Ne'er a one
o' 'em laid tooth or claw on the other. I wur hungry enough meself, and
ud a liked to hev taken a steak from the buttocks o' one o' the deer,
but I dasen't do it. I wur afeard to break the peace, which mout a led
to a general shindy.

"When day broke, next mornin' arter, I seed that the flood wur afallin';
and as soon as it wur shallow enough, I led my mar quietly into the
water, an' climbin' upon her back, tuk a silent leave o' my companions.
The water still tuk my mar up to the flanks, so that I knew none o' the
varmint could follow 'ithout swimmin', an' ne'er a one seemed inclined
to try a swim.

"I struck direct for my neighbour's shanty, which I could see about
three mile off, an', in a hour or so, I wur at his door. Thur I didn't
stay long, but borrowin' an extra gun which he happened to hev, an'
takin' him along with his own rifle, I waded my mar back to the island.
We found the game not exactly as I hed left it. The fall o' the flood
hed given the painter, the cat, an' the wolves courage. The swamp
rabbit an' the 'possum wur clean gone--all but bits o' thur wool--an'
one o' the does wur better 'n half devoured.

"My neighbour tuk one side, an' I the other, an' ridin' clost up, we
surrounded the island.

"I plugged the painter at the fust shot, an' he did the same for the
bar. We next layed out the wolves, an' arter that cooney, an' then we
tuk our time about the deer--these last and the bar bein' the only
valley'ble things on the island. The skunk we kilt last, as we didn't
want the thing to stink us off the place while we wur a-skinnin' the
deer.

"Arter killin' the skunk, we mounted an' left, of coorse loaded with our
bar-meat an' venison.

"I got my rifle arter all. When the flood went down, I found it near
the middle of the parairy, half buried in the sludge.

"I saw I hed built my shanty in the wrong place; but I soon looked out a
better location, an' put up another. I hed all ready in the spring,
when I went back to Massissippi, an' brought out Mary and the two young
uns."

The singular adventure of old Ike illustrates a point in natural history
that, as soon as the trapper had ended, became the subject of
conversation. It was that singular trait in the character of predatory
animals, as the cougar, when under circumstances of danger. On such
occasions fear seems to influence them so much as to completely subdue
their ferocity, and they will not molest other animals shari