The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1888-11-10
A Narrow Escape.

From Theodore Roosevelts illustrated
paper on Frontier Types" in the DC.
tober Century, We quote the following de-
scription OF one OF his trappers, a French
Canadian: "0nce ar twice he showed q
curious reluctance sbout allowing q man
TO approach him suddenly from behind.
altogether his actions were so odd that L
felt some curiosity 10 learn his history
1t turned out that he had been through
rather uncanDy experience the winter be-
fore He and another man had gone into
"a remote basiI, or inciosed valley, in the
heart of the mountains, where game was
very plentiful; indeed, it vas so abundant
that they decided to pass the winter
there. Accordingly they put up log
cabin, working hard, and merely killing
enough ueat for their immediate use.
Just rs it was finished winter set in with
tremendous snow storms. Going out 10
hunt in the FIRST lull, they found. to their
CONSERVATION, that every head OF game
had lef: the valley. Not an animal WAS
10 be found therein: they had abandoned
il for their winter haunts. The outlook
for the two adveniurers was appalling.
They were afraid of trying 70 break out
through the d.eD snow drifts, and starva.
tion stared rhe in the face IL they staid-
The man that l II. OF had his dog with HIM
They pct themselves on v-ry short ccIr-
moLs, SO as to usa up their flour as slowly
as possible, ard hurted M Gearidiy, bat
saw nothing. Soon violent quarrel
broke out between them. Ihe other man,
Il fierce, sulen fellow, insisted that the
dog sh ould be killed, but the owner wSs
exceedingly attached to ii, and refused.
| For couple at weeks they spoke no
words TO each Other, though cooped In
the little narrow pen of logs. Then one
night the owner of the deg was awakened
| bg the animal or. ing out; the other mau
had tried 10 kill it with his knife, bat
failed. The provisions were now almost
exhausted, and the Two men we're glaring
at each other with the rage CT maddened,
ravenipg hunger. Neither dared TO sleep,
for fear that the other would kill him.
Then the one who owned the dog at last
spoke, and proposed that, to give each q
chance for his life, they should separate
He would take half of the handful of foor
that was left and start off TO try to ges
home; the other should stay where he wasi
and if he tried to follow the first, he waa
warped that he would be shot without
mercy. iiBe fate WAS to be the portion
of the wanderer if driven to return to the
hut. The arrangement was agreed to and
the two men separated, neither daring to
turn his back while they were within ride
shot of each other. For swo days the
one who went of toiled on with weary
weakness through the snow-drifts. Late
on the second afternoon, as he looked
back from a high ridge, he saw in the far
distance q black speck against tho snows
coming along on his tran. His compan-
ion was dogging his footsteps. Immedl-
ateiy he followed his own trail back lit
tie aud lay in ambush. At dusk his COM
panion came stea,thiiy up, rifle in hand.
peering cautiously ahead, his drawn face
showing toe starved, eager terocity of
Wild beast, and the man he was hunting
shot him down exactly az IL he had been
one. Leaving ihe 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. In the morning,
wirh his belt drawn still tigt ter round his
skeleton body, he once more set out, with
| apparently only few hours of dull mis-
cry between him and death. At noon he
eros sed the track of a huge timber-woif;
ins, altly the cog gave his tongue, and,
rail- yipg its strezgth, ran along the trail-
The man struggled after. At last his
strength gave ont and he sat down TO dies
but while sitting still, slowly stiffeninG
with the cold, he heard the dogs baying
in the woods. Shaking ctf his mortal
numbne ess, he crawled toward the sound.
and found the wolf over the body of g
deer that he had just killed, and keeping
the dog from it. At the approach OF the
new assailant the wolf sullenly drew Oh,
and the man and dog tore the raw dear-
flesh with hideous eagerness. 1t made
them very sick for the next tventy-four
hours; but, ly ing by the carcass for two
or three days, they recovered strength