During the encounter between the panther and the bear, the bear kept up a continual growl. But as soon as the panther was dead, the bear was as cool as if nothing had happened. Walking quietly up to her cubs, she took one of them in her mouth, and carried it to the panther, then she returned and got the other. Young as the cubs were, they seemed to understand what their mother meant, and immediately commenced to lap the panther’s blood. The old bear then approached Walter, and smelled him all over, and then returned to her cubs, and in a few minutes walked off, and was seen no more by Walter. Still, he was at a loss what to do or where to go, and for the first time realized that he was hungry.
The sun was now far up in the eastern sky, and he concluded that he would take that direction as that would take him to Peenpack. Reloading his gun, he threw it across his shoulder and started for higher ground in an easterly direction.
He had proceeded but a short distance, when he heard a voice say in plain English:
“North! North! A little further north!”
This both pleased and frightened him, and jumping upon a large log, and looking in the direction from which the sounds proceeded, to his astonishment, he saw a man standing behind something that had three legs, waving his hands. Looking in the direction that the hand indicated, he saw another man holding a flag. On the top of these legs was something that glittered in the sun like gold. The man that stood behind it would look down at it, and then at the flag. In looking a little further back, he saw ten or twelve men, some of them on horses, some with axes and some drawing a long, light chain. He was amazed at the sight, not knowing whether to hide or run. He heard a slight noise behind him, and turning around, stood face to face to some kind of a being. He knew not what it was. It looked just like a man, only it was jet black, curly hair and pearly-white teeth. He thought it must be the devil that his mother had told him about, but he failed to see the forked tail. In his fright he sprang from the log and ran towards the white man.
Indian! Indian! cried the devil behind him.
Instantly the whole party was in commotion, and the men on the horses raised their guns.
Who? Where? What is it? cried the man at the three legged object.