Yellow Panther

“ If there are white men in the Miami woods, the Miamis are warriors enough to take them."
Yellow Panther turned aside, but he followed the tall figure with a look of the most vindictive hate. Like Braxton Wyatt, he felt that something was wrong, but what it was he did not yet know. Big Fox mingled freely in the village life throughout the day, and never once did he make a mistake. All the Indian ways were familiar to him, and when he talked with the warriors about the Northwestern tribes, he showed full knowledge. Old Gray Beaver was delighted with him. ”

“ The panther, originally from Java, seemed to merit the gloomy name of Death, by her grim, ferocious aspect. Completely black, she lay crouching and rolled up in the bottom of her cage, and her dark hues mingling with the obscurity which surrounded her, nothing was distinctly visible but fixed and glaring eyes—yellow balls of phosphoric light, which only kindled, as it were, in the night-time; for it is the nature of all the animals of the feline species to enjoy entire clearness of vision but in darkness. ”

“ Thus spoke Yellow Panther, head chief of the Miamis, veteran of many wars, through the medium of Braxton Wyatt:
"We and our brethren, the Shawnees, have come with many warriors upon a long war path. Our friends, the white men whom the mighty King George has sent across the seas to help us, have brought with them the great cannon which will batter down the forts [Pg 78] of the Long Knives in Kaintuckee. But the signs are bad. The boats which were to carry the cannon on the river have been blown up. An enemy stands across our path and before we go farther we must hunt him down. ”

“ Is it not so, Yellow Panther?”
“The cold will be so great that all the warriors will have to seek their wigwams,” replied the Miami chief, “and they will stay there many days and nights, hanging over the fires. The war trail will be deserted and the Ice King will rule over the forest.”
“I’ve no doubt the old men and old women are right,” said Braxton Wyatt, “and you make me shiver now when you tell me what they say. Perhaps the spirits will turn over to our side and give all the five into our hands.”
They moved on out of hearing, but Henry now knew [Pg 295] enough. ”

“ By the time he had turned back toward the entrance, Pant recognized him as a white man’s dog.
“Well, howdy, old sport,” he exclaimed, as the dog leaped upon him, ready to pull him to pieces out of pure joy.
“Down, down, sir!”
The dog dropped at his feet. In another minute the snow-door was in its place again. 139
“Well, old chap,” said Pant, peering at the dog through his goggles. “You came to share fortunes with me, did you? The little yellow men had a tiger; I’ve got a dog. That’s better. A tiger’d leave you; a dog never. ”

“ Perhaps what Black Panther says is true. Perhaps many Mohawks are hiding in the woods. Most of you must stay behind to guard the village. A few of us will go to find Spotted Deer. I will be the leader. I will ask Dancing Owl, and Yellow Wolf, and Painted Hawk, and Crooked Foot, and Turning Eagle to go with me. It is enough. Now, my friends, go to your lodges and get ready to go away."
"Wait!" shouted old Sky Dog. "You are going into great danger. If I do not help you, something bad may happen. You must all come to my lodge, and I will make a smoke to Getanittowit and ask him to help you." ”

“ It appears to be demonstrated, however, that the veritable Panther is not found in Africa, but only in India, Japan, and the neighboring islands, such as Java, Sumatra, &c. The island of Java possesses a variety which is completely black. This is the famous Black Panther, the terror of Java and Sumatra.
The Panther ascends trees with agility, into which it pursues Monkeys and other climbing animals. It is a ferocious and untamable animal, and inhabits only the wildest forests. No Carnivore, not even the Tiger, is more unconquerable, and its pursuit is proportionably dangerous. ”

“ They have panthers out here as well as we did down near our homes. And, while such a beast may never have set eyes on white people before, I reckon he’d jump down at us [211] just as quick as if we were red boys, if it so happened that he was hungry.”
“Yes, the panther is a sly beast, but when pressed for a meal he will take chances every time,” returned Roger. “You remember that one we met in the timber on a winter’s day, just as the snow-storm commenced to gather. ”

