Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1888-10-27
a Narrow Escape.

n narrow Escape.
Once or twice he showed curious fe!uc
tanco about allowing d mao 10 approach
him suddenly from behind. Altogether bis
actions were so odd that felt some curiosi.
ty to learn his history. 1t TUNED Out that
he had been through rather uncanny ex-
perience the winter before. He and anothe.
man bad gone into remote basin, or inclo:-
ed valley, in the heart of the mountsins,
where game WAS very plentiful; indeed, II
was so abundant that they decided TO pass
the winter there. Accordingly they put up
log cabin, working heyd, and merely kiI
ing enough meat for their Immediate nse.
Just as it was finished winter set in with
tremendous snow storms. Going out 20
hunt in the first luil, they found, 10 the!
CONSERVATION, that eveFy head CT game had
lef. the valley. Not ali animal was to Ae
found therein thoy ha1 abandoned II i0F
their winter haunts. The outlook for the
two adventures was appalling. They we're
afraid of trying to break out through the
deep suow drifts. and starvation stared
them in the face if they stayed. The man
that met had his dog with bin. They put
themselves On very short commons, so as 10
use up their flour Rs slowly as possible. and
hunted unweariedly, cut saw nGthins Soon
a violent quarrel broke out betn cen, tbem.
The other map, fierce, sullen fell
low, insisted that the dog should be
killed, but the owner vas exceedingly
attached to ii, and refused. For Rcouple
of weeks they spoke 30 wcrdeto cath other
though cooped in the little narrow pen OF
logs. Tbsn one night the owner Of the dog
was wakened by the animal crying out; the
other man had tried 70 kill IL with his kGifa
but failed. The provisions were now almost
exhausted, and the two men were glsring
at each other with the rage OF maddened,
rayeninc hunger Neither dared 10 sleep,
for fear that the other would kill him. Then
the one who owned the dog at lsst spoke,
and proposed that, to give each chance for
his life, they should separate. he would lake,
half of the handful of -four that was eftsadd
start off to try to get home; the other sbonld
stay where he yea, and if he tried to follow
the first be was warned that he would be
shot without mercy. A like fate was to be
the portion of the wanderer il driven 70 re-
turn to the hut. The arrangement Wss
agreed to and the two men separated, neith-
er daring to turn MS back while they were
within rifle shot of each other. For two
dave the one who vent off toilsd on With
weary weakness through the snow drifts.
Late on the second afternoon, as he looked
back from high ridge, he saw in the far
distance a black speck against the
snow, coming along on hia trail. His
companion was dogging his footsteps.
Immediately he followed his own
trail back a little and laid ir am
bush. At dusk his companion came steaithi-
ly up, rifle in hand, peeriug cautiously ahead,
his drawn face showing the starved, eager
ferocity of the wild beast, and the man be
was hunting shot him down exactly as if he
had been one. Leaving the body where it
fell the wanderer continued his journey,
the dog staggering painfully behind him:
The next evening he baked his last cake and
divided it with the dog. 10 the morning,
with bis belt drawn still tighter around his
skeleton body, he once more set out, with
apparently only few hours OF dull! misery
between him and death. at noon he Cross
ed the track of huge timber wolf; Instant
" the dog gave tongue, and raliyipg Its
strength, ran along the trail. The man strug.
gled after
At last his strength gave out and he sat
down to die, but while sitting still, slowly
stifening with the cold, he heard the dog
baying in the woods Shaking of his NOR
tai numbness, be crawled towards the sound,
and found the wolf over the body of deer
he had just killed, and keeping the dog
from it, at the approach OF the new as.
sailsntthe wolfsullenly drew of,and the man
and dog tore the raw deer flesh with hid
eous eagernesa. It made them very sick for
the next twenty four hours; but lying oy
the carcass for TWO or three days. they re-
covered strength. h.-The0dore Ro0serett.