Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1884-12-27
Unto peath.

6fAgaunt, shamblingt wolf which has
been making erratic circles on the prai.
no suddenly stops, lfts his nose high.
above l,eEgrass, andksSsnuffs the air IL.
every 4Afeption. 50. Z
Hark! +,
A-long-drawn huwl-a sound which
rasps, on your nerves and brings q chill.
Thelhanest;growl pfJtheltiger would be
music in comparison. It has no honest
echo but you hear the r-r-r-r-r sneak
Ing. across the half-mile of prairie to
lind evil company insrthe 4thicketsrbe-'
The echoSis hardly lost inSthe pines
before it Is caught up and .sentsback by
a dozen Threats, and a moment after a
pack OF wolves break cover and race
across the grass to join the lone animal
whichssent forth the rallying call. ~
\ Skulking--malignant-devi1ish There
t~arehbeasts which will look you square
in the face. lhe wolf, never does.
Restless teyes-uneasy bodies-lolling
tongues-yellow fangs! 100
The pack head across the prairie to
the South, shifting at the summer
breeze as they run and at each long
leap their eyes grow ifercer and clots Of
foam fyfrom their red mouths to blotch
the velvet grass. 1t is a trail they are
following, and the scent is fresh.
Come on!
It is a strange sight which meets our
eyes. Lying stark and stiff on the
prairie, fingers clutching the grass and
a look o ftagony, on the face, already
turning purple; under the hot sun, is the
bodyfof q ;hunter.\ DeadP Noaneed to
ask that when you have seen the terri
Die hole in the. breast, and the
blood which has welled out and soaked
the grass and changed thescolor. of the
flowers. His rifle lies at his, side-his
pack at his head. No accidehtp . Per-
haps yes-perhaps no. There is one
who could tell us if he could but speak.
s~"Here, dogl"
Lying besideiths dead-rising quick
!ytup2as wesapproach-is the hunters
friend and companion-a grand %olds
dog. He looks straight. into our eyes.
II we have come to bury the dead with
kind hands, it is we'll. II we have come
to rob the master-beware! There is
Courage and Fidelity and Determine
ton.
Hush!S aThe dog wheels about. and
faces the north A sound has sreached
his ears whichjsetssh his eyes aaame and
raises every hair on his back, Yelp!
yelp! .yelpf. It is the .wolves-the. pack.
which picked up the trail he had made
as heawent, to the north in search of
water:
Now watchi :"
There--are~-twenty to one, and the
scent Of the dead adds to their fierce
ness and daring, but as they advance
TO- within ten PAGES Of the dog every
wolf comes to a stop. Standing with
bis fore paws on the breast Of the
corpse, the dog growls a warning at
each and, every one before him. He
could run away and, save his life, but
the base idea never comes to him. He
will fight the whole pack-he will die
defending his dead!
See! The wolves huddle together for
a moment, as if in consultation, and
then they break up and form q circle
about their victims. The dog wheels
slowly, growing his wrath and utter
ing his defiance. Even now he could
break through and escape, but he will
not. OF a sudden the leader of the
pack, dashes at him. but he returns to
the
full, His place Is filled by. three COM
.panions, and for a moment the corpse
is hidden from view and the aproar is
frightful. !.
Grand old.dog!' They have tasted of
his, blood, but he, has sent them crawl
ing back. Placing his paw again on
the breast of the dead he 'growls def
,ance to the last. !
Tits over! AT q signal the whole cir
Gle closes in, and the struggle is ended
and the feast begins. There is, tear
ing of fesh-a low growl of satisfac-:
'tion-and it is scarcely five minutes be-
fore the last wolf has vanished from
sight, leaving only the stains of blood
on the grass for the vultures to look
down on