Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-03-14
on 4 MOUNTAIN TRAM


on 4 MOUNTAIN TRAH
We had no warning. 1t was as if they
had deliberately lain in ambush for us at
the turn in the trail They seemed sud
denly and silently to rise on all sides Of the
sleigh at once.
ltis not often that the gray timber wolves,
or "black wolvesn as the mountaineers
call them, are seen hunting in packs though
the animal is plentiful enough among the
foot hills of the Rockies As general rule
they are met with singly or in pairs. At
the end of a long and severe winter, how
ever, they sometimes come together in bands
! of fifteen or twenty; and every old noun
taineer has tale to tell-perhaps of his
own narrow escape from one of their fierce
packs, perhaps Of some friend Of his wh1
started one day in winter to travel alone
from camp, and whose clean picked bones
were found beside the trail long afterward
1t was in February, and we, Gates and
myself, were driving from Livingston
Montana, 10 Gulch City, fifty miles away,
with load Of camp supplies-a barrel of
flour and some bacon, coffee and beans, a
blanket or two, some dynamite tor giant
powder, as the miners call it, for blasting;
I
ends We had started at aybreak BY
five o'clock in the evening, with some ten
miles to travel, the worst of the trail was
passed There had been little snow that
winter, that even in the gulches and on
the bottoms the exposed ground was barely
covered. while on the steep slopes snow had
almost entirely disappeared, leaving only
ragged patches Of white under over. hanging
Uoughs, and thin coating of ice in the in
equalities of the hard, frost bound trail.
making treacherous footing for the horses
| hoOfs.
The first forty miles of the road had lain
entirely over hills-zigzagging up one side
of mountain only to zigzag down the other
with the dense growth of pine and tam
arack and cedar on both sides wreathed
| here and there in mist But at last We were
| clear Of the foot hills and reached the level.
| The tall forest trees gave place u a wilder
ness Of thick underbrush, lying black in the
evening air, and the horses swung content
edly from the steep grade into the level
trail where at last they could let their legs
move freely in "a trot.
Hardly had they settled into their stride,
however, when both animals SHE'D violently
70 the left side Of the trail. A moment
later they plunged back to the right side so
/ suddenly as to almost throw me off into the
brush.
Then, out of the earth and the shadow of
the bushes, the grim, dark forms seemed to
rise on all sides of us. There was not a
/ sound-not a snap or snar but in the
gathering twilight of the February evening
we saw them moving noiselessly over the
thin coat of snow which covered the ground.
In the uncertain light and moving rapidly as
we did. it was impossible to guess hew many
they were. An animal which was one mo
ment in plain sight, running abreast of the
horses, would, the next moment, be lost
in the shadow of the bushes, while two more
dark silent forms would edge up and take
its place. So, on both sides of u.s. they kept
appearing and disappearing In the rear,
half dozen jostled one another to push
nearer the flying sleigh black mass that
filled the whole width of the trail. Behind
those again, others, less clearly visible,
crossed and recrossed the roadway from
side to side They might be twenty in all
or thirty-or forty 1t was impossible to
tell
For a minute | did not think of danger.
The individual wolf is the most sulking and
cowardly of animals, and only by some such
experience as we had that night does a
hunter learn that wolves can be dangerous.
But soon the stories OF the old mountaineers
came crowding into my mind as the horses,
terrified and snortiug, plunged wildly along
the narrow trail while the ghost-like forms
glded patiently alongside-appearing dis
appearing and reappearing The silent per
tinacity with which, apparently making no
effort, they kept pace beside the flying
horses was horrible Even howl or yelp
or a growl would have been a relief. But not
50 much as the sound of their footballs on
the snow was to be heard.
At the first sight of the wolves l had
drawn my revolver from the leather case
in which it hung suspended from my belt.
Gates handling the reins, was entirely oc-
cupied with the horses; but l knew, with
out need of words that he saw our pursuers
and understood the peril as well as l.
Have you guu,' | shouted in his ear
A negative shake of the head was all the
answer So we must trust to the six
cartridges in my revolver.
How many wolves are there, do you
SUPPOSE again | called.
Again he shook his head, as if to say thai
, he could not guess.
So the minutes passed and we swept on
! rising and falling and swayng with the in
l eauaties in the trail The dark forms
. growing more indistinct each minute, wer,
hanging doggedly to the sleigh.
, Suddenly became aware that wolf wa
almost at my elbow; its head was on leve
with my waist as ! sat in the low sleigh
In the darkness | could plainly see tn
,l white teeth, and the dim circle of tn
{ eyes. | hardly had to lean over at all Il
r place the muzzle of the revolver within
r foot of the great round head before | fired
# saw the black form roll over and over il
d the snow as We went by. simultaneously
IS two other shadowy shapes that had bee
% running abreast of the horses, in advanc
) of the animal that was shot, dropped back
aud looking over my shoulder | could Sc
d them throw themselves upon their wounde
'e fellow As the sea gulls following in tn
e wake of a vessel in mid ocean, swoop froI
: all directions upon some floating scrap tina
has been thrown overheard, so from bot
4 sides of the trail the dark figures rushe
5 together into one struggling mass benin
III the sleigh: and for the first time we hear
ell them swapping and snarling at one anothe
n as they tore their comrade to pieces.
N The horses appeared to know that
er some way a gleam of hope had come, The
m ceased plunging and seemed to throw q
RS their energies into putting as wide a spaC
le as possible between them and the yelpir
te pack behind,
ne How long would the respite be. SeconC
ID passed until half minute had gone. The
" a minute. Could it be that they had lie
Mt us that the horrible race was over.
or But even as the hope was forming itse
lis in my mind, | became aware of dir
RS gray thing moving beside me. A mome
lg later another appeared, close by the horse
n heads, and behind us the trail was aga
r full of the jostling pack,
al 1t was terrible beyond expression, Il
utter noiselessness with which they 7
ed sumed their places, apparently treles
Id keeping pace with the racing horses wit
,e. out a sign of effort; patient as fate itse
n. Have YOU ever been on a fast steamship
e. say a "P. & or boat in Indian waite
of where the sea is transparent-and, leanil
ok over the stern, watched a shark followil
nd the vessel. If so, you remember no
th hour after hour and day after day, {
nut dark, vaguely outlined body, not more d
up tinct than the shadow OF a cloud upon t
he waves, stayed, motionless TO all appearanI
IN, Just so many feet aft in the ships wake,
in matter how fast she moved. TO me, and
aw think 10 every one who has seen it, th
is silent, persistent haunting presence is
ell very embodiment of ruthlessness and d
nd tiring cruelty. There, in the twilight a
ch shadow was the same silence, the sal
5he iudistinctness, the same awing impressi
ere of motionless speed, the same horror of I
500 inevitable, in that pursuit by the wolves
zen But soon their tactics changed. Eitf
they had grown bolder or the wolf th
had eaten among them had put a keer
edge upon their appetites. There' We
now four or five of the ghostlike for
'"' moving abreast of the horses on my side
A.. the sleigh alone On the other side m,
the were visible. They were now closing
im- upon us with determination. Suddenl,
aft h.. Of