The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-08-04
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Louis, carried the alarmed youth to that place,
where party was soon raised ard despatched
10 the relief Of the hunter. But they search
ed in vain for the place Of his captivity
| From some cause not now recollected,the trace
Of the horse was obliterated, and the boy in
his agitation had SO far forgotten the land
! marks as to be totally unable TO lead them to
The spot. They returned after weary and
unsuccessful search the hunter was heard Of
no more, and no doubt remained Of his having
| persisted miserably in the cave. Some wears
afterwards, the aperture Of The cavern was
discovered, in spot so hidden and so difficult
Of access MS TO escape the notice of those who
had passed near il. Near the mouth was
found the skeleton Of the bear, and within the
cave, that OF the Frenchman, with his gun and
equipments, all apparently in the same con-
dition as when he died. That he should have
persisted of hunger, from mere inability to eff.
feet his escape by removing the body Of the
bear, seems improbable. because supposing
him to be unable by main strength TO effect
this object, il would hnve cost him but little
labor to have cut up and removed the animal
by piecemeal. II is most likely either that he
was sufocated, or that he had received some
injury, which disabled him from exertion.--
The cave bears name which commentaries
the event. "A
The other circumstances to which we al
hide, occurred in Munroe county, in Illinois
There are in many parts Of this country,
singular depressions or basins, which the in
habitants call sink-holes. They are some
times very deep, circular at the top, with
steep sides, meeting in a point at the bottom,
atxy4. al Il. IL -
bottom Of one Of these, party of hunters
discovered the den Of she wolf, and ascer-
tanned that 1t contained a litter of whelps
Resolved TO destroy the latter, they assembled
at the place. On examining the entrance to
the den, il was found TO be perpendicular,
and SO narrow as 10 render il impossible or
very difficult for man to enter; and as no
ton prevails among the hunters, that the fe-
male wolf only visits her young at night, it
was proposed TO send in boy to destroy the
whelps. A fine, courageous boy, armed with
knife, was accordingly thrust into the ca
vern, where, to his surprise, he found himself
in the company Of the she wolf, whose
glistening eye-balls, white teeth, and surly
voice, sufficiently announced her presence
The boy retreated towards the entrance, and
called to his friends to inform them that the
old wolf was there. The men told him that
he was mistaken: and that the old wolf never
stayed with her young in daylight; and ad-
vised him to go boldly up to the bed and de-
stroy the litter. The boy, thinking that The
darkness Of the cave might have deceived
him, returned, advanced boldly, and laid his
hand upon the she wolf, whe sprung upon
him. and bit him very severely, and would
probably have killed him, had he not defend
ed himself with resolution. One or two OF
the men now succeeded in efeciiug an en-
trance the wolf was shot and her offspring
destroyed
" hich takes It's name from the habit Of re-
siding entirely on the open plains. Even
when hunted with dogs, it will make circuit
after circuit round the prairie, carefully
avoiding the forest, or only dashing into it
occasionally when hard pressed. and then re-
turning TO the plain. In size and appearance,
this animal is midway between the wolf and
the fox, and in color it resembles the latter
being OF very light red. 1t preys upon
poultry, rabits, young pigs, calves, &c. The
most friendly relations subsist between this
and the common wolf, and they constantly
hunt in packs together. Nothing is more
common than to see a large black wolf in
company with several of the prairie wolves.
The latter resembles the jackal of Asia, and
if not the same animal, is variety but little
distinguished from it. The prairie wolf is
timid, and seldom approaches farm house at
which dogs are kept. They are said to have
particular aversion TO the yell Of the hound
and to disappear entirely from the neighbor-
hood where apack is kept for hunting.
Some years ago an agricultural society,
established at the seat Of Government in
Illinois, offered large premium to the person
who should kill the greatest number of wolves
in one year. The Legislature at the same
time offered bounty for each wolf scalp that
should be taken. The consequence was that
the expenditure for wolf scalps became so
great, as 10 render it necessary to repeal the
law. These animals, although still numerous
and troublesome to the farmer, are greatly
decreased in number, and are no longer dan
gerous to man. We know of no instance in
late years, Of a human being having been at
tackled by them,
From Hateyton's Natural History