Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1891-08-22
a TERRIeLs EXPERIENCE.


II
= Marrow Escape.
/ Once or twice lie showed a curious re-
! laeiance about allowing a man TO approach
him suddenly from behind Altogether
| his actions were so ,idd that | felt some
/ curiosity 10 learn his hiBtory. II turned
out that he had been through rather un
canny experience the winter before. He
and another man had gone into a remote
basin, or inelnsed valley, Ia the heart Of
the mountains, where game was very
| plentiflil indeed, II WAS 50 abundant that
they decided to pass the winter there.
Accordingly they put mp log cabin, work
ing hard, and merely killing enough meat
for their immediate use. just as 1t was
finished winter set In with tremendous
snow storms. Going out TO hunt, In tho
first lull. they found. TO their consternn.
ton. that every head OF game had left this
valley. Not an animal was to be found
therein; they had abandoned II 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 II they staid. Tho man
that met had his dog with him. They
put themselves on very short commons,
so as to use up their -four MS slowly as
possible. and hunted unweariedly. but
saw nothing.
Soon violent quarrel broke ont be
tween them. IRIS other man, fierce,
sullen fellow. insisted that the dog should
be killed, but the owner was exceedingly
attached 10 1t, and refused. For couple
of weeks they spoke no words to each
other. though cooped In the little narrow
pen OF logs Then one night the owner
80 lfnt4 16&ff Gets AT
CRYING ont; the other man had tried 20
kill IL with his knife. but failed. The
provisions were now almost exhausted,
and the two men were glaring at each
other with the rage Of maddened, raven
ing hunger Neither dared to sleep, for
fear that tho other would kill him. Then
the one who owned the dog at last spoke.
and proposed that, to give each chance
for his life, they should separate. He
would take half Of the handful Of flour
that was left and start off to try to get
home, the other should stay where lao
was, md Ii he tried to follow the first he
was warned that he would be shot with
out mercy. A like fate was to be the
portion Of the wandercr If driven TO re-
turn TO the hut. The arrangement was
agreed TO and the two men separated.
neither daring to turn his back while they
were within rifle shot of each other.
| For two days the one who went of
toiled ON with weary weakness through
the snow drifts 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 Ills companion was logging
his footsteps. Immediately no followed
his own trail back u little aud laid in am.
bush. At dusk his companion came
stealthily up, rifle Ia hand. pecring eau.
tiously ahead, his drawn face showing
| the starved, eager ferocity of the wild
beast, and the man he was hunting shot
| him down exactly Us If he had been ono.
| Leaving the body where ii fell. the wan
derer continued his journey, the dog stag.
| gcring painfully behind him. The next
evening he baked his last cake and divided
| Ii with the dog. In the morning, with
his belt drawn still tighter round his skel-
eton body, he once more set out, with mp
parently only few hours Of duh misery
between him and death. At noon lac
crossed the track OF a huge timber wolf
instantly tho dog gave tongue, and, rally
| ing its strength, ran along the trail. The
man struggled after
/ AT last his strength gave out and lie sat
down 10 die, but while sitting still, slowly
stiifening with the cold. he heard the dog
baying In the woods Shaking off hi!
mortal numbness, hc crawled towards tin
sound. and found the wolf over the bod,
of deer he had Just killed. aud keeping
the dog from Ii. At the approach Of iii
new asaailant the wolf suilenly drew of
and the man and dog tore the raw dee
llesh with hldeous eagerness. 1t mad
them very sick for tho next twenty fou
hours. but, lying by the carcass for tw,
or three days. they recovered strength
Theodore Roosevelt in The Century.