foothold, slipped
It Into the pit, took my pack rope and
boldly went down to rescue my friend.
It did not betray any fear or anger when
tory, not to say translucent manner.
But have you been noticing who It Is
she's been strolling the avenue with
these last few afternoons?"
"Who?" said the House Detective.
"Some good-lookln' young feller, I
reckln?"
"Not so as to startle your gaze," said
the Htrtel' Clerk. "The one I see her
IKVIN 5. COBB F I L J
pjfi
I I Couldn't Think of It! He Ain't !
I Equal. I
Saved It
I reached the bottom, and was soon pur
ring, contentedly, while I was stroking
and lashing It ready for hoisting.
Owing to the emaciated condition of Kit
I had but little difficulty in raising him,
and it did my heart good" to witness his
gratitude for his delivery. He was so
weak he could hardly stand, but lie kept
large, luminous eyes on me constantly,
and In their depths beamed a world of
love and gratitude. I found on meas
uring him that he lacked only a few
Inches of being 11 feet from tip to
with most frequently here of late la
the oldest boy of that rich bunch that
came ud from Newport the first of the
month and took the. big suite on the
sixth floor."
"For the love of Mike him!" ex
claimed the House Detective. "You
ain't meamln' that young bunny rab
bit that wears them words-and-muslo
clothes?"
"The same," expounded the Hotel
Clerk. "This' afternoon he had on a
vest that was a popular song hit if
ever I saw the back covers of one.
The orchestral arrangements were
running up and down his legs In the
stripes on his pants. All he needed
was a paper cornycopla .full of Jig
sand and a few magic lantern slides to
be the complete musical interlude for
between the acta."
"Now, what do you suppose a high
geared girl like that wants to trot
double with that runt for?" queried
the House Detective. "D'ye suppose
she goes with him for charity, to kind
er take the curse off?"
"I have a notion," said the Hotel
Clerk, "that maybe It's for the satisfac
tion of hearing people say to each
other when they pass: 'It certainly
Is a fine looking couple all but him.'
Such remarks, so I'm told, are very
soothing to a young woman. Long
ago the women beat the stage man
Lion For a Hunter
From Slow Starvation
tip, one of the largest specimens
the cougar family I had ever seen.
The quantity of meat he devoured
durlirg the two weeks following wss
startling, and the way he laid on
flesh was equally surprising. Ha. soon
learned his name, and would come as
readily as a shepherd dog. He was
lavish In his love, and would arch his
beautiful back, rub against my leg and
purr his contentment whenever I
spoke to him or stroked him. I coon
agers to the discovery that a contrast
ing background helps the stage setting
a whole lot. I've always noticed that
a leading lady who's depending largely
upon her face and figure to fill the red
plush reservation out In front Is sup
ported by some middle-aged females
closely resembling a delegation ot
widows of the late Sitting Bull."
"But that there sawed-off locust
how kin she stand for him?" protested
the House Detective. "If he'd stretch
his gallus63 a little he could use his
hip pockets for ear muffs. Why, Mr.
McBean, h.e ain't much biggern'a half
portion of rice birds and he's got a
face like a sudden relapse. What's
more, if I'm a judge, he ain't no in
tellectual giant, not by several rage
volumes."
"Conceded," said the Hotel Clerk.
"If you were a stranger seeing him
for the first time you'd say to yourself:
That can't be his customary face he's
wearing; he's doing that to pay an
election bet.'- Then you'd take an
other look and you'd see it wasn't an
intentional joke he was playln' on you.
In regards to this here face of his. Na
ture was so economical toward him
that there ain't enough of it. to cover
his teeth and several of the front ,ne
have been out in the . so long
they've got freckled, as you may have
observed."
"Yes, I seen that." said the House
Detective. "I was standing right next
to him the other day when he smiled,
and It put me In mind of somebody
raisin' a planner lid a planner that
the keys ain't been dusted In Quite
some time."
"Only too true." said the Hotel
Clerk. "But. even so,, he seems to have
no decided aversions to himself. When
they was passing the net to pick th
proper person to do" the lady-killuig
he thinks he was the one that drew
the black bean."
"Judgln' from outward signs, or
have you been talkin to the human
stub pen?" Inquired the House Detec
tive. "Oh, we had quite a talk," said th
Hotel Clerk. "I opened the conversa
tion by remarking that it was a fin
day. and he replied In the affirmative
by turning his head and looking stead-'
ily out of the window for some time,
so as to confirm my assertion. And
so one word led to another, with me
furnishing the words and him doing
the leading by remaining politely si
lent." "It's a wonder you didn't git sore
and quit," said the House Detective.
of
ceased to entertain the Idea that ani
mals of the cat kind have no grati
tude. Here was a living witness to
the contrary, full of love for his res
cuer and constantly manifesting it.
