Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1881-03-19

reach Buffalo in two DAYS time rs | was
- act as hes. man u friend who WAS u
be married, ani sskei Jim If he could
ion Inc pair OF sksses. SKATES be
b!owed, he answered VIVA, Gould yo,,
do With skates { Why, skate down Lake
Huron, was ny reply. lie tried TO laugh
me out OF the notion, bu' when he saw /
was determined, ani in earnest, he b,oush:
forth PAIR 81 o!dfashioned tarn-overs
which he said his grandfather had used on
the Connecticut river. The res. 0. the
party thought 10 discourage me by talking
about wolves, bu, | smiled q. their fears,
strapped on the skates. filled my pipe with
plug tobacco, lighted it, and bidding good
bye 10 my friends, sprang on the ice. cut
spreadeagle, cut my name underneath and
dashed of. II was III excellent spirits, and
the spin 10 Lake Huron made me fairly
glow. The wind was fresh from the north,
aud when g,ided on the beautiful field of
ice that covered the la &c as far AS the eye
could reach, was goin, withoa, much
effort 81. the rae ui twenty miles an hour.
hat was rather fair pace, but it would
not carry he through by daylight, So de-
te1mined 10 put on more steam, which
did, aud soon increased il 30 thirty miles.
About ten miles 10 the northward Of
Alpena, | was startled by u voluminous low
bark, and casting my eye over my shoulder
| saw sight that nearly halted me with
fright. About two miles IN Iny wake was
pack Of not less than two hundred long.
lean. lank, hungry wolves coming for me
with an eagerness that was nything but
pleasant - contemplate. Were you ever
followed on trackless waste by barking.
snarling, swapping, growing wolvesi NOT
Well, | pray that you may never be. On
they came. and although | WAS crowding
my fires they were ginning on me-. 1t
would not DO 10 put for Alpcna, for i, is,
as you know, up in the bay, and the ice
near the shore was pilei in hummocks
that could not skate over. ST. nothing was
left for me but 10 double ny efforts. Holy
horrors! What is that ahead | ejacu-
lated as looked about mile in advance
and saw clear stretch of water fully fifty
icet wide and extending as far q, The vision
could take in at q glance. Il would not be
possible to change my course without being
trapped, for the whcips We're thanking me,
thelr red tongues hissed as they Tapped the
frosty air their eyes burned and gIistened
| and their white teeth glitercd as they re-
| nected the suns rays. Death or a mighty
leap, Jerry, | mentally repeated as the
water nearcd. / did not fancy being de
| voured-loslng the number of my mess y
. pack Of wolves-so | strained every
| nerve and muscle aud attained such speed
| that / leapcd the opening without much
effort and landed on the ice right side up.
AS soon as could shut of steam. | halted
| l., 4
of my parsuers. There they were in tie
wafer, every one Of them, and in less time
than am consuming To tel you, the ice
| closed and shut them out from further pur
suit. DO you SEE the gray hairs III NY
forelocksf Thy bieachcd in The few
minutes the wolves were ON my heels.
| Well, To make long story short,
reached Sarnia that same afternoon at .. 8,
just hours and - minutes after leaving
| the Island and took the Great Western
tram Tor Buffaio, arriving home the next
/ morning bright and early. Did | report
at the office No indeed, Tor knew tn,
clerks would chatf me i. told my story,
So just kept shady until the rest OF ,h4
pa1tv came to town, wnen | met them, and
in Difference to ny wishes they said moth
ing about my feat. never t)id the story
| before and would not have t,id you ii 1t
had not been that You caught me in tae
right humor.