The Penn's Grove record., 1883-10-06
A Curious Manuscript.

while roaming with my gun | CHANGED
to go farther than was wont, but when
l turned to retrace my steps l dis
covered that | was completely bewil-
dered as to the proper course. / had
been dreaming along as l walked, for
the leaves, coloring under the touch of
the seasons first frost, the bleaching
grass, the haze overhead and the softly
signing air-all had combined to make
me forget myself. | walked rapidly in
what | thought to be a home direction,
but after an hour had passed / found
that | was more confused than at first.
Arkansaw was'a wild country in those
days-so wild that you could sometimes
travel for days without seeing a human
habitation. l began to get excited.
Any n who is familiar with life in the
woods knows that there is no feeling
like becoming excited in a forest. LII is
inexplicable-like the shaking that
sometimes seizes a hunter, especially
if he be a new one, when a deer APP
proaches. When a nal in the woods is
convinced that he is lost he feels an al
most irresistible impulse to run wild.
Children have been lost in the woods,
and in half a days time they are, in
some instances, so wild than when found
they VIII bite and scratch and scream,
even if their mothers approach them. |
felt this excitement coming on me, and
| knew that If | did not do something
to counteract its influence l would go
wild. Then L reflected how often had
been temporarily lost, and how at any
other time | would have laughed at the
idea of running wild. / thought that /
would fire off my gun, that it might
afford some relief. l looked around,
and my hair stood OF end. My gun
was gone. 81 had it a moment ago."
l thoughtfully unused ; ''what could l
have done with it ?" and l threw back
my head and howled. 81 must not en-
courage such outbreaks / said to
myself, ''for a mar Will go wild even in
a city if he howls very much !" and /
remembered that when l was a boy sew
eral of my companions went wild while
shouting in admiration of a circus pro-
c~ession, and that the show men caught
them and put them in cages, where
they remained, ever defying the recog-
milton Of their parents. One of the boys
was named Luke Horn, and when his
father came along and looked at Luke
the boy held out his paw-he had paws
at that time-and the old gentleman
jumped back and exclaimed "Why,
that devilish monkey wants to take hold
of me.n
l laughed at this recollection and /
got down and knawed at the root of a
tree. Then l arose and howled. |
couldn't stand on my hind feet very
long-yes, hanged if / didn't have four
feet and a tail by this time. The truth
is, l had gradually become a wolf. ]
feel that any n who chooses to read
this manuscript will smile inc1edulously
at this, and produce all kinds of argu-
ments to prove the impossibility of a
man r~etrograding into a wolf; and
probably the same man, too, may be a
believer in the theory of evolution. l
shall not argue this point though, for
in regard to my own experience l am
certain, while any n who opposes me
could only protest without proof, and
hence his arguments would be mere
assertions ansustained by a single fact.
| had not been a fully developed wolf
but a few moments until several other
wolves came from the valley below and
began to sniff around me. When salts
fled that l was genuine they sat down,
%whereupon we all began to discuss the
ACCESSIBILITY of getting something to
eat. 1t was soon decided that we
should go down into the valley, where
there was a farm well stocked with
sheep. The mention of sheep made my
mouth water, for, being a wolf, l IA
as hungry as myself. We started on
III expedition and ICON reached the
farm. Just as we jumped over the
fence to seize the sheep a man sprang
from behind a stump and fired upon us.
A buckshot wounded one of my hind
legs, and, after vainly attempting to
leap we the fence, | fell among a lot
of bushes, where | lay perfectly still,
hoping to escape observation. In this
l wa disappointed, for the old farmer
ran to me, thrust his gun between the
bushes and aimed at my head. l whined
piteously and shut my eyes, expecting
to he blown into atoms, but the farmer
did not shoot.
81 wonder what sort Of dog a wolf
would make" said the farmer, turning
to his son. "This fellow whines so
that l don't want to finish him. He
must have been led into this thing.
Let me see if he wants to bite,n and he
| put his hand on my head. l did not
bite him, but licked his hand. He was
SO well pleased at this that he took me
up and carried me to the house. My
wound was soon dressed, and after they
hal given me something to eat | felt
| pretty comfortable. Still l was a wolf
and, although they were so kind to me,
| yet l meditated revenge. I wanted to
do some deviltry and then go back to
my companions. One day, after | had
thoroughly recovered, the old man set
me to watching the sheep in a small
pasture He seemed to have conidencein
me, for he did not even look back after
he crossed the fence. How 1 wished
for my companions, l howled. The
sheep become frightened and huddled
together. l howled again, and an
answer came from the woods. Another
| hoxvl a.A On~ aornoontovc s,Uan1I &Ao