The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-02-16
A Narrow Escape.

one OF his trapperS, a french Cana-
dian: "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 l felt some curiosity to
learn his history. 1t turned out that
he had been through rather I'M
cannv experience the winter before.
He and another man had gone into a
remote basin, or Enclosed valley, in
the heart of the mountains. where
game was very plentiful indeed, it
was so abundant that they decided to
pass the winter there. Accordingly
they put up log cabin, working
hard, and merely killing enough
meat for their immediate use. Just
as it was finished, winter set in with
tremendous snow.storms. Going out
to hunt, in the first lulI, they found,
to their CONSERVATION, that every
head of game had left the valley.
Not an animal was to be found there
in they had abandoned it for their
winter 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
they stayed. The man that I met
had his dog with him. They put
themselves on very short commons,
so as to use up their -four as slowly
as possible, and hunted unweariedly,
but saw nothing. Soon a violent
quarrel broke out between them.
The other man. fierce, sullen fell
low, 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 awakened by the animal
crying out; the other man had tried
to kill it with his knife, but failed.
The provisions were now almost ex-
hausted, and the two men were glar-
ing at each other with the rage of
maddened, ravening hunger.
Neither dared to sleep for fear that
the other would kill him. Then the
one who owned the dog at last spoke,
and proposed that. to give each a
chance for his life, they should sepa-
rate. He would take half of the
handful of -four that was left and
start off to try to get home the other
should stay where he was, and if he
tried to follow the first he was warn
ed that he would be shot without
mercy. A like fate was to be the
portion of the wanderer if driven to
return to the hut. The arrangement
was agreed to and the two men sepa-
rated, neither daring to turn his back
while they were within rife shot of
each other. For two days the one
who went off tOiled on with weary
weakness through the snowdrifts.
Late on the second afternoon, as he
looked back from high ridge. he
saw in the far distance black speck
against the snow, coming along on
his trail. His companion was dog
ging his footsteps. Immediately he
followed his trail back a little ard
lay in ambush. AT dusk his com.
panion came steathily up, rifle in
hand, peering cautiously ahead, his
drawn face showing the starved
eager ferocity of wild beast, and
the man he was hunting shot him
down exactly as if he had been one.
Leaving the body iwhere it fell, the
wanderer continued his journey, the
dog staggering painfully behind him.
The next evening he baked his last
cake and divided it with his dog. In
the morning, with his belt drawn
still tighter around his skeleton body,
he once more set out, with appar-
emily only few hours of dull 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 he
sat down to die; but while sitting
still, slow-stiffening with cold. he
heard the dog baying in the woods.
Shaking off his mortal numbness, he
crawled toward the sound, and found
the wolf over the body of deer that
ne had just killed. and keeping the
dog from it. At the approach of the
new assailant the wolf sullenly drew
off, and man and dog tore the raw
deer-Aesh with hideous eagerness. 1t
made them very sick for the next
twenty-four hours but. lying by the
carcass for two or three days they re-
covered strength.