Kit - accompanied me on my journeys
through the woods and after his first
startled spring at the sound of my gun,
never manifested a particle of fear. In
a short time I began to learn the mys
tery of stalking game from him. and,
ere long, trusted entirely to .his unerring
Instincts and woodcraft. He always
"Not me." said the Hotel Clerk. "I
wanted to fathom the workings of his
mind. - You may not know it, Larry,
but I'm a psychologist. A psychologist
is a person who goes to a place where
he's pretty sure there ain't any brains
I Can Play the Button-Button Game
on the Lady's Spine. -
and looks for them. Well, eventually,
he began to thaw slightly around the
eaves and when I suggested a lew
bites of liquid refreshment, he wan
mine to command.
"We were Just giving the order when
I saw his father's secretary on the oth
er Side of the bar, and I suggested that
we might extend the scope of the testi
monials so as to include him in Its
beneficent effects. But. ,no.
" 'I couldn't think of it,' he said with
much dignity, drawing himself up to
his full height of five feet, two and a
quarter. 'I couldn't think of it. He
aint my equal.' "
"No more he ain't." broke in the
House Detective. "The secretary ain't
his equal, and what's morek he never
"i -
Who
Had b - vJ
hunted against the wind, gliding through
the tangled mazes as silently as a Bhadow
and stopping often to listen or catch the
scent of his prey.
One day in the early morning he caught
a scent that set him all a-qulver. He
grew so eager that he could scarcely
wait for me. and I expected him to
spring Into the forest and disappear at
any moment. But he restrained himself,
and together we stealthily approached
our quarry. Finally-Kit halted: his tall
became rigid, then slowly waved from
will be onlessen he should have a long
spell of illness and then get kicked in
the face a couple of times by a mule.
That secretary's a decent lookln'
young feller. The nerve of the Ilk"
of him, talkln' that way!"
"Well, there're points to be credited
for and against our young friend in
the transformation clothes," said the
Hotel Clerk. "I don't think he's got
more than two gallons) and a half of
gray checked matter sloshing around
In his crock. If he wore anything
bigger than a five and three-quarters
hat he'd lose It every time he coughed.
He's got slathers of money, or rather
his paw has, but it's been my observa
tion that money is often very careless
in IJs choice of owners. But after all
when It's a matter of displayjn' the
social graces when it comes down to
tripping over the light fantastic toe,
as the saying is, and leading a butter
fly life on a grub worm intellect that
small young person has got anybody
that you and me know frazzled to a
fringe. He was born to the part and
he was educated for it."
"Social graces what's them?"
asked the House Detective.
"I will explain," said the Hotel
Clerk. "Considering' this youth just as
he stands, you wouldn't esteem him to
be the whole cheese. But catch him
threading the mazes or a cotillion up
at Sherry's, or taking part in one of
those swell weddings where they have
to have the reserves out, over at the
Church of the Leavened Yeast on the
avenue, and you would Instantly rec
ognize him as the oldest son of Su
preme J. Camembert, of Swltzerkase-on-Watercrackers.
S 1 1 1 1 o n-by-Skip-witch,
Cheshire-Rennet.
"Go out and lasso the smartest man
In this country. Back him into the
costume of an usherT start'him up the
middle aisle just ahead of the bridal
couple with four thousand eyes glued
on him and the organ giving off the
deep notes from its stomach and by
the time he got to the chancel rail his
neck would be setting his collar on fire
and he'd be having a truck load of ex
tra hands and feet and no place to
leave 'em. But young Master Rollo
from Newport would swim forward to
the altar as cool and pleasant as a cat
fish going up stream. He'd 'enjoy it
He's been ushlng for years for the best
families.
"Or take me for example. Equip
me with one of those self-rising opera
hats and a suit hollowed out In front
like a hansom cab. Insert me Into a
conspicuous place in a box : t the Met
side to side, and became rigid again. I
know he was preparing to spring, and
stood perfectly still, thrilled with the
magnificent beauty and power of the
couchant form, when, suddenly, like an
arrow from a bow. it was gone! Then I
saw his prey, a splendid bull elk, which
stood with his head pointed from me,
unaware of danger. The distance was
about 30 feet and Kit sprang squarely
on the elk's back. One mighty paw
caught the elk in the top of the neck,
the other, thrust down and under,
hooked Itself In the elk's lower jaw, and
with one mighty wrench the elk tot
tered to Its fall. During all the struggle
I stood speechless, thrilled with the lust
of battle, surprised that an animal one
fourth the size of another should conquer
It so easily.
The instant the elk fell Kit released it
and sprang lightly to one " side, feeling
confident In his victory. I stood and
gazed In awe at the two animals. One
would easily tip the scales at 1200 pounds,
the other barely at 300, and yet the
smaller animal had destroyed the larger,
almost In the flash of an eye. It seemed
Incredible, but the dead elk, with its
neck broken, proved the statement true.
I had seen the combat.
Often, In our wanderings, we came
upon fresh bear tracks. To these Kit
paid no attention. They were beneath
his notice; not even worthy of being
called enemies; scavengers of the woods,
that feasted on carrion and dead sal
mon, with here and there an unlucky
pig. which fell into their clutches.
