Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1875-02-17
The Skater and tho wolves,
A rERlLoUS ADVENTURE IN CANADA.

Durln9 lhc winter OF 1914 1 had
much leisure to devote to the sports
of a new country. To none Of these
was | more given up than to skating
The lonely lakes, frozen by the in
tense cold ofa Northern winter, pres
ent wide field to the lovers Of this
pastlme. Often would I bind on my
saktes and glide away up the glitter
ing river. Sometimes | would follow
the track Of a fox or otter and run my
skates along the mark he had left
with his dragging tail, until the trail
would enter the woods. Sometimes
these excursions were made by moon
light and it was ON one Of these oc,
casions that had an adventure, which
even now | cannot recall without 4
nervous feeling,
| had left my friends house one
evening just before dusk, with the, in
tcntion Of skating a short distance up
the noble river which gllded before
the door. The night was beautifully
clear y peerless moon sailed over
the heccy clouds. stals tNylnkled from
the sky and from every frost-covercd
tree in millions. Light also came
glinting from ice, and snow-wreath,
and encrusted branches, as the eye
followed for miles the broad CLEAN of
the river, that like a jewcled belt
swept between the mighty forests on
its banks. And yet all was still. The
cold seemed to have frozen trees, and
air, and every living thing, Even
the ringing Of my skates echoed
back from the hill with startling clear
ness.
| had gone M the river nearly two
miles, when, coming to a little stream
which emptied into the larger, turn.
ed to explore lis course. Fir and
hemlock Of a century's growth, met
overhead, and formed IN arch-way,
radiant with frost-Work All was
dark within but ] was young and
fearless, and as | entered into an I'M.
broken forest that reared itself on the
borders Of the stream. | shouted with
very ioyousncss. My hurrah ranq
through the woods, and | stood listen.
lag to the echo that reyer0erated
again and again, until all was hushed
Suddenly q sound arose-it seemed tC
me to come from beneath the ice, il
was so low and tremulOus at first, but
it ended in one long, wild yell. | was
appalled,. Never before had such g
noise met my ears. Presently heard
the brushwood on shore crash, as
though from the tread OF some ami
mal-the blood rushed to my fore
head-my energies returned, and
looked around me for some means Of
escape.
The moon shone through the open
inc on the mouth OF the creek by
which | had entered the forest, and
seeing this to be my one means of es
cape, | darted toward it. 1t was hard
ly a hundred yards distant, and the
swallow could hardly have eXcellcd
me in flight yet, as | turned my
head to the shore, | could see two
Z !; objects dashipg through the
.,ushwood at a pace nearly double in
speed to my own. BY the great
speed and the short yells which they
cave, ! knew at once that these were
the much dreaded gray wolves.
had never met with these animals
but, from the description given oi
them, had little pleasure in making
their acquaintance. Their fiercenes>
and their untiring strength render
them objects Of dread to every be
nighted traveller. With their long
gaIlop they pursue their prey, never
straying from the track Of their vic
tim and though, perhaps, the weari
ed hunter thinks that he has at last
outstripped them, he finds that they
have but waited for the evening to
seize their prey.
The bushes that skirted the shore
flew past me as dashed on in my
flight to pass the narrow opening. Tc
the outlet was nearly gained-a few
seconds more and | would be compar.
atively safe but in moment my
pursuers appeared on the bank above
me, which here rose to the hight Of
ten feet. There was no time fol
thought bent my head and dashec
forward. The wolves sprang, but mis-
calculating my speed, they fell behind