St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-05-05
BESIEGED BY WOLVES.
a Boys Perilous Adventure In
Northern Russia.

On bright summer morning Ihefe
are few pleasanter places in all Eu-
rope than one of the great pine forests
of Northern Russia. The whole air Is
fragrant with the rich scent OF the
woods, and stray sun beams play peep
DO amid the floating shadows, and
bright-eyed squirrels fit hither and
thither among the trees, and birds
twitter merrily overhead, and every
now and then sturdy little Russian
boy. round-faced and yellow-haired,
comes trudgine past with basket OF
mushrooms in his hand, looking up at
you as he passes, with wide, wonder
ing eyes.
But the forest is very different
place when the winter winds are howl
ing and the winter SHOWS are lying
deep. and not a CLEAN of sunshine
breaks the cold, gray lowering sky,
over which the great clouds roll up
thick and dark, in grim warning OF
the coming storm. Then is the time
to pull your fur cap we'll over your
face, and head as straight as you can
for the nearest log hut glancing
warily about You as you go, lest you
should suddenly find yourself con-
fronted by the gaunt gray body and
sharp white teeth of a hungry wolf on
i the lookout for "some thing nice for
supper"
So thought Vania (Johnny) Mas
loft. a Russian peasant boy belong
ing to the hamlet of Pavloysk. in the
northernmost corner of the Province
of Vologda. as he struggled home
ward through the frozen forest at
nighfall. He had been sent on an
errand by his father to another vii
lage several miles off. and had spent
so much time in games with some of
his playmates there, after his work
was done, that the sun was setting
when he was on his way back.
1t was a dismal evening. The chill
ness of the frosty ait felt like cold
hand pressed against Vania's face to
push him back. The rising wind
moaned drearily among the frozen
trees that stood up white and gaunt
on every side like giant skeletons.
and the darkening sky showed tn at
there would be more snow before
morning.
Vania was brave country boy, ac-
customed to trough it, in all wealth
ers; and he would have cared little for
either wind or snow had that been all.
But there was something else which
was troubling him much more In the
thick wood that he was traversing-a
gloomy place even in broad daylight
it had grown so dark the moment
the sun sank that even he, who knew
every foot of the way by. heart. began
to fear that he must have got off the
right track. for the snow-drifts
Gseemed to grow deeper and deeper as
he advanced.
This thought Tin itself any thing
but a pleas ant one) was quickly fol-
lowed by another even more disquiet-
ing. Out of the cold black depths of
the forest rose suddenly ahollow, long
drawn, dismal sound. which Van ia
had heard too often not to know it at
once for the cry of vol, or rather
OF several wolves together.
The boy started to run. for with such
enemies on his trail there was no time
to be lost. But any one who has tried
running through ee-deep snow (es-
pecially with the sitting cold of a
Russian winter, taking ones breath
at every step) knows what fearfully
exhausting work it is. He had barely
advanced Fifty yards when the horri-
BILE cry broke out again, sharper.
fercer. nearer than before. The mon
sters had scented their prey, and were
in full chase of him!
Vania looked around him as he ran.
with numb horror he had never
felt before Tightening round his bold
heart. He was now in the very worst
place of ala wide clearing in the
forest, where all the trees had been
felled except few. II the wolves
caught him there, he was lost, and
sheir yells seemed to come nearer and
nearer every moment
All at once dark shadowy mass
doomed up right in front Of him, plain