Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1888-11-22
A NARROW ESCAPE.

From theodore k0OSeFeltS paper on
.'Frontier Types" in the Century, we
quote the following description Of one
Of his trappers, a French Canadian:
/ "Once or twice he showed a curious
reluctance about allowing a man to
approach him suddenly from behind.
Altogether his actions were so odd that
/ felt some curiosity to learn his his
tory. 1t turned out that he had been
through a rather uncanny experience
the winter before. He and another
man had gone into a remote basin, OF
inclosed valley, IN the heart OF the
mountains, where game was very plen-
tiful; indeed, it was so abundant that
they decided to pass the winter there.
Accordingly they put up log abin,
working hard, and merely killing
enough meat for their immediate use.
Just as it was finished winter set in
with tremendous snow-stolns. Going
out to hunt. in the first lull, they
found, to their CONSERVATION, that every
head Of game had left the valley. Not
an animal was 20 be found therein;
they had abandoned it for their win
ter haunts. The outlook for the two
adventures was appalling. They were
afraid Of trying to break out through
the deep snow-drifts, and starvation
stared them in the face if the, staid.
The man that | met had his dog with
him. They put Themselves on very
short commons, so rs to use up their
flour as slowly as possible, and hunt
ed unweariedly, but saw nothing. Soon
Il violent quarrel broke out between
them. The other man, fierce, sui
len fellow, insisted that the dog should
be killed, but the owner was exceed
ingly attached to it, and refused. For
a couple Of weeks they spoke no words
TO each other, though cooped in the
little narrow pen of logs. Then one
night the owner of the dog was
Weakened by the animal crying out;
the other man had tried to kill it with
his knife, but failed. The provisions
were now almost exhausted and the
two men were glaring at each other
with the rage of maddened, revening
hunger. Neither dared to sleep, for
fear that the other would kill him.
Then tho one who owned the dog at
last spoke, and proposed that, to give
each a chance for his life, they should
separate. He would take half of the
handful of flour that was left and start
of to try to get home; the other should
stay where he was; and if he tried to
follow the first, he was warned that he
would be shot without mercy. A like
fate was TO be the portion of the wan
derer ii driven to return to the hut.
The arrangement was agreed to and
10,
to turn his back while they were within
rillc-shot of each other. For two days
the one who went of toiIed 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 distancea black speck
against the snow, coming along on his
trail His companion was logging
hi footsteps Immediately he fol-
lowed his own trail back n little and
lay in ambush At dusk his compau-
ion came stealthlly up, rifle in hand,
peering cautiously ahead his drawn
face showing the starved eager feroci-
ty of q wild beast, and the man me was
hunting Shot him down exactly as if
he had been one. Leaving the body
NiltIt IL ltil, tltt NNuNtltl tOuLuuGu
his journey, the dog staggering pain
fully behind him. The next evening
he baked his last cake and divided it
with the dog. In the morning, with
his belt drawn still tighter round his
skeleton body, he once more set out,
with apparently only few hours of
duh misery between him and death.
At noon he crossed the track of huge
timber-wolf; instantly the dog gave
tongue, and, rallying its strength ran
along the trail The man struggled
after. At last his strength gave out
and ne sat down to die; but while still
sitting still, slowly stitteuing with the
cold he heard the dog bayiug in the
woods, Shaking on his mortal numb
ness, lac crawled towards the sound,
and found the wolf over the body of Il
deer that he had just killed, aud keep
ing the deg from it. AT the approach
of the new assailaut the wolf sullenlv
drew off, and man and dog tore the
raw deor-heSh with hideous cagerness.
1t made them very sick for the next
twonty-four hours but, laying by the
carcass for two or three days, they re-
covered strength.