Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1880-03-19

stronger. I madly dashed the horse,
and hesset off stai whd, excited gsllop
Il was too Late . Two q the largest
wolves, with red, glaring eyes and hid.
eous, open jaws, were already ct the
horses tanks, and raced with him
along the snow-covered tract. On the
horses life depended my life and that of
my children. H he died We we're all
lost. Cost what it might, the horses
lite might be saved, I Thought. a .hor7
rible thought flashed across me, and,
instead of repelling il, I accepted
it as an inspiration from heaven.
In cold blood I made up my
mind. and in cold blood { calculated
the awful consequences 81 my plan.
At this very instant, mysecond boy, :
child about 8 years old, chung to
me and cried piteously.. The boys sobs
seemed to excite the demonisc animals
more than ever, and they gained on the
galloping horse. Without knowing
what I was doing, and with, almost nm
involuntary movement, I seized the
shrieking child by the hair, and dropped
him behind the sledge. Il saw him sink
into the soft snow; thore was one wild
cry, and then theswolyes stopped short
whore the boy had fallen. All this
passed in less than an instant. For .
minute I thought we.were saved; but it
was not 50. The little ones cries had
hardly died away in the distance when
two more wolves appeared at the side
OF the sledge. The awful sacrifice I
had made had been useless, and we
were in as much danger is ever. The
same fiendish thought took possession
OF me, and again my mind was made
up. I looked first TO the little darling
nesting closely to my breast, aid. then
/ turned to my. eldest boy, who was
pale with fear and clutched nervously
10 the folds of my Dress,
"tOh, mother he whispered, = / will
be goodl I won't cry;5 really ]. won't
oryl Oh, mother, don't throw me into
the SNOW = There was heavy mist
before my eyes, and I hardly recolleot
what I did. viii God, have mercy on
me2 + you could only know What +
suffered thenl My little daughter
nestled closer than ever to my breast
She must be saved, I thought. Must I
say what happened7 You can guess
Ny eldest boy died a. his brother Had
died before him.
Must you hear the rcst7 Twas al
most mad now; the bowling of the
wolves, the horse, the last cries Of my my
children, the awful thought Of seeing
my baby torn from my arms, the dread
of death-al mingled into . terrible
+ nightmare. ! could not move hand OF
foot; my eyes were fixed, and still I
clasped my babe to my bosom. 1 dared
not look behind me; but at last I heard
terrible howl in my ear, and Tor d Sec
ond 7 felt something on my shoulder.
Why did I not taintl Mechanically I
turned my head. ], saw q wolf with
open jaws olinging by his claws to the
back Of the ,sledge., He made q halt
opring at me, missed his hold, and fell
back into the snow. Three times he
made fresh spring, and three times
he missed his hold. The fourth
time he got :" his claws on the
sledge again.. and there for a few
seconds he hung. There was only one
chance, to dash him back before he
could get firm hold. His claws stuck
deep into my fingers, aud by main force
l tried to wrench them from the sledge.
It was desperate struggle, and 1 had
almost succeeded, when my baby fell
from my arms. From that moment to
the time when first heard the sound of
human voices can remember nothing.
The ,reins had long fallen from my
hands; l knew the horse was galloping
on, but I can recollect no more. I have
no conception where we have been or
how got here" 80 n.
The young woman again covered her
face with her hands and burst into a
passionate flood of tears. There was
an awful silence ii the room, broken
every now and. then by the hysterical
sobs of many of the women and girls
who stood round. The men, trembled,
too, and looked steadily on the ground,
but did not speak word. At Last q
white: haired woman began to speak
some words of consolation in q low,
oAOAk1OAuS VOACos Anu0u1AtSly Gu0
young serf, who had his Ratchet still in
his hands, strobe toward the miserable
woman. He was deadly pale and trem,
bled in every limb; the expression in
his face had changed suddenly. !. He
glared fierce]y at the young woman and
at the old peasant, who was still trying
to console her. .a.sss,r. -.
@Be still, motheri" he Numbered out:
the wretched woman deserves none of
your pity" =
And then he turned to her. ''.'' So
:" Unhappy and most miserable woman !;
is it possible that you have done all
that you have related? You are q
mother, you tell us, and yet you have
killed your children one by, one, Not
one would you spare, not even the boy
who prayed to you on his knees, or the
baby child who smiled upon your
breast. To save your own life you
have sacrificed theirs, for you had not
the courage to die with them. Woman !
you do not deserve the name. You are
unworthy to live. Prepare"
There was wild shire Kin the room,
and the woman fell at his feet. In an
instant the peasants guessed the mad
purpose of the young serf. T wo of the
strongest rushed forward to stop his
hand. They were: too late. A wild,
awful light glittered in the young mans
eyes with almost supernatural strength
he dashed the peasants back The
Ratchet whistled through the air, and III
an instant the unhappy woman was dead
at his feet. ~| 'a>,-s'' y ~ e~F = - --.s
- 80
Three months after the terrible scene
related above the. young serf was
brought up before the highest criminal
court and charged with willful murder.
There was mo- need to prolong the
trial. The young serf was found guilty
Of murder and condemned to die. Il. ~
But eventually, by the: direct com.
roand OF the Emperor, tho sentence Of
the court was reversed, and the young
%erf was committed to ten years. servlii-
tnde in Siberia. ,~'' az } g.. i,
A College Wag. .g%zE
/ In a certain college, under Presbyte.
RAN auspices, not hundred miles from
New York, it is q rule that the students
shall attend church at least once each
Sunday, either in the college chapel or
some other church in town which they
shall designate, and Tor non.attendance
satisfactory reasons must be given. sEOf
L .,1~n.,