Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1849-03-08

ground and the s,iil smouldering stubs Of grass
became insufferabIe 10 his feet, and then he
,urued to mount He now, for the first time,
looked a, the animal carefully, and to his hor-
,os saw that every hair upon its body was gone
and nothing bat the bare skin left, and that was
so badly scorched in places, that j, came OH to
The slightest touch This was dreadful enough,
hu,-wa,er! water! water! he must have that,
or they would both die. He sptahg into the
.addle and urged the wre,ched creature along
with The last energies of his sinking life. In
an hour he had began TO grow dizzy, and the
bIackene6 earth swan round and round, and
tossed him 10 and fro Now a strange roise
was abou, him, and the lifting waves OF the
earth would almost seem TO leap up into his
face. he would catch glimpses of huge wolves
cateering on them, who would turn up their
fery eyes TO his, and howl a, him with red hot
mouths and loling tongues Suddenly his horse
rushed down a steep bank, and there was
great splashing. Water! Blessed God, wa
Ter! He ,umbled from his saddle into the cold
delicious fluid In an instant his senses had
reiured, and he saw himself surrounded BY
thirty or forty prairie wolves, some oil whom
aere swimming in the water after him, while
The Others sal upon the bank Of the small lake,
as he now discovered il 10 be, aud howled
ferceIy al him He struck those which were
nearest with his gun barrel and beat them off.
while he had lime TO draw his heavy knife
One ofihem had seized his passive horse, who,
while it was endeavoring TO pull him down,
stood sull and drank-ihe long eager draughs.
He split uhe VOLTS head with his knife, and
Il, hal ofs sha xya rfor vel.
ling with their wounds. Blu, those opon the
bank only ho~ed The louder, and they were
answered. near at hand and from afar by hun
dreds Of oilers, who were swiftly gathering in
al ,he well known call TO banquet. He now
remembered that these wearied and internal
bTures always collec, in large numbers, to fol-
low in the wake OF great paririe FIRE and tear
,he ca.casses of those animals that are killed,
or band together. 10 chase and drag down those
taai come ,hlorgh alive, but scorched, blinded
and staggering, as was his poor horse. They
became very savage, with blood. impuniiy and
numbers, and very few creatures which have
escaped from the hungry flames can escape
from their yet more ravenous jaws. The crea.
,ures, at other times, are utterly contemplate
fCr their cowardice, but he shuddered when he
called TO mind the dreadful stories he had
heard of their deadly ferceness at such times
as This. "My God ~ he moaned aloud-"wasn'i
il bad enough for me 10 pass that hell OF flames
back yonde7 and have only escaped that TO
meet fate thousand times more hideous?" He
locked al his horse; the animal was now, too,
refreshed. and began 10 be conscious of The
new danger as it gazed around with staring eye
balls upon the eager and swiftly gathering
crowd that howled along the shore. He snor-
ted in afrigh', and lifted his head with wildly
;rournful neigh, that seemed 10 poor Dan the
most pi,eous sound that ever rung upon his ear
before. There was some comfort though, the
horse had life enough left in him TO make one
more run for safety. He mounted and after hav-
ing fred his rifle, with deliberate aim, into the
,hickest of them, charged right through at fnll
speed. They leaped at his feet and attempted
10 seize his horses legs, but the animal was too
MORALLY frighrend for them 10 impede his way
for an instant. Through he trampled, and away
across The prairie he flies, snoring with terror,
and moving with as great speed as if perfectly
fresh, and away loo, in pursuit, swept The yell
!ing herd of wolves. They were more than a
heEdred now, and seemed increasing in num-
hers at every jump, for as Dan glanced his
frightened eyes around, he would see them
Strengthened out with speed and their mouths
wide open, coming to join the terrible route from
every direction over The prairie. He looks be-
hind him-they were close upon his heels
he great pau of them, particularly those in
front, and who seemed mos, fierce and rayenous,
we're scorched nearly naked, and with The
white foam flying. their red tongues. their fiery
glazing eyes, they presented the mos, hidous
picture of uneaf,hly terror that ever mortal
lived TO be chased by before. unless by The hor-
rible phantasmagoria of madness! He fred
his pistols back a. them. but it made no differ
eRce. they only yelled the louder, and came
on the more fercey. while FIVE joined their
long train for each one that he had killed ri
his horse should only fall or give out, they would
both be torn to fragments in an instant! This
appalling conviction caused him 10 give all of
eye and nerve that were left him in the mortal
frigh, 10 sleadying and guiding his horse. for
the only hope now lay in him. He soon per.
ceired, however, that he was leaving the pack
far behind, for there is little comparison be-
tween the speed of The horse and ,ha. Of the
paririe wolf.
He now began 10 feel something of hope, and
as the frantic speed Of his horse placed yet a
greaer distance between them, the unimagina-
bie dread seemed 10 be lifting from bis life
Now he could not hear their wells, and could
barely distinguish far in the rear, the long snake
hke train vet moving on thyough in ,be roloot |