501 



to elapse before tliey took the trail of the man who 

 had thus far so successfully baffled their powers. The 

 Docloi- .«tood still and waited until one of the 

 brutes rushed within an arm's length when he struck 

 him in the face with the cloth saturated with ammonia. 

 This reception was a most novel and unique one for 

 the Wolf who ran off howling with pain; two more of 

 the band were slapped across the mouths with the sat- 

 urated baize, and they left. After this experience the 

 Wolves followed the Doctor fill daylight the next 

 morning when they gave up the chase which they had 

 continued for forty-eight hours, and which unquestion- 

 ably'^ would have resulted in a most horrible death if 

 it had not been for the contents of the ammonia bot- 

 tle. Dr. Thornton succeeded in finding a shanty oc- 

 cupied by the men constructing the Catawissa railroad, 

 where ho was carefully cared for, and in the course of 

 four or five days was taken to his home, where he was 

 ill for fully a month. 



THE PANTHER. 



In former times the Panther was present in all parts 

 of Pennsylvania, but now. if the animal is found 

 here at all, and I very much doubt the species' pres- 

 ence in our State, it is certainly restricted to a very 

 few of the most inaccessible mountain sections. The 

 bounty records of Centre county fo'i' 1880 shows money 

 was given for a "panther" killed there in that year. 

 Ml". Rhoads quotes the following from ^Tr. Seth Nel- 

 son: "There may be one or two yet in Clearfield 

 county; but the Askey boys and T killed two. two years 

 ago (ISOl)." Mr. Rhoads, also on the authority of Mr. 

 Sefh Xelson, makes reference to a Panther taken in 

 ISO.'*, bv I lie Tyon^- bovs on "big run of Beech Ci-eek." 



