Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-21

| fere. Before we can be of any assistance the
! first horse attacked falls on his side. is cut
| away from the sleigh and off dash his COM
| panions at lightning speed. 1t is a race for
life. Dozens of fresh wolves are on the trail
| and another horse soon succumbs. Ere we can
| reach the spot the men to defend themselves
ire shot after shot into the pack aud then
comes a sudden cessation of the shooting. As
We hurry along we see the three men in the
road lighting desperately with their blood
thirsty assailants, having now no other weapons
than long knives. Already one man is on the
ground. when blow from a musket stock and a
quick knife-thrust relieves him OF his antago-
mist, and he Is on his feet again dealing death
blows all around. The badly frightened YAM
shik urges our team toward the unequal battle
on the roadside and then comes our fusilade.
Shot arter shot of our revolvers told their tale
by the increasing heap OF lesnoy volks that
lay dead or dying around the hunters and their
wrecked conveyance.
INSTANTLY THE TIDE OF BATTLE Is TURNED
and the remaining wholves take to their heels
and scamper off. 1t was 'close call' for
those three sportsmen. The entire battle did
not occupy ten minutes. Had We not turned
up just in the nick of time all three of them
would have shared the fate of their horses be-
fore their picking up sleigh would have had
time to come up. While such hunting scenes
are not at all lnfrequent it rarely happens that
hunter is killed. Wolves are proverbialy
cowardly and If they are struck across their
sensitive nose they are either rendered insen-
sible or skulk painfully toward the forest. In
few moments after the last of our fur-coated
companions had taken his departure the sec
ond sleigh came along and once more our
horses heads were turned toward Archangelsk
We met many hunting parties, but they were
more fortunate, and on the picking-up sleigh
OF one OF them / saw the bodies of at least
thirty wolves.
AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT.
We arrived in good season at the Hotel
Troltskaya In ArchaDgelsk, where a very ex-
traordlnary event occurred. 1t was bitterly
cold, cold even for this home of the ice king,
Food IN the forest unobtainable and the
ravenous lesncy volks organized hunting
scheme OF their own III opposition as it were to
the usual style Of the chase. The game they
followed was no less than the famous North
Russian food, the reindeer. 1t was about 8
O'Clock In the afternoon and the stiffness was
disturbed by great commotion in the Nab
ereshnaya street opposite the hotel Then came
volley OF rifle shots. Seven magnificent rein
deer had delivered themselves up to the ex-
cited people, after good deal of hurrying and
scurryIng through the crowd. They had pre-
ferred capture by man rather to being torn to
pieces by ravenous forest pests and not one of
the pack who dared follow the reindeer into
the city escaped.
HOW DOGS PROTECT SHEEP
One other phase of wolf hunting deserves
brief mention. The dogs which guard the
sheep of southern Russia are as intelligent as
the Scotch collie. At evening time the shep-
herd (pastouh) gives his signal to his ofcharkas
and In short time the dogs have driven their
charge-sometlmes numbering thousands of
sheep-lnto an unmarked circle. Then they
form ring around the imaginary pen (tzep)
ana keep watch. at stated distances for their
enemies, the polevoy volks. When a wolf
makes his appearance near the tzep only two
OF the thirty or forty dogs forming the teen
ring attack hin. And these are always the
two nearest the intruder. The others are
taught not to leave their posts and never do,
unless more than one wolf endeayors to get at
the sheep. Having sighted the polevoy yolk, the
dog nearest to him barks loudly and immediatel
ms nearest companion rushes to his assistance
while the others widen their distances to keep
the sheep from breaking away. Then ofcharka
No. l growls at the wolf and No. gets behind
him. When they get into this position thew
signal TO their comrades and the entire number
set up strange kind of howl to warn the
shepherd that the dreaded pest is near Mean
time the wolf finds that he is in danger and en-
beavers to escape, but he cannot. Should he
try to run forward the ofcharka catches him
by the leg or tail and holds him fast and il he
attempts to get away toward the prairie again
the dog IN front holds him by the ear They
do not try to kill him. They are trained NOT IN
risk fight, but to keep the intruder at bav un-
til the arrival OF the pastouh, who puts HIM out
OF the world by few sharp knocks ON the
head with his staff.
HOW HORSES DEFEND THEMsELyEs
During our drive from st. Petersburg to
Archanselsk we had an opportunity of seeing
how horses defend themselves In the omen
from the attacks of the lesnoy volk. From the
banks of a pretty little river we saw there
about twenty horses, young and old, male and
female, kicking through the Ice to find some
water. Just then and apparently without warn
ing the young ones and the females
gathered together in a group and the
stations Immediately formed ring
around them with their heads turnei
inward. Then with chorus of yelps fully
twenty wolves rushed from the forest and pre-
cipitated themselves against the square or
circle of horses. No sooner was a wolf within
reach than fierce kick from ole of the stall
lions sent him off bowling with rage. MANY of
them, at the riverside of the group, were sent
rolling down the .iecline. The battle contin-
usd for nearly half an hour. It wound up by
an equine victory, and we collected three Of
their fallen foes as mementoes of the engage
ment