The Morning herald., 1877-09-17
A WOLF HUNT IN RUSSIA.

You are aroused from an uneasy slumber on
the plank floor of an outlying shanty (be.
fore your have been asleep five minutes,
as it seems to you), by shake that might
have awakened the Seven Sleepen of
Ephesus, and gruff admonition to "tum.
bic up, and look sharp about it, for there's
no time to lose.' You tumble up, ACCORD
ingly, and, hurrying to the door, zee vague
~ through the darkness, the dim outline Of
o huge clumsy mass just in front of it, which
gradually shapes itself into big sledge
with unusually high and strong sides, capa-
ble of holding six or seven persons. Into
this capacious vehicle two peasants, whose
bearded faces come and go spectrally in the
the fitful lantern light, are slowing sundry
miscellaneous article - armfuls Of straw;
hatchets, rifles, thick rugs, and last, but
not least, young pig, who is protesting
against his compulsory embarkation with a
shrillness and volubility worthy of the ora
tor of an open:air meeting. But when you
venture to inquire what part in the pro-
gramme is assigned to this unusual passen-
ger, you receive only the oracular answer
that ''hell come in handy by=ana-by.
At length ali is ready; the sportsmen seat
themselves in the sled, the driver f1ourishes
his formidable whip with shrill "Yeoi!"
the horses break into smart trot, and away
we go. Onward, onward still, through cold
and darkness, over milo after mile of the
frozen plain, which, in the gray dimness of
the coming morn, looks vaster and drearier
than ever, till at length we see the shadowy
mass Of thStorest looming out in our 'front.'
and the shricks Of the pig (whese ears Our
leader Ii now pitching iustily) begin to be
answered by sound which we all know
well; not the long dismal howl wherewith
a supperless welf may be heard bemoaning
himself any winter night, mile or two be-
yond the 'barriers" of Moscow, but the
sharp, snarling cry of impatient hunger,
with it's prey full in view. And there they
come at last, the gaunt, alouehing, brisand-
like fellows With their sharp white fangs
laid bare, and their supken yellow eyes
cleaning with rage and thirst of blood. In
his normal condition there is no creature on
earth more mean and despicable than the
wolf of the Russian steppes; but when he
comes upon you by forties and ffties at a
time, infuriated by long hunger, and far
from all help, save that which your own
hand and rifle can give, he is an enemy by
no means to be sighted. But there is no
time for moralizing now; for already the
wolves are almost abreast of us, and it is
time to open fire. Bang and the FORE
most of the pack rolls over on his side, blot ,
ting the pure white SNOW with a smear Of
dull crimson. Bang, bang, again, and
down go two more, kicking convulsively;
but the rest swarm up around the sledge,
and now the fight begins in earnest.
Some try to seize the horses and fall be- !
fore the revolver of a young American en-
gineer who, with characteristic contempt of ,
danger, had taken the post of honor beside !
the driver Some attempt to leap over in
to the sledge, while we hammer them with
the but ends of our pieces, and slash them
across the eyes with huntmg-knives, our
comrades meanwhile blazing away at them
over our shoulders DIS fast as they can loads
What with the spectral outline Of the fro
zen trees on either side, the spraying snow,
the terrified horses plunging madly forward,
the dark, misty sky overhead, the flashes
Of the rifles breaking through the curling
smoke, and the savage yells of the wolves
mingling with the ear-pierciag whoops of
our driver, the whole scene might pass for
an attack of goblin highwaymen upon one
of those phantom mail coaches, in which the
Bagman's uncle made that memorable night
journey that so greatly astonished Mr..
Pickwick. 1t is warm work while it lasts;
but it does not last long. When stoutly
the VOLTS innate cowardice
always comes to the surface sooner or later.
Already two or three wary veterans, who,
having probably supped well over night,
have their doubts as to the prudence of
risk ng their lives for Hypothetical break
'ast, are beginning to turn tail. One by
one the rest follow their example; and when
we emerge at length from the labyrinth Of
rees into the open plain, now Frightening
With the first beams of the rising sun, we d
.an lust see the last of our assailants van '