[HOW DOLLY BEAT THE HUNTERS.]
BY PROFESSOR FRED MYRON COLBY.
"Charley, it's time to go after the cows," said Farmer Goodwin to his oldest boy, one summer day, near evening.
"I'm off, father," replied Charley, a bright little fellow of eleven, and whistling to Tiger, a large brindled mastiff, he was soon marching toward the pasture with the dog at his heels.
This was ninety years ago very nearly, and the place was near the historic mountain of Kearsarge, in central New Hampshire. Moses Goodwin was one of the early settlers of that region, and his cabin stood far up the cleared slope of the mountain, on a fertile ridge of land, where the fields of corn were ripening for the harvest.
The sides of the mountain were covered with thick forests, even as they are to-day, affording excellent haunts for the wild animals of the latitude. The bark of the wolf, the screech of the cougar, and the growl of the bear were well-known sounds to most of the early settlers. Indeed, it was no uncommon thing for the families of the pioneers to be awakened at night by the fierce chorus of wild beasts around their cabins.
There were large State bounties on all of these animals, and after a few years their numbers began to diminish. At the time of our story it was very seldom that a bear or a panther was seen about the settlement. If now and then a farmer lost a fine sheep or a favorite calf, it was no more than was expected. Farmer Goodwin had himself lost that very autumn a valuable young heifer, which was supposed to have been carried off by a bear. None of the other settlers had lost any of their stock, and it was supposed that the animal had left the neighborhood.
Charley was gone longer than usual after the cows on the evening in question. His parents began to feel uneasy at his protracted absence.
"It's time he should be here," said the farmer. "The stock must have wandered farther than usual."
"I am afraid something has happened to him," observed Mrs. Goodwin, her fair face growing a shade paler at the thought of her boy's danger. "Perhaps he's met a bear or a panther."