"Years ago, before I was born," said grandmother one winter evening, as we were telling tales while gathered round the fire in our western home, " Uncle Robert and Aunt Letty came from England to find a home in the wilderness. They made a clearing, and built a log-house with only one room, warm and comfortable in winter, pleasant and airy in summer. I say "they," for Aunt Letty helped with her hands as well as with her heart.
"In those days the chimney was nearly half the size of the house; and in the cold weather, when the stone hearth was piled high with the big logs cut from the trees that grew around the home and the flames roared and crackled up the wide mouth of the chimney, Aunt Letty thought nothing more cheerful and homelike. In summer the cool breeze swept down from the tree-tops, "singing and sighing like a voice from home," she said.
"Aunt Letty was very lonesome when Uncle Robert had to go to the mill and she could not hear the strokes of his axe all the day long. The nearest mill was many miles away. One bright summer morning he started for the mill, with thebags of grain securely fastened to the back of the old horse, and with his gun on his shoulder, for it was not safe to ride through the woods without it. "Good-bye, little woman," he said; "do not be lonely or frightened. When it begins to grow dark, fasten the door and the window; I shall be home before morning."
"Aunt Letty watched him ride away in the sweet, dewy June morning with a strange, dull sinking at her heart; then she went about her daily tasks, making the house bright and clean. When night came she milked the cow, Daisy, and locked her up in the little shed at the back of the house for fear of the Indians, some of whom were thievish. Still Aunt Letty had no great fear of them and, when all was done, settled down by the one light and tried to wait quietly for the welcome sound of the old horse"s footsteps coming through the woods.
" "Nine! ten!" said the little clock they had brought from their home over the sea. No sound was heard outside but the whip-poor-will"s plaintive call and the sighing of the night wind. No sound? Hark! Were those footsteps, soft and stealthy? "Indians," thought the poor woman, listening, expecting to hear a harsh whisper at the keyhole, "White squaw no there?" Again she heard the footsteps going round and round the house. It seemed as though they were made by two pairs of creeping feet; then she heard a cracklingsound, and a low, deep growl from over her head. Looking up the wide chimney, she saw the waving body and fiery eyes of a huge panther, crouching just ready to spring down upon the hearth.
"What could she do? Should she open the door and dash away to the woods? It would be certain death; for then she would be an easy prey to the panther. Another deep growl was heard, louder and more angry. Then, remembering the fear such creatures have of fire, quick as thought she snatched the straw bed from the bedstead in the corner, tore open the cover, and emptied all the straw upon the few embers that remained on the hearth. In a moment there was a blaze and a fierce heat. With the blaze and heat pouring into his face, the panther gave loud cries of rage, and soon slunk off into the woods.
"But Aunt Letty knew too well it was only for a short time. Soon the fire would burn itself out, and back he would come. Oh, for the sound of the trot, trot, trot, through the clearing! Alas, no horse, no Uncle Robert! Again the stealthy footsteps were heard around the house, stealing softly, softly; and her heart grew faint with fear.
"Then she thought of the old musket over the door, kept loaded so as to be ready for frightening crows from the cornfield and hawks from the chickens. Quickly it was taken down; then scratch, scratch, more cautiously than before,and Aunt Letty heard again the blood-chilling growl, and saw the fiery eyes looking down and the huge yellow body swaying to and fro in the dim light. She knelt down, raised the gun to her shoulder, and, with one quick prayer, fired.
" There was a scream of rage and pain, a great bound, a mighty crash, and Aunt Letty sprang up just in time to avoid the terrible panther as he came rolling over and over on the floor in his death agony. His mighty claws tore up, great bits of the floor, and his huge body, as he struggled and rolled from side to side, broke everything in his way.
"Aunt Letty climbed upon the high bedstead, and crouched in one corner, trembling and fearing that her danger was not yet over. At last, with one drawing up and straightening of the great limbs and with a tremendous struggle, the monstrous body of the panther quivered and then was still.
"Then the brave little woman stepped down from her place of safety and crept cautiously across the floor, expecting the great red eyes to open and the dreadful claws to snatch at her, till she reached the door. In a moment the fastenings were undone, and she rushed out into the fragrant night air.
"As she did so, the welcome sound of old White-foot"s trot came faintly to her ear; then nearer, nearer, and soon she saw horse and rider appear through the gloom. Oh, howglad she was, and how thankful was Uncle Robert! What could he say when he saw the great beast lying dead on the floor of their home, and thought that, but for her courage, his dear wife might have been torn in pieces long before this.
"Aunt Letty never stayed alone in the house again at night; and, though she had many other adventures while living in the wilderness before a village grew up around them, she never forgot that one terrible night when she killed the panther."Author.-Unknown.
General Notes.-Was " our Western home" the United States or Canada? The panther, which is found in both places, is also called the cougar and the American lion. It is a large cat, generally black, but sometimes yellow, as in the story. The whip-poor-will is a North American bird with wide, bristly mouth, soft plumage, and silent flight. It gets its name from its weird, whistling cry, "whip-poor-will," "whip- poor-will." Do you know any other poems about brave women pioneers?
