Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1888-09-13
For the Ellsworth American.
Wild Animals OF Maine.
ny Tuo~. l. CRABTgEE.


FART SECOND.
In part first gave an account Of III,
rise and fail Of wolf,iom in Maine vii
now cndeavor 90 give some account Of tht
nature OF this ferocious animal In size
he :, a. large A. the largest dog. His law.
are thick, and teeth long and sharp He +
much more active than The dog and car
generally distance him 10 rae, lie /.
surprisingly quick for few leaps. and no
animal which he wishes 70 attack can e.
cape him II he can get within few leaps
OF him They are very benevolent. and
when onc has Killed his prey, Ne viii how
TIL hc has collected ali NJ his friends in
Guiding aunts ami cousins Bat the feast
does not always end iu peace, for gcncr-
ally there is A great heai OF quarryling be-
for" The last bone + picked They are
nocturnal. and not often seen iu the day
time. excepting In early morning and even
Ing when pressed by hunger. they wnl
cat almost anything. even mud and leaves
Of variou, kinds Of plants, where they
are plentiful. their uncarthly wells can be
heard through the night when daylight
appears they VIII retire into the deep
forest, often miles away. lie down and
sleep ali day. They 10 not attempt often
10 run down deer, but they follow him
day and night not allowing him to stop a
moment to feed and unless the deer can
and some way of escape he Is worn out by
hunger and becomes an easy prey.
Wolves are very fearful OF man, except
Ing in the night; but sometimes In the
day when there are n nnu,har ,s.a-..ha- .h...
ago, the late Nelson Miilet, the famous
,rspper and hunter Of Franklin Maine
was Cunning on township No. 10. He vas
crossing a heath when all OF sudden he
found himslf surrounded BY wolves that
p,ered At him from behind a dozen hu-h-
es Being good shot, he opened ire with
full confidence Of victory, and not until he
had killed two and wounded two more.
were they driven from the field. ON a
subsequent occasion he was not quite 20
lucky, and came near forfciting his III"
for bit Of carclcssncsS.
one day while hunting hc wounded a
buck Of the largest Size, He was go earn
est az follow ing him that night came on
before he thought Of IT, Finding there
wa. no hopcs of capturing the deer, he
turned homeward The shades Of night
fell fast; he soon found he had lost
his WAY and he was Just thinking how be
should pass tile night. when he saw large
stack Of hay standing in meadow. These
stacks Of hay are cut in the summer ant
often on soft land, and cannot be haule,
I'LL winter. They are Put up in conica
form with a small pole in the center
around which the hay j. piled, ami are
from six % ten feet high. our hunter wht
was used to roughlng II, was not very
alarmed at the thought Of passing a nigh
in stack Of hay. lEe went up . III
stack OF hay and found Ii about eight fee
in height. He leaned hi- rife against
and with the assistance Of q small pole h
gained THE top Here he pulled the ha
away around the pole, and in short tim
had made a. comfortable a bed as on
could wish. He ate few crumbs that IT
mained in his knapsack and lay down I
sleep How long he slept he did nc
know; but he was awakened BY the herC
howl of wolves near BIZ. He reached fC
his rifle, but remembered that 1t was o
! the ground. He arose from his bed 70 9
, down and get it; but saw the glarin
eyes OF wolf but few feet away. 80
said he, on telling the story, lit was Il
I awfulest moment of my life" Surrounde
: by a large drove Of wolves, and nothin
, but a hunters knife to defend himse
: with but our hunter was well fitted f
: the hay was stacked vas about three fe'
r taller than the hay. He piled his knit
e and in few MINUTES he had cut II o
and found himself in the possession
h a cudgel four feet long. He was n
e too soon in procuring il, for a.
! Strengthened up to take view of h
h situation, a large wolf suddenly sprur
=" up the side of the stack; but his temeri
\. was not seasoned with wisdom, for 4
5 heavy club in the hands of the excit
r hunter came down with force that Sc
e him bowling away With broken should'
(. Again and again, did the savage brutes {
J. tempt to scale the haystack, but ca
!, time were sent headlong to the groun
, with bruised or broken bones. Da
,e light at last came and our hero was gl
= to see his fierce enemies depart. On co
ing down from the hay, he found
# wolf foundering over the meadow with
n broken head. He easily dispatched h
\. and in few hours was safely at hon
i and his hair did not turn white from Il
night of peril.
Bangor, Aug, 1888.