February 7, 1896: THE COLLETT BOY'S ADVENTURE
Going to school in the far northwest is attended sometimes with the possibility of rare adventures. In the valley of the North River, in Chehalis County,
Wash., not only bears, but cougars, are very common. A newspaper of that section relates that the little son of Presley
Collett, 7 years old, who lives about a mile from the village of Artic, went to the post office on his way home from school.
This was a fortunate proceeding for the little Collett boy, for at the post office, Roden Wade's dog came up to him. The dog
knew him, and the little Collett boy patted him on the head, and the result was that the dog following the boy on his way home.
As the little fellow was trudging along the lonely road, with the dog a trifle in advance, he felt something snatching and nibbling at his
trousers. He looked around and saw a great, savage animal following and crouching behind him.
It was a cougar and a very large
one at that. The child uttered a fearful shriek, jumped ahead as if he had been shot, and ran down the road as fast as his small legs could
carry him.
Meantime the dog came back and attacked the cougar ferociously. He was a small dog and not for a moment a match for
the cougar, and spite of a noble struggle, was quickly torn to pieces. But his attack detained the cougar long enough to enable the flying
boy to get a considerable distance down the road.
Here he came across William Valentine, 17 years old. William ran into his house
and got a gun and came back after the cougar. Any Chehalis County boy of 17 is a good shot, and Valentine, as soon as he caught sight of the
cougar tearing and eating the dog, aimed a shot at the animal, which ended its life.
The cougar measured a little over 6 feet
from tip to tip. He would undoubtedly have made a meal of the Collett boy if the dog had not offered himself for that purpose--Youth's Companion.
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