The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-08-14
HAND TO HAND WITH A GRAY
WOLF.

have friend up in Canada who is an
engineer, and has spent several years in
laying out the lines for, or in superintend-
ing of, railways on the frontier. He has
brought good many trophies home from
the wilderness, and can tell many story
in respect to them. One OF these trophies
is a wolf-skin which lies before the fire.
"Where did you get that?' 1 asked him
once.
"Well," he answered, with a comical
shame-faced kind of smile, I'm not sure
1 want to tell that story, for it doesn't
sound very heroic. Still, as do not pre-
tend to be hero, or even a hunter, and
as I came out ahead in the encounter, I
suppose 1 needn't hesitate
"Was it a fight?" exclaimed, eager to
hear a thrilling tale of some hand-to-
hand struggle.
"Partly; at any rate, it came within one
of it."
"How was that?"
"After we had stopped surveying on
that railway in northern Manitoba last
fall, with the coming Of the snow, staid
in the region awhile hunting buffaloes
with party of French metis, and on our
return I thought it would be good
thing to trap one of the big wolves that
are always hanging about herd OF buff
faloes in the hope OF getting meal by
dragging down some calf or wounded
or very aged animal. These wolves do
not move in large packs, like the Euro
pean ones that are the subject of SO many
Russian stories, but in small family par
ties of three or four, and perhaps for
that reason, are generally very cowardly,
go they are not much feared by the plain
men, unless cornered. Well, one night
we set steel-trap close by the carcass OF
a buffalo COW which had just been shot,"
"Had you seen wolves about" l inter
rupted.
'No, but that was of no consequence.
The wolves get SO white in winter up
there that they are ali but invisible, and
spring out of the snow at the most unex-
pected times and places like spirits. Their
scent is amazingly keen too, and | knew
it would be only a short time before some
wandering band would discover the quar-
ry.
"We baited and set our trap in the af-
ternoon, and after our camp supper that
evening, it being moonlight, we sailed
out to see whether anything had been
caught. Sure enough, there was big
fellow nipped by one foot.
GAS was stranger and their guest,
my French friends insisted that I should
have the excitement of going forward and
despatching the captive with my rifle.
Now, am not a very good shot, and
wanted to get as near as possible, in or
der to kill him with my first barrel; SO 1
walked up to within twenty yards of the
trap. Even this did not quite satisfy me,
however, and was going on few PAGES
further, when, to my amazement, he sud-
denly eprang forward, broke the chain OF
the trap, and dragging it along with him,
came bounding toward me with open
jaws and the angry howl of wild beast
at bay.
"The hero and sportsman have spok-
en- of would have coolly dropped the
brute in his tracks, no doubt; but con-
fess that / was SO startled and frightened
that dropped my gun, and would GER
tainly have run if he hadn't been upon
me before I could turn around. I had
just wits enough left to remember my
belt knife, snatch it from the sheath
hanging by my side, and hold it before
me in trembling hand with confused
sort OF hope that the wolf might run
against it and so kill himself!
"Just what happened then l hardly
know. But l saw the beast spring as if
into my face, heard rifle crack right at
my ear, and when the smoke cleared
away there was the wolf lying just at my
feet, with bullet through his shoulder;
and stab in his breast.
at was fearful shock, and am not
sure I enjoy even looking at the skin,
which as you see, shows the hole where
the Frenchnan's bullet entered, and 80
saved me good hauling if not a miser-
able death. "-Harper's Young People.