Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-11-27
A WOLF AS A FARM HAND.
It Has History, and is Now Run
ming Churning Machine.

ming q Churnlng machine.
Any one who may visit Richard Cum
ningham's farm, which lies pretty well
up in the Blue Mountains in the north
eastern part of this county, says a letter
from McConnellsburg, Penn, to the
the New York Sun, will see sight the
like of which was probably never seen
In this country before. 1t is an immense
black wolf--one Of the last of its race in
this State-with eyes that glare fiercely
at all who come near him, with the ex-
ception of Farmer Cunningham himself,
and accompanying his glare with savage
growls, and yet meeklv treading the mo-
notonous round of churning machine,
like some household dog or old eve
sheep. This performance of mental
service by the wolf, singular as it is, is
by no means the strangest thing about
him. He has history.
Last spring, a year ago, Farmer Cum
ningham discovered that something was
carrying off his lambs almost as fast as
they were born in his flock. He sus-
pected that this was being done by
wildcat, and he set trap to see if he
could not capture the animal Whan he
went to his trap next morning he was
amazed to find that, instead of wild
cat, he had captured a wolf. 1t had been
years since any one had seen or heard of
wolves in that region, although they
were at one time numerous in the Blue
Mountains. 1t was evident to Cunning
ham, however, that if the wolf he had
caught in the trap belonged in that
neighborhood it had not roamed the
woods solitary representative of its
race. 1t was a she wolf, and, although,
the animal was held fast by both fore
feet in the trap, she was lying patiently
on the ground and giving suckle to a
baby wolf when Cunningham appeared
on the scene. When the wolf saw him
she sprang to her feet and savagely con-
fronted him. He shot her through the
head and captured the whelp alive. 1t
was not more than three weeks old.
Cunningham took it home with the car
cass of the old one. The young wolf
moaned piteously for its mother, and the
farmer proposed killing it. His wife
would not hear of the killing of the
whining cub, and took charge of it her.
self. She could not induce it to take
sustenance, and it was in good way
w otai We w ututil, Wucu NlIS.
ham had bright idea The night be-
fore her husband set the trap one
of their ewes was robbed of her lamb.
The wolf undoubtedly stole it. Failing
in all her efforts to introduce food into
the stomach of the baby wolf, Mrs. Gun
nlngham carried it to the bereaved eve,
which was still lamenting her loss, and
held the cub to the sleeps udder. In
stantly the wolf began to suckle eagerly
and the kind-hcarted woman had the
satisfaction of seeing the orphan wolf
take hearty meal. The eve was at
first greatly avcrse to this operation, but
finally submitted graciously, and seemed
satisfied to let it proceed. The success of
Mrs. Cunninghams plan to feed the
young wolf being assured, the eve was
brought from the pasture to the farm
yard, and for weeks visitors to the farm
saw the strange spectacle of sheep
sucking q wolf, the wolf, beyond all
doubt, being the offspring of the one
that robbed the sheep of her own young.
The wolf throve amazingly on sleeps
milk, and the strange foster parent and
child formed the strongest kind of an
attachment to each other, which remained
unbroken until the death of the sheep a
few weeks ago.
As the wolf grew the unsociability if
not the entire savageness of its kind
manifested itself, and he was kept Sc
curely chained. Although it was Mrs.
Cunningham who saved his life, the
wolf did not like her to come near him,
but he early showed the greatest friend
ship to Farmer Cunningham, who hand
led him as easily as he would house
dog. The old eve sheep was the churn
sheep of the farm, and it was no uncom-
mon sight to see her and the wolf asleep
side by side, but there was good reason
to believe that no other sheep on the
farm could have approached within
reach Of him with safety. About a
month ago barn door fell on the eve
and killed her. 1t was churning day,
and Cunningham was at loss to know
what to do for power to run the tread
mill that operated his churns. Finally
he thought of the wolf, which is an un-
usually large and powerful one. He
resolved to try the animal as churner,
and put him on the mill. The wolf OBJ
jected strongly at first, but when the
machine started he submitted, and ran
off the churning in excellent style
Since then he has been regularly en-
gagged in running the machine, and hi
goes to his work as cheerfully as an ami
NAL of his kind could be expected to.
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