The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1886-09-10

uduy L cOulu HOT TELL. ana cOQlQ
see nothing of Captain Whitney, and
he did not speak to me again. AS
last resort, when they pressed me too
closely, i showed the canoe into the
water and padded safe distance from
shore. There was a bowling back in
the forest, and in five minutes not
wolf in sight.
Captain Whitney, believing that I
was in imminent danger, and deter
mining, like the noble man that he
was, to rescue me or share my fate,
had left the protection of the fire and
taken detour to his left; his purpose
| being to join me on the shore. And
now [ was safe and the wolves upon
his track. heard him halloo once,
and answered the CALL 1 could de-
termine that he was many rods from
the fire and near the shore of the
pond.
There was then time of complete
silence, how long a time will not pre-
sumo to say seemingly half an hour
really perhaps five minutes. | hallooed
many times but received no answer.
Neither was there howl of wolf. The
4 Uni WIN WOhO biAC CCtlOCS Oa
that hill-bound water was my own.
Were to tell what / suffered in the
time, should tell so much less than
the truth that | forbear to tell at all.
heard faint call, and looked to
my right. The rock rose perpendicu-
larry from the water at this point, to
| the height of twenty feet, and then
| formed a broad shelf. Back of the
shelf there was another rise perpendic-
ular of nine or ten feet, and then the
ground sloped off into ridge covered
with trees.
Upon this shelf. in the serene moon
light, stood Captain Whitney, and
around him the dark, savage forms of
the wolves. He had on neither hat,
| coat nor vest, and even his shirt was
torn to tatters. / queried whether he
would leap the precipice, and padded
in that direction to help him, in case
he should venture the feat. / saw him
step upon the verge and look over,
while he swung his gun blindly around
him, to keep off the beasts.
1T is death if you leap" said l.
There were sharp splinters of rock at
the bottom, standing out of the water.
Then he braced his back against the
rock behind him, and fought the battle!
Such a battle; and for two hours of
time! One, two, three. four, five,
I was so near that / could count
them, their long, hungry bodies
and savage eyes. And was | the cow
ard to sit in safety, and coolly see the
man deVoured by wolves? Heavens!
that | must confess it! There he stood
upon the rock for two hours of time,
and such time! And there sat safely
upon the water! | am sure that no
one can condemn more than [ have
condemned myself, but | was paral-
yzed. 1t is, perhaps, well that | was,
for more than likely my inexperience
would have proved my ruin. Andye
this is miserable plea, and feel it.
only know that debated how to help
him, how to reach him, how to make
my rifle available, without also endan-
gering him, and [ know that I rejected
| all plans, and sat safely upon the
water.
There was no shrieking on the part
of the Captain, and not the least evil
oCltlN VI CAOllSnICIlU. L COuio SIC bldb
the stock of his gun was. shivered to
atoms, and only the heavy steel barrel
remained in his hands. / could see,
also, that there was no blind striking,
but that every blow told when given;
and | could see, also, that none were
given unless necessary.
Bold, brave hunter! how he fought!
One, two, three, four. There was
certainly one less now, than at the
beginning of the contest. Would
| he master them ali? If I did
nothing more, / asked this question
very anxiously. Why had the bowling
ceasedP And why did not the Cap
tain answer me when / spoke to him.?
1t seemed SO horrible, that brave man
must contend, single handed and alone,a
with so many, and such blood-thirsty
monsters. .,.s Hal
Something fell over the precipice-
struggled family moment, and then
became as still as the stone upon which
it had fallen. One, two, three. TWAS
the body of wolf! / could see that it
required less exertion to fight three
than five, and looked to the end hope
fully.
There was long, long contest, and
the brave hunter began to falter. He
did not strike so rapidly, nor with such
force, and he even rested the weapon
upon the ground now and then-if
only for the merest moments if in
the excess of fatigue. He had fought
so long; and still there were three of
the wolves, savage as ever, and he
faltering. Be it said to my credit, that
1 raised my rifle, sought the. besa OPP
portunity which I could get and fired.
The smoke cleared away, and there
were three left!
Still the weakness seemed to gain
upon him. could take in the whole
spirit of the fight, as / sat there so near
them, and could see the least variation
in the energy of either the wolves or
the man. became impressed with
the awful feeling that he was rapidly
failing, and | almost expected each
moment to see him go down
among the hungry pack. He
struck SO irresolutely, and staggered
from side to side. | even fancied that
his eyes were closed. There seemed to
come over the expression of his coun-
tenance dullness and vacancy-in
short, he appeared like one lighting
feebly for a few minutes of life, not at
all as though he looked or hoped for
victory longer.
struck few strokes with my pad
ddle toward the shore, and was about
to shout to him that if he would hold
out but for a few minutes, / would
stand beside him, when he suddenly
reused himself with the strength of a
lion, threw the whole energy of his
powerful frame into few well directed
strokes, and hurled the steel barrel of
the rifle around him. as though it
were the merest toy, and he giant
One! Only one left; I could see that
plainly enough. Two had gone down
under the terrible onset. There was a
moment more of contest, and nothing
was seen upon the rock. Wolves and
man-all were down out of my sight,
and all as still as the grave. d.
| padded ashore and clambered up
| DC Soct DC r could ond forpd tha Nv