Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-05-22

And so, without regarding her mothers
warning that there was storm brewing,
she started out III her canoe to 90 down the
lake to get a team, with which to 90 for
Harry. Her own was an OK team, and to
go i'll the stage was costly, and besides
Harry couldn't stand the dav and night
riding in the stage, for the distance was
hundred and forty miles She hired team
for trip to St. Paul. She could not get
1t till the Monday following, and so she
wrote a letter to Harry, telling him that
she was coming, and then started to paddle
around the shore and look at her traps.
When she got to Il place which she and
Harry had called Rocky Harbor, OH the
opposite side Of the lake. she found a dead
deer, partly eaten by wolves, and knowing
that the wolves would return after dark
she set several traps for them. Then she
hastencd back to her canoe, for it was now
late, aud there could be no doubt but that
the November storms, with which the
Winter almost always begins, were now at
hand
But before she could set foot into her
canoe the storm came, and in an instant
the air was so filled with snow that an OBJ
took but a moment for Polly to appreciate
her situation. To paddle across the lake
III such storm was out of the question.
The wind was coming up. and it would be
alike impossible to coast around the shore
Besides it was a great distance, and Ice
would begin to form before she could ret
half way. There were no families living
on that side of the lake. Her only course
was to stay where She was. Her spirit
sunk for a moment, but she dashed away
the tears that came up from desolate
heart and set about making the best Of it.
She found a large log lying III Il rayine.
Dragging her canoe from the water, She
laid II upside down parallel with the log,
about three feet away from it. She then
cut brush and laid across them. to form a
roof Creeping under this shelter, She was
soon buried beneath two feet of snow. and
50 felt sure Of not freezing. There is no
better protection from cold than the snow.
1t was a lonely place. She could hear
her heart beat. But when the wolves COM
menced to gather for their midnight re-
past, and when they set up their trightlul
howls, she could feel the hair raise up on
her head She would have been brave
enough if she could have fought with the
wolves, but to lie there and listen to their
unearthly yelling not knowing how soon
the hungry pack would find her, was more
than She could endure. And then she
thought of poor Harry, and of the land
sale and she wished for the skins OF the
wild beasts that were 50 near her. For,
though the wolf-skin Is of little or no value
for the ordinary purposes to which turS are
applied, it i in considerable demand for
lap-robes And remembering that she was
on the leeward side Of the wolves, she du4
away the snow at one end Of her burrow
and looked out Then, growing bolder,
She crept out to clump Of little bushes
near by through which she could plainly
see them For by this time il had ceased
showing, and the moon was shining, though
the wind still blew. She leveled her gun
at them two or three times before she could
get courage enough to fire. At the first
shot she killed one, and the pack scattered
a little. but the smell of the fresh blood oi
the dead wolf brought them back again.
Several times She fred with like success.
But one Of the wolves in moving round,
caught sight of her. When a wolf sees
any living object, he Immediately endeav-
ors to get to the lecward of it, in order to
tell by the scent what it Is. wolf de
pends on his nose in such matters, and not
at all upon his eyes. This one, when he
caught sight of Polly, commenced to make
a circle in order to get where his nose
would inform him what kind Of an animal
she was Crowding the ball down quickly,
she fired Just in time to keep the wolf from
finding her out and calling the rest Of the
pack with his howl. The wolf rolled over
in the snow.
Another one came near running right ON
her, but she fired in time to save herself.
But this last fright alarmed her 50 that
she did not dare fire again. till she had
climbed a tree From this point she kept
up Il fire upon them till daylight, when
thew left As the result Of the nights
work, Polly found that she had killed nine-
teen wolves, and frozen one Of her fingers
almost off Two of the wolves had been
torn by the others but there were seventeen
tolerable good skins.
Before she dared undertake to skin them
she found it necessary to have fire to
keep her hands from freezing. BY whit
Ting thin bass-wood shayings from her
canoe-paddle, and taking cotton from her
| clothing, she was able to start fire by
striking a percussion cap III the midst of 4
bunch Of cotton with little powder seat
tered through it, 1t took her till noon to
take the skins from the wolves, and by the
middle of the afternoon the severe cold had
frozen the lake in its narrowest part, 50
that she ventured to In order to
| take her wolf-skins across, she was obliged
to make a little sledge Of the crotch OF a
small tree Ofcourse there had been great
distress at home on account OF her absence,
and great was the Joy at her return.
\ day or two later she put her furs on II
sled and started for st. Paul. When she
rot to Mankato, she took a load Of wheat
for St Paul gettinga good price for haul
inc it. When she arrived in the city, her
first care was to find Harry and TO cheer
him up, which she did most effectually.
He said her merry laugh was better than
all the tonics III the drug stores. She told
Harry that if she could get a load back,
She thought her furs would be sufficient to
pay for forty acres, and the other one hum
dred and twenty they would have to let
:. old Van Dyke" as she called him, have.
And so you've turned tcamster, have
YOU. little woodchuck ," said Harry, rails
ing himself up iii bed.
Any thing to save you and the old
home, Harry"
That day she sold her filrs. What was
her surprise to find that the rare and beau
tiful silver-black fox was worth, not ten
dollars, but sixty-fve. For the average
of black or silver-gray skins is fifty dollars,
and hers was an uncOmmonly ine one