The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1867-02-15

/ Az Iust Jne ODlecJ OF dlitnlS eXctJe
ment was so far recovered as to be
enabled to yield to the entreaties oil
those who surrounded hei, and In q
broken voice and amidst very gen.
eral silence she spoke as follows: )
'"I had heard that All old relation
Of mine, who lives in neighboring
village was dangerously Ill, and de-
termined to set out and see IL could
be of any assintance Early this
morning I harnessed our horse TO
the little sledge and set OUT iJ'm
"AloneY' asked the young serf
pointedly, still swinging the hatchet
in his hand. " u -fIf'T1.| lIIi1.F
| The bystanders we'll understood
the meaning OF the question, and the
same word seemed involuntarllly to
escape from their lips. I .' '-'--
"Alone2" I.'f :. '.... '-sp
1t may be as we'll here to give o
short explanation, which will account
in some way for the exclamation.
When the Russian troops which
had conquered Finland under the
command Of General Buxoyden were
returning home again, they were fol.
lowed by countless troops of bears
and wolves, who ragged and quarrel
led over the bodies of those who
from time to time died of cold or ia.
|tigue, and howled for the scraps of
food left behind by the conquering
army, The province which the army
passed through was infested by these
fierce ANIMALS long after its depart.
ure, and they soon became the terror
of the humble peasantry who lived
in the district. They were not con-
tent with devouring the various do.
nestle dogs and cats that came in
their way, but fiercely attacked any
human creature that crossed their
path. 1t became impossible to trav
eel in safety at any hour OF the day
upon any frcquented road without a
very. strong escort, Any one who
neglected these necessary precau.
tions paid the penalty of his careless
ness by hideous death. In the
course Of the preceding winter forty
human beings in this particular dis
.trict had fallen prey either TO bears
or wolves.
"Alone!' answered the young wo-
man in a strange, unnatural voice,
half choked with sobs;"unhappily for
me was not alone! Why, in heavens
name, did risk such Journey Do
not compel me, l beg you, to relate
the horrors have gone through,
and all the miseries Of this awful
morning. .u. .r.H..s ...fr.y ls.i.
L "What has happened to your Who
went with youp' still usked many of
those who surrounded the woman,
and whose attention and curiosity
was now thoroughly reused. t'n19
miserable woman that I am" an
swered she, IL took with me my
three little children, the eldest of
whom was about five years Old, the
youngest little darling only six
months old and still at the breast"
An exclamation of horror ran
through the circle of bystanders, and
each one at last seemed to guess the
hideous truth. And then, amidst
a more awful silence tnan before, the
young woman went on with her sto,
ry. 3''h' ..'tb H'' Li N1He-'
"It was a lovely morning, the road
In tolerable good order, and the old
horse trotted merrily along. My
two little boys played at my feet and
the little one slept on my bosom. /
was in high spirits, and happy at the
thought that ! was able to get away,
and so perhaps, be of service to my
poor old. relative. "a. My happiness,
however, was not Of long duration. Il
About an hour after our departure
from the village, the thought struck
me how daring and ventursome it'll
was to travel alone with my little
ones through,a a vast desert Of snow,
cut off from aid and far away from
human habitation. Then for the first
time | began TO remember all the
dreadishsaeeidents that had befallen
lonely trayellers m our neighbor,
hoOa, and almost made up my mind
to turn back again. This fear grew
upon me, and it increased more than
ever when perceived that the track
in the snow had become so narrow
that all chance of turning back in
safety was cut off. On / was oblig-
cal to go, whether ! would or not
My terror still kept increasing; but /
dare not let the children know that
l apprehended any danger. l listen
ed anNiously, e and Inagnified the
sound / heard. The track
got narrower and narrower, and at
last, as we were passing belt of fir
trees l heard distinctly behind me an
awful sound. ! knew well what it
was. In an instant ! turned around
and saw that We We're pursued by a
pack of hungry wolves. Now that
the danger was so imminent my cour-
age seemed to get stronger. l mad
ly lashed the horse, and he set off at
a wild excited gallop. 1t was too
late. Two Of the largest wolves,
with red faring eyes and hideous
open jaws, were already at the
horses fanks, and raced with him
along the sno ". covered track On
the horses life depended my life and
the life of my children" If he died
we were all lost. Cost what it might,
the horses life must, be saved, /
thought. IA horrible thought flashed
across me, and instead of repelling
IN I accantad IL No m ;.o.i.o.;a-