The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-08-27
THE DAILY DISPATCH,
From the Romance Of Adventure.
A FEARFUL ENGAGEMENT.

farmer OF La Madeleine, on the borders of
burgundy, who was surrounded In all direc.
iions by wolves, CHANGING to have a young
colt die, thought il good opportunity to Law
bait for some of his savage enemies, and ac.
cordngly, at night fall, placed it on a truss of
straw IN the midst Of his farm yard, surround
ed on all sides by high walls. To the folding
gates which led into the yard he had attached
| ropes, communicating with the interior of the
house, so that at any moment it was ossible
to close them. Having muzzled and shut up
| the dogs, to prevent their barking, the farmer
and his family took up their post of observa.
| ton within doors, to watch the events of the
| night.
1t was not long before they heard the sound
| of wolves advancing. and could perceive them
| by the light OF the moon, shifting the air at
the entrance Of the yard. evidently attracted
powerfully by the tempting aroma of horse
| flesh on the one hand, and apprehensive of
| some peril 10 themselves if they entered in, on
| the other. They move about restlessly, now
| apparently yielding to the power of appetite,
| and then again stopped by fear. At last, one
great monster, whose hunger was keener, or
whose courage greater than that of the rest,
| bounded onward, seized portion of the prey,
ana quickly made his retreat with the piece of
| flesh in his mouth. Emboldened by his impu-
| nifty, the rest OF the pack entered, and greediy
seized upon the carrion-whch, il must be
| mentioned, the farmer had heavily weighted,
| TO prevent its being carried away. As soon as
they had fairly ct commenced their FEAST the sig
nal was Civ en-. the ropes drawn, the gates sud-
| denly closed, and the wolves, eight in number,
| found themselves captives, encompassed by
walls too lofty for them TO leap, and withouta
| hole through which they could find exit
walls, in fact built for the express purpose of
| serving as barrier against their incursions,
| and therefore equally capable of serving as
| their prison. Seeing their foes thus secured,
the party in the house retired for the night de-
| ferring further operations Till the morning.
AT break of day, they looked upon the scene.
| Their captives were restless and uneasy. Their
sagacity told them they had been trapped, aud
they were running round and round like rats
in cage, perpetually searching for some mode
Of escape. The fa,mer end his men took their
| firearms, and stationing themselves. some on
| the top OF the wall, and others at the windows,
opened their fire.
They succeeded but slowly in the ir work of
destruction. The wolf is tenacious of life, the
| men were Indifferent marksmen, and the diff
| Guilty of hitting the creatures was rendered
greater by their lncessant motion. Irritated
| by such wounds they had received they
| ran hilher and thther with mad impetuosty,
and bounded with immense agility in their eff
| forts either TO get at their assailants. or TO
oyerleap the walls by which they were inpris-
| oned.
At length one of the party, a mere youth, in
| orIer totake steadier aim, besuode the top of
| the wall, his feet hanging down on either side.
| A large and powerful wolf, making a desper-
ate spring, brought his jaws fearfully nearthe
| young mans foot, who, attempting hurriedly
| to lift his leg out OF danger, lost his balance,
| and fell headlong into the courtyard beneath.
| The wolves were Immediately upon him, ea>
| ger to avenge the art that had ensnared Them
| apd tho yxprndS trpm which thew were smo,t,
| ing. For moment CONSERVATION seized the
| companions of the poor lad. The fearful shrek
| he uttered as he fell, and the sight of the
wolves fastening on his throat, paralysed them.
Their first instinct was to cease firing, for they
| saw that their bullets mil hit hit the young
man. The farmer was the first to recover his
presence of mind, and with gallant self.devo-
ton, leaped into the yard TO the rescue, and
| found himself in tine midst of eight furious
| wolves. His example WAS followed by the
| rest of the party, and terrific conflict ensued.
Each side fought with the energy Of despeTa-
| ton, and the victim whose mischance had pre-
cipitated this terrible scene lay bleeding and
| groaning in the midst. Mans strength, un,
aided by arms, is of little avail against mon
sters so powerful, and the wolves were rapidly
| getting the upper hand of their enfeebled COM
batants, when the farmers vile, who was
| terrified witness of the scene, remembered the
| dogs that were muZZled and shut up in the
| house. She Immediately unbound their mouths
| and threw them from a window into the yard.
| This incident changed the fortune of the day.
| The struggle was sustained with renewed
vigor and at the end of half an hour the eight
wolves lay dead upon the ground; one halt the
| dogs of the farm lay at their side; the lad, who
| had fallen from the wall, too, was a manged
corpse, and not a man had escaped without Sc
| rlOus wounds.
Numerous are the tragedies of this nature
| recounted by the firesidcs OF Burgundy, where
| the presence of these fierce creatures, in num-
bers scarcely diminished by all the efforts an
| nuaIly made TO extirpale them, occasions q
constant feeling of terror.
| THE LAKE ERIE DisAsTER.-FURTHER
| PARTICULARs.-The exact number OF persons
| lost by this terrible calamity has not yet been
correctly ascertained, and will not, very pro-
| baby, for some days.
| From the latest Buffalo papers we learn
| that there were one hundred and ten cabin pas
sengers on board the Atlantic, of whom seven
| ty were saved and of emlgrants, II 10 said,
| there were about four hundred, one hundred
and forty seven OF whom alone are left. This
makes the total number lost about three hun
| dred-a terrible destruction OF human LIE.
MIR. Blake, OF Connecticut, who escaped
| from the Atlantic, estimates that OF the 500 or
| 600 on board, not over 125 were saved-Ina-
king nearly 400 persons who have pershed.-
He says that so crowded was the Atlantic that
the captain had to Leave SO or 6O at Buffalo
| He describes the night as almost clear, and
thinks that the strongest censure is deserving
some here.
A little girl, IL years old, from New York,
was on board, going TO her friends in Mi~ au-
ke, and was put under the charge Oft strange
gentleman. When retiring Tor The night, she
| told the chambermaid she was very nervous
travelling without her mamma, and asked her
il the boats ever ran against each other ON the
lake, as they did in rivers (elluding TO the loss
OF the Henry Ciay.) The chamoernaid told
1 Il L.. LIB he