The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1876-10-12


next morning mounted men secured the
plain in every direction in search of the
rabid monster, but without avail; he
seemed to have gone quite off, and fur
Their apprehension was quieted. In con-
sequence no additional precautions were
taken the ensuing night; but again,
about midnight, the cry of "Mad wolfP'
rang through the camp. This time the
creature was among the cattle, and fed
after having severely bitten fine, large
bull, which was destined for Fort Will
liam, at the mouth of the Yellowstone,
to be employed in breeding, The wolf
might have been killed upon this occa,
ion, but for fear of accidents orders had
been given not to fire in camp; he was,
however, not long afterwards shot and
killed by Fontenelle's men.
A few days subsequent to these events
Fontenelle and Campbell broke camp
and started for the Big Horn river, the
latter on his way east with the years
accumulation of peltries, the former to
escort him as far as the river named.
The bull that had been bitten appeared
to be doing well, and Howe's wounds
were rapidly healing; but when some
two days march from the Big Horn, the
bull commenced to behave strangely,
indulging in protracted fits of fierce
believing, the while foaming at the
mouth and paving the ground with
silence. 1t was evident that he was
going mad, and poor Howe became
dreadfully alarmed for himself. He was
young man from New York, of good
family, and well educated, and had
sought the west and adopted the trap
per's vocation, impelled solely by the
spirit of adventure which leads so many
young men to make sacrifices the
advantages of good home and the COM
partnership Of friends to plung into a life
of hardship and danger. Howe had,
among other trappers, an excellent friend
named Larpenteur, then quite a young
man, who subsequently passed forty
years on the plains, and became well
known upon the frontier. AS they
marched along together, witnesses of the
mad antics and bellOwings of the bull,
Howe, with white face and trembling
voice, would say: "Larpentcur, don't
you hear the bull? He is going mad.
1 am beginning to get frightened. Do
you think shall go mad ?" Then, re-
Iapsing into painful thought on the hOr-
rible prospect, he would ere long again
break silence in piteous appeal to his
friends for the comforting assurance that
he should probably escape so dreadful a
fate. Larpenteur, with heart wrung
with afectionate sympathy, made these
questions in a voice of forced steadiness
as consoling a reply as he might; but
with the conviction in his heart that
Howe was doomed, his words but feebiy
concealed his own forebodings. The Big
Horn was reached. CampbelPs party,
including Larpenteur, fell to work upon
the boats of skins in which they were to
float down the Big Horn and Yellow
stone to the Missouri, while FO1tenelle
turned to scatter his band through the
beaver grounds to begin the seasons
trapping. Howe returned with FOn
tenelle, and thus did not witness the
death of the bull, which occurred soOn
after from we'll developed case o.
hydropAobia. But poor Howe was
constantly tortured with dread; he
seemed impressed with the hopelessness
of his escape, and bitter and terrible
were his reflections at the prospect O
thus miserably perishin', far from home
and friends-friends WHO might never
know his tate. Alas that he had evel
left them! Would that upon this
August day he might stand again within
hearing of the dear ones at that door
the door of his fathers house-out o
which not many months before, he hae
joyously passed, seeking adventure, anc
only achieving an end like this! Woulo
that the brown and treeless prairie
which he now traversed in such despOn
dency and horror, might be replaced b!
the green grass upon which he gambOleC
in boyhood, and the leafy coverts whose
graceful shade had sheltered him from
l. A.oAn ~, MANN q dow liz