“ It was a great many summers ago, when a Carib chief went out to shoot deer; he walked all day—no deer—he sat on a log, tired and hungry; while he sat there, weak and tired, almost asleep, a crouching panther sprang upon him and bore him to the earth; the Carib fought hard, for he was fighting for his life, but he was weak and hungry, and the panther seized him and was bearing him off, when a white man, who heard the noise, came running to the spot. He, drawing his knife like a true warrior, jumped upon the enraged animal's back, and stabbed him to the heart. The Indian was saved. ”

“ The artist shuddered, and dropping his gun stood with his back to the wall, his long, keen hunting-knife presented at the beast, the handle resting on his chest. The panther give a low whine, wagged its tail, and advanced its paws onto the edge of the niche.
This moment was fatal, for at the same instant a dark, shiny object swung in the air, and a huge and ponderous American ax came down with irresistible force on the cranium of the beast, which, stunned, its head split open, fell back with a savage cry and was carried away by the rushing stream. ”

“ There was such a look of half-suspicious triumph on his dark face and in his cruel eyes as is sometimes seen in the eyes of the panther, as it sits quietly by, watching its prey, and suffering it to live and exult in a few moments more of life that the moment of its annihilation, when it comes suddenly and unlooked for, may be the harder to bear. ”

“ Through the jungle bound also the swift deer and the graceful antelopes, who so often have to fly before the pursuit of their fierce neighbours the tiger and the panther. The panther, when wounded, is actually more feared by the hunter than is the tiger. The panther is much smaller than the tiger, and his grey skin, dotted with black spots, enables him to hide himself easily among the tangle of the forest undergrowth, for he resembles a patch of shade. His limbs are long and powerful, and he is the nimblest of all the jungle dwellers. He can run like a leopard and climb like a monkey. ”

“ Met some goblin in the forest?
Has he put a spell upon you—
Filled your heart with bitter waters,
That you sit so sad and sullen,
Sit and smoke, but never answer,
Only when the storm is on you?"
Gruffly then the Panther answered:
"Brave among the brave is Panther
Son of Waub-Ojeeg, the warrior,
And the brave are ever silent;
But a whining dog is woman,
Whining ever like a coward."
Forth into the tangled forest,
Threading through the thorny thickets,
Treading trails on marsh and meadow,
Sullen strode the moody hunter.
Saw he not the bear or beaver,
Saw he not the elk or roebuck ”

“ Having lived so much in the wilderness, and associated so much with the aborigines, he had acquired much of their habits and mode of life, and by his location on the Illinois river, he soon became rather a favorite among the Indian tribes around him. His skill with the rifle and the bow, and his personal feats of strength and agility, were well calculated to excite their admiration and applause. He often took the lead among them in their games of sport. It was on one of these occasions that he acquired the additional name of the Panther. ”

“ Near to a forest's side, That shook with many a monster's roar, With hasty caution hied. But suddenly, full in his way, A Panther he descries; Athwart his very road she lay, And fixt his fearful eyes. With backward step, and watchful stare If refuge there may be; He hopes to gain, with trembling care, The refuge of a tree. A fruitless hope—the Panther moves, Perceiving his intent, And vain his utmost caution proves Her purpose to prevent. But no fierce purpose to destroy The dreadful beast impells; Her gesture, blending grief and joy, Far other motive tells. ”

“ Only some animal could have produced the noise; a human being would either have come up to him if a friend, or kept absolutely still if a foe. He looked and looked, and at last caught a glimpse of the panther's yellowish fur gliding along the ground. When a cat glides stealthily she is on the hunt. His curiosity was fully aroused; he longed to see what the animal was hunting and how he would succeed. Furthermore the panther is in the eyes of the Pueblo Indian the symbol of the greatest physical power. ”

“ Ruler! Pep! Bourbon! This way!” yelled up Sid, waving his arm to them in the direction the cougar had gone. The dogs belled together in unison, then, and started weaving along the brink. Ruler ran out on another pinnacle and struck hot scent, where the Black Panther had only recently [135] landed from his jump. He rolled off a barking-treed call and the pups squeaked and rushed over to smell it, too.
“Hi! Hi!—This way, Scotty! Hyar they are—over by the canyon! Wahoo!” resounded Big John’s voice far off through the timber. ”