One afternoon, however, we struck the
trail of a bear which seemed to be a
monster. The Instant Kit noticed It he
uttered a low growl and became instantly
alert. His eyes blazed with absolute
ferocity, and when I wanted to follow
the hear trail, he barred my way. Will
ing to be guided by his cunning, I took
another course for the shack in which
we were camping. Kit followed me,
silently alert, as If he scented danger,
close and terrible. When I went to
gather wood, or to get water. Kit kept
close to me. and when I was In the
shack he lay facing the door, with the
light of a deadly hate glowing In his
beautiful eyes that were almost human
In their intelligence: and the glances he
often threw me were full of love.
After we had eaten I sat gazing out
Into the beautiful moonlight, which
threw a sheen of. silver over the whole
landscape. Picture yourself In my posi
tion. A lonely mountain cabin in a dense
forest; the moon at its full; the silence
of the night brooding over all. yourself
a dreamer, and you can fancy some of
the pictures I painted: some of the cas
tles I built; some of the dreams of long
ago, when youth's warm blood thrilled
through every vein and all life seemed
one glorious song!
My reverie was broken by a hoarse,
deep growl of anger and hate, as Kit
launched himself through the door and
grappled, with tooth and nail, with a
gigantic brown object that stood erect
not 10 feet away. I knew In an instant
that it was a cinnamon bear, the most
terrible animal In North America except
the grizzly.
I seized my gun and sprang Into the
field of combat, ready to assist my friend
at the first opportunity. The snarling
and growling was terrific, and the evo
lutions of the animals so rapid that I
had no chance to Are a shot without
risking Kit's life, so I waited, excitedly,
for an opening. The bear waa, striving
to get his lithe antagonist into his dead
ly embrace, which Kit. with equal feroc-
oCTHjcy uGirminea - 10 avoid, and
was springing under the guard of his
mighty adversary, cutting and slashing
the brown monster with his terrible
fangs and claws, then avoiding a clinch,
like a trained prizefighter, who knows
that once In the embrace of his powerful
foe. the light Is practically . over. When
once those deadly arms close round
him. he will soon be a crushed victim
helpless In the embrace of death.
Just what would have been the result
of this sanguinary conflict will forever
remain a mystery. As they tore loose
from one of their fierce grapples the bear
came face to face with me, and charged
without a moment's hesitation. I gave a
yell that would have startled a Comanche
Indian and sprang to one side, with such
swiftness that 1 fell clear. out of the bed
and struck the floor with a thud that
awakened everybody in the house, and
started all kinds of Inquiries as to wheth
er I had them again, or, if it were only
a plain, common, ordinary nightmare.
Too proud to reply I crawled into bed
again and soon drifted away Into the land
of dreams.
ropolitan. Have a bunch of Italian
and French immigrants on the stage
trying to render Massacre's Immortal
opera, 'Medula Oblongata,' In opposi
tion to the conversational outburst
from all us society people in the Gold
en Horse-shoe. Surround me with i
bevy of prominent ladles with still
more prominent shoulder blades. Let
upwards of two thousand strangers
level opera glasses on me. Would I
be a care-free, graceful devil full of
quips and and repartee? I wot not.
Not by several thousand wot and
some few kllowats. I'd be deaf, dumb,
partially blind, paralyzed on both sides
and suffering from Arkansaw ague.
But this here laddy buck we've been
discussing could sit there cool and col
lected and happy actually happy
handing out a constant line of the con
versational Florida water hat passes
for language in his set.
"I can tell with half an eye, Larry,
that you know how to harness a horse,
but could you or any other man vou
know, stroll debonnairly Into the midst
of an afternoon t.a In a undertaker's
coat and a self-made tie, a.uong a lot
of fashionable ladies and a collection
of Louie Kahn's furniture and do the
Elbert Hubbard while holding in your
two hands a high hat, a cane, a pair of
dove-colored gloves, a .cup of tea. a
soda cracker, an olive, a spoon, a lump
of sugar and a seed cookie? Or would
you signalize your advent by tripping
yourself up and then stepping on your
own prostrate form? And would you
break something expensive and then
retire with all the careless grace of a
crab trying to back into a small
necked bottle? Answer, you would.
But it would be Just the same as pie
for the little boy on the fifth floor."
"A man that's strong enough to
grow hair on the back of his neck
ain't got no time for such foolishness,
anyway." says the House Detective dis
gustedly. "Right you are," said thu Hotel
Clerk. "Brt somebody's got to do it or
else there wouldn't be anything but
feminine genders In the society col
umn. (Copyright, 1907, by H. H. Mc
Clure Co.)
A Salt Water River.
The Greek island of Sephalonia has
salt water river. It flows inland from a
ttdeless sea and furnishes power for sev
eral mills.
The King of Italy in an ardent colla
tor of coins, especially those of the Romans
and the ancUat Greeks.