The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1891-10-23

| ~ OCllCNE0 AtldI llC WIZ S-O6 40 RN~A S1J
Newfoundland breed and part wolf,
! for it must be remembered that the
wolf was once very numerous IN New
/ foundland and Labrador, hunting IN
largo fierce packs across the wide
stretches of barrens or lreeless NOR
asses. Many of the native dogs ran
wild, and long ago were known TO mix
among the wolves about the coast
and live in apparent friendship with
/ them. The wolves in both these
places have now grown scarce, but the
dogs are still grouped together in sew
eral secluded coves and bays alopg
the coast, living in open in summer
and burrowing away i'll holes or under.
theground frs and spruces away from
storm and cold in winter. In sum
mer time these animals live mostly by
the seashore, where they find dead
1culpins, capelan, herring, sounds,
omcods and fiat fish; often they
..!Dnge into the sea and feast upon the
shoals of small fish that come near
! the rocks; when they are tired of fish
they .scamper away inland and hunt
mice, rats, weasel. muskrats, young
birds, rabbits and hares. But in win
ter they are often sore pressed for
morsel to eat, their chief food being
almost entirely hares and rabbits,
! but they have been known to scOur
! the plains for reindeer and to visit
! open ponds and brooks in search OF
otter and beaver.
One March morning two boys,
Arthur and Fred Haley, the one about
/ Is and the other s years old, we're
SPENDING d few weeks in a settlement
on the northeast coast of Newfound-
land, shooting the northern bird
Known as the great salt water duck.
The coast, about twenty miles or so
away from the settlement, was said to
be haunted by wild dogs; indeed, these
animals had sometimes actually dash
ed through the village in their search
! for food, frightening the inhabitants
old and young. Once they seized
little hoy not far from his home and
tore him to pieces, so that everyone
living there was in mortal dread of the
vicious creatures.
The two boys set out early in the
morning, their intention being to
shoot seal in u cove about ten miles
distant. They took with them q
heavy gun each a pair of snow-shOes,
a pair of skates, and enough provis-
ions for the day. The course lay
across a stretch of bleak barrens COW
cred with snow, over which one could
not pass without snow-shoes, as the
crust was thin and brittle; as long
chain of ponds and lakes stretched
along in the same direction for twenty
or thirty miles, they brought along
| their skates 1t was clear, crisp
morning, and two hours travel, now
on snow-shoes, again upon skates,
brought them to the cove. There
were several seals bobbing up and down
in the clear water and they shot
three or four but the wind
having veered so az to blow off land,
they could not obtain their prizes, and
so left the place and set out across
Island Head, about five miles further
on, because they knew that in the
shelter of this cape there was a blight
where they could always find bottle
nose divers and big salt water duck.
They used their snow shoes for only a
short part of this tramp, as long
/ stretches of smooth steel blue ice lay
| across almost to the cove. As they
drew near Replace they took off their
skates, hung them across their shout
ders and approached noiselessly, for
/ the ducks are very wary. A thin
/ screen of scrub fir and spruce hid their
approach and through this they crept
on hands and knees to get full view of
the blight; but instead OF seeing clus-
tiers of seabIrds as they expected in
/ the calm water between the ice and
the shore, the whole beach seemed to
/ ha md A-th .,v ,,-l--v,,r.I -,
his younger brother while clutching
his arm:
THE wild dogs! l wonder if they
! have seen us?" But very clearly they
had, for the of wind hao carried their
scent to the keen noses of the pack,
and Immediately the whole herd turn
ed in the direction of the boys. their
noses thrust in the air shifting There
/ were probably about sixty OF them,
all long. lean brutes with shaggy hair,
sharp noses, rather short ears and
/ shy, skulking eyes. For a few seconds
/ they ran back and forth on the beach,
their heads now turned down but
constantly keeping their ewes upon
Arthur and Fred, who began to re-
/ treat back into the bushes AS they
neared this shelter they saw that about
a dozen of the dogs, some of which
/ were large. and evidently the leaders,
make up the bank, followed by the
rest in n compact body. Then from
all their throats came sharp, crying
noises, somewhat like the barking OF
a dog and the yelping of a wolf COM
bined; the tunlult rose and fell, the
leaders commencing the cry and ali
the rest following.
1t was very plain that the pack was
furnishing with hunger, for the snow
in all the region for hundred square
miles about was very deep, and the
reindeers, hares and rabbits had gone
farther south where they could find
food. The brother made sure their
guns were ready, and Arthur laying