Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1888-11-17
A Narrow Escape.

From Theodore Roosevelt'S paper on
Frontier Types, in the Century,, we
quote the following description of one
of his traprers, a French Canadian:
"Orce or twice he showed a curious re-
luctance about allowing a man to APP.
proach him suddenly from behind. Al
together his actions were so odd that |
felt some curiosity to learn his history.
1t turned out that he had been through
rather uncanny experience the winter
before. He and another man had gone
into a remote basin, or inclosed valley,
in the heart of the mountains, where
game was very plentiful: indeed, it was
so abundant that they decided to pass
thu winter there. Ac .ordingly they
put III . log cabin, working hard, and
merely killing enough meat for their
immediate use. Just as it was finished,
winter set in with tr mendous snow
storms. Going out to hunt, in he first
lull, they found, to their CONSERVATION,
that every Ii al of game had left the
valley. Not an animal was to be found
therein; they had abandoned it for
their winter haunts. The outlook for
the two adventurers was appalling.
They were afraid of trying to break
out through the deep snow-drifts, and
starvat on stared them in the face if
they stayed. The man that | met had
his dog with him. They put them
selves on very short commons, so as to
use up their -four as slowly as possible,
AMI hunted unwelri ndlv, but saw moth
ing. Soon violent quarrel broke out
b tween them. The other man, a
Sst1ll, 81 H.,
log should be killed, but the owner
was eXccc lingly attached to it, and re-
fused. For couple of weeks they
spoke 10 words to each other, though
cooped in the little narrow pe1.of logs.
Then one night the owner Ct the dog
was wdkenel by the animal CRYING ont ::
the other man had tried to kill it with
his knife, bit failed. The provisions
were now almost exhausted, and the
two men We're glazing at each other
with the IaGe of maddenCd, ravening
hunger. Nei her dared to sleep for
IL al that the other would kill him.
Then the one who owned the dog at
last spoke, and proposed that, to give
each Il chance for his life, they should
separate. He would take half of the
La -dful of flour that Was left and start
off to try to get home the other should
stay VIII r. he was, and if he tried to
follow he first he was warned that he
would be shot without mercy. A like
fate was to be the portion of the wan
der,r If driven to return to the hut
The arrangement was agreed to and
the two men paratod, neither daring
t. turn his back while they were within
ritie-shot of each other. For tSo days
the one who went off toiled on with
weary weakness through the snow
drifts. Late on the second afternoon,
as he Looked back from high ridge,
he saw iii the far distance back sDeck
AZ ans the Snow, coming along on his
trai His companion was logging his
footsteps Immediately lie followed
his own trail back little and lay in
ambush. At dusk his companion camo
syealthily up, rifle in hand, peering
cautiously ahead, his drawn face show.
ing the starved, eager ferocity of wild
beast, and tn, man he was hunting
shos him down exactly as if he had Teen
one. Leaving the body whsra it fell,
the wand erer 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, with his belt drawn
still tighter AROUND his skeleton body,
he once more set out, with apparently
only Il few hours Of dull misery be-
tween him AMI death. At noon he
crossed the track of Il huge timber
wolf; instantly the dog gave tongue,
and, rallying its strength, ran along
the trail. The man struggled afr.
At last his sir myth gave ont and he
sat down to die; but while sitting
still, slowly stil1ening with the cold,
he heard the dog baying in the WOO Is
Shaking off his mortal numbncss, he
crawl"d toward the sound, and found
the wolf over the body of a deer that
lie had inst killed, and keeping the
cog from it. At the approach of the
new assai ant the wolf sullenlv drew
off, and man AID dog tore the raw de L.
flesh with hideous cagerncss. It made
them very sick for the next twenty-f3ur
hours; but, lying hy the carcass for
two or three days, they recovered
strength.