“Wheaton had marked the spot where her young were hidden, which, at the report of the gun, were frightened and ran up a tree.  He now came down and found the panther to measure, from the end of its nose to the point of its tail, eight feet six inches in length; a creature sufficiently strong to have carried him off on a full run, had he fallen into its power.  He now reloaded and went to the tree where her kittens, or the young panthers were, and soon brought them down from their grapple among the limbs, companions for their conquered and slain parent.

“Wheaton dismantled them of their hides, and hastened away before the night should set in, lest some other encounter might overtake him of a similar character, when the disadvantage of darkness might decide the victory in a way more advantageous to the roamers of the forest.  Of this feat Ben Wheaton never ceased to boast; reciting it as the most appalling passage of his hunting life.  The animal had found him while asleep, and had him concealed, as he supposed, intending to give her young a specimen of the manner of their future life; or if this is too much for the mind of a dumb animal, she intended at least to give them a supper.

“This circumstance was all that saved his life, or the panther would have leapt upon him at first, and have torn him to pieces, instead of covering him with leaves, as she did, for the sake of her young.  The panther is a ferocious and almost untamable animal, whose nature and habits are like those of the cat; except that the nature and powers of this domestic creature are in the panther immensely magnified, in strength and voracity.  It is in the American forest what the tiger is in Africa and India, a dangerous and savage animal, the terror of all other creatures, as well as of the Indian and the white man.”

The German Palatinates who settled in the upper Susquehanna were noted for their physical endurance and their fondness for sports, but the same can hardly be said of their desire for intellectual culture.  Perhaps they were no worse, in this respect, than circumstances made them.  Poverty and hard work were their portion, and the share was not stinted out to them.  There were no newspapers, that is, during the earlier history of the settlement, published at a nearer point than Albany.  Even those papers were but poor affairs.  They were filled with the unimportant doings of the Dutch burghers—­perhaps enlivened now and then, with a highly seasoned article, full of indignation because some obscure man in Massachusetts had committed a trespass by cutting a forest tree on the manor of Livingston.

School teachers were not numerous nor were they well qualified for their work.  School houses were at a great distance from most of the homes.  They were both comfortless and cheerless.  The snows were deep in winter and the weather was inclement.  In summer, even little hands were helpful at home.

In their sports, the settlers were often inclined to push a joke to rudeness, and what began in fun often ended in a fight.  Still, they were good-natured, honest people.  They were kind to those needing assistance, and if necessity became common so did the loaf of bread.