The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1892-01-30

The particulars were soon known. A
| boy, twelve years old, Damed Ralph
| White, had been visiting his aunt in the
town. On that morning he had started
| for his home. four miles out in the coun-
| try He ought to have reached there long
enough before noon, but the day passed
and he did not appear. His father had
come to town and given the alarm, and
within an hour thirty men were ready to
so out.
You will wonder how the boy could
have been lost on public his hway. Had
be stuck to the road he would have been
all right, but after getting a mile and a
half from the village he attempted a
short cut through the forest to save dis
tance. The snow was six inches deep and
the weather cold; and we all believed tnat
l. we did not find him that night he
would certainly perish. Fortunately for
us, a teamster had seen the boy enter the
woods, and we were not long finding his
trail. His tracks were the only ones, and
he had gone along all right and kept the
right direction for about half mile.
Then he had begun to ramble, and it was
not long before we found where he had
walked in a circle.
When the lad had found that he was
turned around, as the saying is, he got
scared and ran as hard as he could, but
in the wrong direction. We had torches,
you understand, and it was an easy task
TO follow him. As we went forward on
his trail men sh outed. horns were blown
and guns fired. About four miles from
where We struck into the woods we foaud
where he had fallen down in the snow.
After getting up he seemed to be tired out
and did not run any more for a long time.
1t was just midnight when We found
the boy 5 overcoat on the snow-not the
overcoat, but heap of rags and tatters to
represent it. Right there, also we found
the tracks of wolves, and gave all hope of
finding the lad alive.
Ii had been a cloudy, dark day. and the
wolves in that thick forest were astir and
had come upon him. The tracks now
showed that the lost boy had starred of on
a run. aid that there were five wolves
were following him. A quater of mile
further on we found his red yarn mittins
all chewed up on the snow. There were
plenty of trees which he could nave
climed and when We found that he still
kept running we expected to come upon
his bones any minute.
About thirty rods beyond the mittens
We found the remnants of his fur cap and
jacket. Every time he threw anything
away the wolves stopped to investigate,
though this gave him the lead it was only
a question of time when they would over
haul him. We had just crossed Il
glade and entered the thicket on the other
side when we heard a growing and
gnashing of teeth and caugh sight of ut
least three wolves sneaking away We
expected that the climax had occurred
here. and were searching about In dread
when voice suddenly called out:
Here am-up here, but m so cold
cant come down"
II was the lost boy, and he was among
The Limbs OF beech over our heads. We
soon had him down, but he could not
walk a step His ears, nose. fugers and
toes were frost bittin, and in an hour more
ne would have frozen to death. II was Ii
degrees below zero that night, and he was
n his shirt sleeves and barehended.
He had got lost just as We figured out
Dut about the time he saw the wolves he
bought he was on the right road for home
ma very near it. For this reason he did
lot take TO tree. but baited the wolves
o gain time When he threw away his
zap and realiz d that he was still in the
woods he cllmed tree, and was hardly off
he ground before the wolves came up.
They sat down to wait for him 10 become
heir prey, ani had there been any delay
n our starting out on the search they
would sdreiy nave won the race.-Ex.