Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-20
THE WOLVES.

- Tere the fir trees began to grow less
>%here, between their tall trunks and
&lssack, foliage CLEANED few crimson
y-~4s2snes of fire as the sun sank below the
horizon; where the snow lay deep and IN
spotted, save by the multitudinous prints of
their own restless feet-there, on the ont.
skirts of the forest, at the wane of day tho
wolves were gathering themselves together.
; hungry they were and eager for work to be-
gun Inere was no play among them, no
,eHPing over one another's backs or wrest-
nhs, OF growing pretenses at fighting, They
were On buSiness-the first business of life; to
Keep ire; and to keep life, if you happen to
!. III, means hard work and plenty of it,
I ol' little time to spare on the amenities
pr existence.
q rk ana now their old gray TRANSFORMATIONS
81 nave survived many a scene of death
anu disaster to man and wolf-Ieap out to-
z NJ from the woods upon the darkening
pam They raise their noses sniff the
auu shake themselves. One yawns and
stretches his paws. while a n,ff Of hot breath
- from his red tongue. and, as he shuts
,- tsa.as. Z 6 jay with a snap, sharp canine
sceeth, white as the snow itself, glitter in the
dusk.
Then begins that long, slouching, tireless
=
man and all things living for combined speed
and endurance The pack covers nearly FIVE
and twenty square yards of snow, and settles
into stride each beast MOVING and turning
in unison with the rest, as a fight of birds
mysteriouslv wheels In air They are Nor
way wolves these, and experience has long
since taught them what work will be neces-
sary before supper and a return to their for
est Businesses.
Note what happens almost at the start
One 1.-THE brute suddenly slips and strains
his les Fearfully he glarces at his compau-
ions on the right and left, but as yet they
know not of the accident All too soon,
however, the pace tells upon the injured ami
maj. Nature asserts herself in the great
-. gray wolf, his eyes glow like red hot embers,
his sinewy leg gives under him, he bowls his
farewell to dear life, and his place in the
ranks know him no more But the MANNED
creatures suterinCs are over almost in
stantly, for the fttest alone survive in a
pack l wolves. A ravenouS fighting mass
of fur and legs and teeth closes in upon him,
and he is gone, leaving no monument more
enduring taan drons Of his own hot blood,
which have fallen ard melted for themselves
deep holes in the trampIed snow.
Then forward they sweep, the cannibals,
on the hest possible terms with one another,
and feeling as YOU would feel after anchoyy,
or an olive, or some such preliminary to
more important gGstronomic efforts.
But now, ahead there stands q solitary
tree, naked save where, on its topmost
branches, the dark pine needles mingle in one
shapeless clump, or where, lower down,
dead cones still cling to the parent bow. In
the rough bark at its foot are tlecls of wool;
but the sheep which rub themselves there in
the summer are far away Just now.
Something of greater interest meets the
wolves here. Along the snow at the base Of
this tree, and running at right angles to the
course they have, till now, been taking, ex-
tend two parallel lines, cut b. the irons of
sledge, One vehicle alone has passed since
the snow last fell, but it appears to have
gone by quite recently, for the scent is
strong and the pack tale it up without a
moments halt Now supper becomes a pro.
liability, for where there is a sledge there
Is horse, perhaps two; where there is q
sledge there IS 4 man, possibly more than
one.
Have you ever heard the bowling OF
woivesl
have, seated in a comfortable place OF
entertainment, with my mind at ease and
arated me from the invisible howlers Even
under those Circumstances the sound Yves one
that made NE turn cold and wonder how ma,
ture had produced anything so hideous Il
is like nothing but itself; you cannot com
pare or contrast it with any other cry Of
living things; gale Of wind in the rigging
Of big shipat sea is the nearest approach tc
1t know, Thin, hollow walls OF sound grow
and swell and burst into one demoniac how
that embodles in its volume every conceiv
able note Of despair and eternal torture
Then the crescendo dies, sometimes as though
suddenly strangled, more often in long draw
shrieks tnat fade upon the ear There i
music in their cadences at times, those thai
heard were fairly in tune-but such a tune
such droning, fendish, whirlng blast o.
melody 1t was. If the neither world has it
own music, that music should be the howl o
hungry wolyes-the frantic chorus who's
elimination is death to flying singers or flee
ing audiences, or both.
30 much for the wolves | know; so Inucl
for wolves whose hearts are broken ant
whose sides have ached often enough unde
the heavy whip Of their master. So mucl
for tame wolves who do clumsy tricks an
have learned the beauty of obedience, for
getting, at the same time, the watchword o
all wolves that union is strength Return
we to my pack, which is moving like one BIZ
machine, and the component parts of whicI
are together giving tongue
The snow, for them, is in perfect order; bu
somebody ahead may perchauce find hi
horses crushing through the thin frozen SUI
face at every stride. The darkness suits tn
hunters well, but somebody ahead may b
praying for that moon light which at presen
only shows silver fringes on black cloud
To them their wolf music is the dime
gong; but somebody ahead may hear nothin
more beautiful than his own passing bell i
the distant mutations, rising and falling an
coming over the snow
Fortunately, thought and pen travs
quicker than even gray wolves; therefore,
though not knowing with certainty whethe
1t can catch Us again before the end Of th
story-we viii leave the racing pack an
draw level with the sledge.
Here 1t Is, sure enough, blowing throug
the snow and spinning out those two parable
lines as 1T goes, The stout horses are ga
looping steadily, and the solitary man sittin
beRira t1e-7 N0-s 80 nee ,lr
at present. He must be some miles neare
home ere the last struggle begins, and he nc
only knows the road well, but can also CUES
with tolerable accuracy at the distance whic
still lends enchantment to the wolf music i
the darkness behind him. Physically Roll
svantsen is typical Norwegian-stron
and in the prime of life. He ha
been in passing peril from the wolve
before today; the rug now wrappe
about him, one corner of which far
and rustles in the snow, is made of wo
Skins. Tonight be appears anxious, how
ever. His horses are powerful, but not fee
and In his Judgment when the journey
ended there will be very short quarter of
mile between his sledge and his pursuers. A
though to encourage him, the moon at las
rises free Of the far stretching cloud that ii
tne present had hidden 1t. A clear whit
light floods the darkness and the snowy plai
oegins TO widen out upon every side as th
drlVer, rising in his seat, casts one searchin
glance ahead, looks to the fastening of bi
ieatner bag which is tied to the floor of tb
siedge, and then gazes long and CAREFUL
Denlnd him Yes, there they are, just lit
DARK shadow on the waste, shadow whic
one less experienced might have overlooke,
but shadow that is moving hardly le
quickly than those cast by the rack of broke
clouds drifting across the moon
What Svantsen had seen in front of hi
was a black line on the horizon and ia
hngerpost, still far ahead, where two roat
met What he had not seen was figure c
loot, travelling towards that same black Lii
upon the horizon
Inc pedestrian is moving but slowly, al