Biographical fiction; Jones, Charles Jesse, 1844-1919 -- Fiction; Pioneers -- Fiction; Western stories
Lastly Jones removed the three lassoes. Kitty slowly gathered her
lissom body in a ball and lay panting, with the same brave wildfire in
her eyes. Jones stroked her black-tipped ears and ran his hand down her
glossy fur. All the time he had kept up a low monotone, talking to her
in the strange language he used toward animals. Then he rose to his
feet.
"We'll go back to camp now, and get a pack, saddle and horse," he said.
"She'll be safe here. We'll rope her again, tie her up, throw her over
a pack-saddle, and take her to camp."
To my utter bewilderment the hounds suddenly commenced fighting among
themselves. Of all the vicious bloody dog-fights I ever saw that was
the worst. I began to belabor them with a club, and Frank sprang to my
assistance. Beating had no apparent effect. We broke a dozen sticks,
and then Frank grappled with Moze and I with Sounder. Don kept on
fighting either one till Jones secured him. Then we all took a rest,
panting and weary.
"What's it mean?" I ejaculated, appealing to Jones.
"Jealous, that's all. Jealous over the lion."
We all remained seated, men and hounds, a sweaty, dirty, bloody, ragged
group. I discovered I was sorry for Kitty. I forgot all the carcasses
of deer and horses, the brutality of this species of cat; and even
forgot the grim, snarling yellow devil that had leaped at me. Kitty was
beautiful and helpless. How brave she was, too! No sign of fear shone
in her wonderful eyes, only hate, defiance, watchfulness.
On the ride back to camp Jones expressed himself thus: "How happy I am
that I can keep this lion and the others we are going to capture, for
my own. When I was in the Yellowstone Park I did not get to keep one of
the many I captured. The military officials took them from me."
When we reached camp Lawson was absent, but fortunately Old Baldy
browsed near at hand, and was easily caught. Frank said he would rather
take Old Baldy for the cougar than any other horse we had. Leaving me
in camp, he and Jones rode off to fetch Kitty.
About five o'clock they came trotting up through the forest with Jim,
who had fallen in with them on the way. Old Baldy had remained true to
his fame—nothing, not even a cougar bothered him. Kitty, evidently no
worse for her experience, was chained to a pine tree about fifty feet
from the campfire.
Wallace came riding wearily in, and when he saw the captive, he greeted
us with an exultant yell. He got there just in time to see the first
special features of Kitty's captivity. The hounds surrounded her, and
could not be called off. We had to beat them. Whereupon the six jealous
canines fell to fighting among themselves, and fought so savagely as to
be deaf to our cries and insensible to blows. They had to be torn apart
and chained.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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