“ Old and wrinkled was the Sea-Gull, Good and true, but old and wrinkled. Twenty winters for the Panther Had she ruled the humble wigwam, Borne the burdens on the journey, Gathered fagots for the lodge-fire, Tanned the skins of bear and beaver, Tanned the hides of moose and red deer, Made him moccasins and leggings, Decked his hood with quills and feathers, Colored quills of Kaug, the thorny, Feathers from the great war-eagle; Ever diligent and faithful, Ever patient, ne'er complaining. but like all brave men the Panther Loved a young and handsome woman ”

“ Black Panther asked, calmly.
"The Mohawks have caught our brothers," he told them. "Our brothers are hiding in a big swamp. The Mohawks are all around them. Pretty soon they will rush in and kill them. Spotted Deer is there. We took him away from the Shawnees. Come, call our people. Give me some meat. I must take you back there to help our brothers."
Then, while Running Fox drank great bowls of steaming broth, Black Panther sent a crier through the camp to summon the warriors. A great company gathered before the council lodge. Running Fox rushed wildly from his father's lodge to address them. ”

“ Well, I took the Panther into camp, and the
critter was well content,
And off with him, on the hunting tramp, next
day our hunters went,
And I reckon that day and the next we didn't
want for food,
And only one in the camp looked vext—that
Imp of Hell, Phil Blood.
Nothing would please his contrairy ideas! an
Injin made him rile!
He didn't speak, but I saw on his cheek, a kind
of an ugly smile;
And I knew his skin was hatching sin, and I
kept the Panther apart,
For the Injin he was too blind to see the dirt
in a white man's heart! ”

“ The Black Bear turned to him.
"The Little Panther has been long," he said.
As this was not a question the Indian limited himself to replying with a bow.
"The vultures are soaring in large flocks over the desert," the chief presently continued; "the coyotes are sharpening their bent claws; the Apaches scent a smell of blood which makes their hearts bound with joy in their breasts. Has my son seen nothing?"
"The Little Panther is a renowned warrior of his tribe. At the first leaves he will be a chief. He has fulfilled the mission his father entrusted to him." ”

“ The beautiful white panther lay at the feet of Neit-akrit, and she fed him with dates and figs, which she held for him between her teeth. The powerful creature would take the fruit from her lips as gently as a bird. Hugh and I sat opposite to her. It was impossible not to admire the beautiful girl before us, the most exquisite product of this lovely, exotic land. There was a magnetic charm about every one of her movements which recalled those of the panther beside her. ”

“ On looking narrowly in the direction from whence the sound came, I caught sight of a panther, or “American lion,” as the beast is commonly called, stealing along, very probably on the same errand as we were,—hoping to pounce upon one of the females of the herd, could he catch his prey unprepared. He is bound to be cautious, however, how he attacks a buck, for the elk can do battle with his horns and hoofs, and might disable even the savage panther.
Uncle Jeff saw the brute as soon as I did, and turning round, he made a sign to me to aim at the panther the moment he should fire at the elk. ”

“ It will at least relieve young Niltci of any suspicion of having harmed a white man. But the Fire Dance ceremony must go ahead, I fear. Any news of that infernal panther, John?”
“Yaas; the dawgs run him into a leetle box canyon back thar in Cheyo—an’ you can steal my hoss if thar ain’t Sid, ez ornery and ez nat’ral ez ever! I told ye not to worry, Colonel,” he wagged his head. “Thet rope’s still waitin’ for him! He clumb up thar, an’ then he couldn’t git out again. The varmint’s got a lair in that canyon, too, in a cave behind some of them cliff houses.” ”

“ If he fired and hit, the cat would fall and there would be a knife-and-claw encounter—in a box canyon, with no escape for him and no adequate weapon to defend himself. That cat could strike with a blow that would tear every rib out of his body, and he would come with the quickness of lightning. Elementary caution told Sid to wait until the men came up with their rifles. They had the Black Panther at bay, now.
[134] Meanwhile the Black Panther, with a single hissing snarl at Sid below, had reached the pueblo ledge and darted into his cave of refuge. ”