The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1859-05-21
A Russian WolfHunt.

any sort of carriage, drawR by three horses
Its Name being derived from its team and
not ia form, The middle horse trots always.
the leil hand and right hand horses must III
Ssss FAll1P. The middlG harae tlala With
his head hanging down, and he IL called the
anoW-eaier, The two others have only one
rein, and they are fastened 60 the poles by
me middle Of the body aud glllup their
heads FREQ they are called the furious. The
troika h driven by a sure eoachman, II there
is such thing In the world as sure coach.
man. A pig 10 tied 10 the rear Of the ychi-
Gle by rope, or chain, Gur greater seeud-
~ some twelve yards long. The pig ia kept
~ the vehicle until the huntsmen reach the
forest where the hunt Is 10 take place, when
he b taken out and the horses started. The
pig, not being accustomed 20 this gait. squeals,
and his squenls soon degenerate into lamen-
talons Ills cries bring out one wolf, who
gives the pig chase then two wolves, then
three, then ten, then lfty wolves, all posting
as hard ~ they can go after the poor pig,
Fighting among themselves Tor the best places,
suapping and striking al the poor pig at eve
~ opportunity, who squeals With despair 80
These squcnls Of rgony arouse all the Wolvos
iu The forest within a crcdit Of three miles,
and the :goika is followed by an immense
flock Of wolves. IL il now a good driver is
indispensable. The horses have an instinct
iNe horror Of wolves and go almost crazy
they run as fast ns they can 20. The hunts.
men fire as fact as they can load-there il no
necessity 10 take any aim. The pig squeals
the horses neigh-the wolves howl-the
guns rattle IL Is concert TO make Mcphis-
topheles jealous. A long as the dri' or com
mands his horses, fast ns they may be- run
ning away, there Is no danger. Bat, II he
ceases 10 be master Of them, IL they baulk,
II the iroikn is upset, there is no hope. The
next day, or the day nhrr, or n week after
wards, nothing will remain of the party but
the wreck Of the trokn, the barrels Of the
guns, and the larger bones Of the horses
huntsmcn and driver.
Last winter prince Rupert went on one Of
these hunts, aud il came very near being his
last hunt lie VAS on n visit with two Of
his friends TO one of his estates near the
stcppc, and they determined 10 go on a wolf
hunt They prepared large sleigh In which
three persons could move with ease, three
vigorous hcr.es we're put into it,aud they Sc
lecied for n driver u man born in the country
and Thoroughly experienced in the sport. Ey-
cry huutsmun had pair of double barrel
guns hundred aud fifty b III cartridge. /.
was night when they reached the strppc that
h, an immense prairie covered with snow.
beams rcfrnctcd by the snow gave light
scarcely inferior to day light. The pig was
put out Of the sleigh and the horses whipped
up. As soon as the pig felt that he was drng-
ged he began To squeaL A wolf or two ap.
prared, hut they we're timd, aud kept a long
ways of Their numbers gradually increased
ana as iheir numbers augmented they became
holder. There were about twenty wolves
when they came within gun range OF the tro-
ika. One Of the party fred wolf fell
The flock became alarmed and half fed away.
ytE al a. ,,sI
behind TO devour their dead companion. The
gaps were soon filled. On every side howls
answered howls, on every side short noses
and brilliant eyes were seen peering. The
guns rattle volley after volley But the flock
of wolves increase instead of diminishing
BHrt a 'si,s-t,at At,el bat = yaat hird
OF wolves in thick serried culumns, which gave
chase TO the sleigh. The wolves bounded for
ward so rapidly they seemed TO fly over the
snow, and sulghtv. rot a sound was heard 2
their Plumbers continued To increase and in
crease, md increase they seemed 20 he a 81
lent tide drawing nearer and uearerand which
the guns of the party, rapidly ns they were
discharged, had no effect upon. The wolves
formed vast crescent. whose horns began 10
encompass the horses. Their number in.
creased so rapidly they seemed To spring out
of the ground. There was something weird
p IN the appearance, far where ecuuld three
thousand wolves come from in such desert
of snow. The party had taken the pig into
the sleigh his squeal increased the wolves
boldncss. The party continued To fire. but
they had now used above half their nmmuni-
ton. and had but two hundred cartridges lcft
while they were surrounded by three thou
sand wolves. The two horns Of the crescent
became nearer and nearer, and threatened To
cnVelop the party If one of the horses
should have given out, the fate Of the whole
party was sealed.
"What do you think Of this, Ivan ?" said
Prince Rupert, speaking to the driver.
al had rather be ut home. Prince
Are you afraid of any evil consequences 2'
&" The devils hayetasted blood, and the more
you fire, the more wolves you'll have"
"What do you think is the best thing to
be done p"
Make the horses 10 fnster."
Are YOU sure of the horses ?"
"Nes, Prince"
Are you sure Of our safety P7
The driver made no reply. He quickened
the horses and tdrned their heads towards
home. The horses flew faster than ever
The driver excited them to increased speed
by a sharp whistle, and made them describe
a curve which intcrsectcd one of the horns
of the crescent. The wolves opened their
ranks and let the horses pass. The Prince
raised his gun to his shoulder.
"For Gods sake don't fire 81 exclaimed
the driver, ave are dead mon if you do !"
lie obeycd Ivan. The wolves asloniSheG
by this unexpected act, remained motionless
for a minute. During this minute the troika
was vcrst from them. When the wolves
started again after it, il was too late, they
could no: overtnke it. A quarter of an hour
ahorward they we're in sight of home. Prince
Rupert thinks his horses ran at least six miles
in these fifteen minutes He rode over the
stcppe the next day. and found the bones Of
more than two hundred wolves.
You WOULDN'T BITE 4 BLIND Boy ~
On one of the Michigan Central Railroad
trains the other morning, an incident occur
red which created considerable merriment.
A blind boywho has the run of the cars for the
purpose Of selling knickknncks, entered the