Frostburg mining journal., 1882-12-23
TREED BY WOLVES.
A PIKE COUNTY CHRISTMAS SKETCH.
ny ED. MOTT.

'The circumstances 1 am about to tell didn't
happen within my recollection. got 'em clean
cut from Uncle-I should say the late Mr.. Peleg
Underhill. Peleg didn't know them from per-
sonal recollection, either, as he hadn't fell heir
to any grandfather at that time, and wasn't in
that part of the country. Peleg's grandfathers
name was Ezekiel Merryweather. AT the age
OF twenty-five he was a young man living over
on the head waters of the Little Bushkill.
"He was romantic sort of fellow. He
scorned life of toll, and chose the easy and
| luxurious existence that comes of living in
brush cabin and chasing the feet-footed
dcnizens of the dim-lit forest from ridge to
| ridge, and bringing homo their hide and tallow
He was an original Pike County hunter, and
was known to clear as high as fifty dollars some
years with his gun and traps. Nobody knew
where he came from, but he was extremely shy
and modest.
| "Iie had very black hair, and was tall and
wiry, and all the girls in the baclwoods were
struck on him. The fellows were jealous because
he was rolling up wealth SO rapidly, and because
| he cut en- all out at the stone frolics and husk-
ing bees. family named Jobson had found their
way from somewhere or other in jersey to that
part of the country, and settled near the Monroe
| County border. There was old Jobson and his
wife and his daughter Melissa. Jobson had un-
| covered about an acre of earth on his tract,
| and built him house, barn, n wagon shed, u
spring house, an observatory fifty feet high, and
three miles of four-foot wall with the stone the
| acre yielded.
According to the late Peleg Underhill,
| Melissa must have been u sumner. She was
way up in all the accomplishments of the dis
trict, which ranged from twirling fapjack to
| picking panther ont of IL tree with the old
mans lintlocls rifle. The pastmes and pleasures
lnf h,tlf
| days were few, and it We're great reward for
Melissa to get the promise from her mother that
| il she would pile so much stone wall while she
was resting from pulling turnips she could
shuck the hide of'n the next wolf that dad
| fotched in or if she cut and piled sufficient
| quantity of stove wood before she went to work
hoeing the 'taters, she might hold the pig at the
next Christmas KILN while dad stuck it.
at was one day in the fall OF 1901 that
| Ezekiel Merryweathcr first struck the Jobson
clearing and met Melissa. She was having
holiday, and enjoying it in shucking wolves.
| The wolf crop was good that season, and old
Jobsons traps were generally full. Ezekiel fell
| in love with her at sight. She fell in love with
| him, too, and he got to taking in the Jobson
| clearing pretty regular on his hunting expedi-
| tions. Finally he asked her to marry him, and
| she said she would. He laid the matter before
| her oldman.
"'Wall, scarcely; you can't have Miss said
"
don't tic on to her If her dad knows it, an
her dads up to things what's goin' on round
| here pooty Giner'ly. When Miss goes away
| from this paster lot it'll be with some gray
haired old fellow as knows what to treat her
to. She don't splice to nobody but gray
headed man, an ye mout jest as well bait yer
| trap in some other swamp, Zek'el.'
"That was great blow to the young people,"
continued the Sheriff. ezekiel struck into
the woods and Melissa shucked wolves with
heavy heart. BY and by Sim Smith of Pocono
met Melissa. He was on the upper side of
fifty, gray as a rat, and owned farm. When
| he asked old JobsOn for Melissa, Jobson said
"Ye've draw'd the proper bead the fust time,
Sim. Ye've hit me plumb back o the fore
shoulder. The gals yourn.'
"Aleissa hadn't anything to say in the
matter, and the wedding was fixed for Christmas
Eve. On that night the population of three
townships was at Jobson's-sixteen people in
all. Old Squire Morgan was there to tic the
knot. Ezekiel Merryweather was the only
absentee. 1t was n fine moonlight night and
cold as Greenland The wedding was to come off
at nine o'clock. Every little while the bowling
of wolves could be heard on all sides of the
clearing. That was nothing uncommon,
| though, and nobody thought anything of it.
About eight O'Clock the howling was more than
usually loud and prolonged in one direction.
"'Wolves is hungry, Tonight said old
Jobson. They're closin' in on that deer pooty
reslar, l reckon
1.-The howling came nearer and nearer.
"'Blamed if 1 don't think they're goin' to
take that deer plumb through our turnip patch,
said Jobson. WELL let EN- go. We've got
other business besides carin' for passel o
ornery wolves tonight; hay, SimY
"The wolves came closer and closer. Their
snarling could lie heard in the house. But no
one ever took the trouble to look out of u
window. The howlng, and barking. and
| rlinp kent an Du1 tho spun1 ghONygl that the
wolves We're not moving. Melissa went to u
window and looked out
Why, dad said she them wolves has
freed suthin' IN our spring house. They're
thick nroun' it, and some of ems Goin' down
| tie chimlcy.
.i'Sure enough says Jobson, they've druv
suthin' inter the spring house, sartin. Wall,
/ boys take yer guns. We mowt as well so out
an stop this yer noise fore We perceed.
"1ho men took their guns and went out. A
round or two settled the business for the wolves
outside, bat there was n struggle going on in
side the milk house. The door was forced
open. BY the light of the moon they saw Il
man. with his back to the wall, fighting four
| hungry wolves with nothing but his hunting
knife. The floor was piled deep with dead
wolves. The man was rescued and helped into
| the house. He was covered with blood and his
clothes were nearly all torn from him. 1t was
Ezekiel Merryweather, but his black hair was as
gray as badger!
ezekiel said Mclissa.
"'M'liss = said Ezekiel
"And they were locked in one auothers
arms. Then Ezekiel told how he had started
to come to the wedding in spite OF his feelings
how he was chased by wolves how he fought
them for two miles through the snow, and
finally sought refuge in the spring house. The
wolves clambered TO the roof and let them
selves down the chimney and closed in around
him. The terror of the situation had turned
his hair white and he had been rescued just in
time.
"In the midst of the excitement created by
Ezekel's story, Melissa sad
"'Dad, this yers the wlitc-haired man Tn
goin' to tic to. His hairs whittier than Sims, by
II powerful sight
"And old Jobson saw the point. The we'd
al