94 pioneer life; ok, 



as there were probably no elk in the vicinity. About 

 eight o'clock one of the party discovered the Indian 

 coming in, followed apparently by one of the dogs. 

 He remarked that one of the dog3 was loose, and 

 following the Indian in. I found the dogs all in 

 their places, and told the men I thought it was a 

 wolf they saw. At this moment he stopped and we 

 saw at a glance that it was a panther. We sprang 

 forward with our guns, when he turned and moved 

 off. We followed him two miles, without obtaining 

 a shot at him, when we returned to the camp. We 

 paid the Indian and let him go. I told Campbell I 

 would not be disappointed in this manner, but would 

 hunt all winter rather than give up. We concluded 

 to go to the head waters of the Susquehannah, and 

 accordingly started on the eighth of January, going 

 about fifteen miles up the Kenzua, and encamped 

 for the night. The next day, when we had proceed- 

 ed about twelve miles we arrived at a place where 

 a village now stands, but at that time there was but 

 a solitary house in which lived a family named 

 Smith. The man had gone to procure a barrel of 

 lour, and since his departure a deep snow had fallen. 

 He had now been gone three days beyond the ex- 

 pected time, and the supply of provisions and fuel 

 which he had left was nearly exhausted. In addition 

 to the prospect of starvation which stared them in 

 the face, his family were harrassed with the fear that 

 he had perished in the snow: The next day we 

 prepared her a supply of fire-wood, left a loaf of 

 bread and flour enough to supply her for two days, 



