The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1892-02-25
CHASED BY THE WOLVES
THE EXPERIENCES OF "a VEN
TURESOME BOY. 4
Perilous Adventures In Farsst-In II :
Wllds Of rsnnsylvania In the
Winter of 18s1-A Provi- t
dentlll Rescue.

Pocono Mountains. was in the win.
ter of 1881, when was Is years old.
In those days we had to get our oxen
shod in South Canaan. sixteen miles
from where we lived. and in February
of that year my father sent me over
there with yoke of four year old
steers. A long thaw had taken the
snow off. and all the frost out of the
ground. and the weather was much
like early April when I started for
South Canaan at daylight It took
me till II o'clock to get there. and
when the blacksmith had finished
shoeing the oxen it was 4 in the after
noon. ~. FL
"A regular March snow-storm had
sprung up from the Northwest by the
time was ready to start for home,
and saw that was going to have a
tough trip Of it if the storm continued
as violent as it had set in. But the
moon was about full. and / calculated
that l wouldn't get caught out in.
pitch darkness even if tho snow
squall kept up. had to drive the
steers through thick woods nearly all
the way, and, as wolves were numer-
Gus all through this region at that
time felt little ticklish about nv
night end of the journey ihomeward.
1t was shutdown when I entered the
first long stretch of woods on my way
to the Dutch Flats and the snow was
then falling so fast and in such big
flakes that it almost blinded me.
A terrific gale was blowing, but I
was going in the same direction that
the wind was and I felt somewhat en-
couraged on that account. The storm
increased in violence and the wind
fairly howled through the forest as I
directed the steers across the trail,
and remember that felt every min
ute as though great trees were going
to fall and crush me- had never been
bit frightened in the woods before,
for had been raised in the forest,
but own up that I was badly scared
that night. When I reached Dutch
Flats a woodman coaxad me to put up
for the night l had a good notion to
do SO, but I knew that my folks would
worry about me and probably sit UP
all night waiting for me, and so I
plodded through~the snow at the head
Of the near steer and soon passed
Promised Land pond. Then I struck
across the hill to the head of the
Buckhill creek, and as I was leading
the steers along the trail down the
mountain side the snow stopped fall
ing, the clouds broke up and occasional
glimpses of the moon made me feel a
good sight better than I had for a
couple of hours. 81. 4
my folks reckoned in the morning
that would be home by dark I was
six miles from home when the moon
came out and it was all of three hours
after nightfall but I felt all right after
the binding snow ceased, although
the wind was blowing hard. All at
once I heard q noise in the dense
woods some distance behind me, and I
halted the steers and listened. What
heard made me shiver, for it was the
bowling of pack of wolves. and I
quickly saw that the blood thirsty
+. utes were running down the trail
directly toward me. There were at
least a dozen in the pack. and 1 in
stantly realized that they were bent
on attacking me. The winter had
been uncommonly severe up to the
time of the thaw. and in twinkling
I recalled the fact that the wolves had
slaughtered good many domestic an
'imals in the Pocono mountains within
a few weeks. I put the whip to the
steers and in a moment I had them
going at a brisk trot behind me- The
bowling pack rushed down the hill
like a lot of fiends. and before I had
gone an eighth Of a mile further the
hungry brutes were swapping and
snarling at the heels of the steers.
The steers Immediately began to
plunge and below, and the wolves bit
their leg until they started on the run
and came near trampling me under
their hoofs. r. - r..
Seeing that the steers were ungov.
ernable and that the wolves would kill
me If got in their path. I threw the
CAD away, seized the yoke of tho near
steer and jumped astr1de OF his neck.
The steers kept the trail and ran like
wild cattle, believing at every bound.
and had all I could do to keep from
being hurled headlong over the near
ones horns. I could tell from the
bowling of the wolves that they were
close at the heels of the runaway
steers, but had no chance to look
around. I expected at every second
that the steers would sheer off from
the trail and bring up against the
trees but scared as they were they
kept In it until we had led the wolves
all OF two miles down the Buckhill
creek. ys .E
The steers painted in the frosty al r
and the wolves continued to howl.
By thatrtime all the clouds had disap-
peared. and the moon shown 50 bright
that could see ahead in the woods
quite distance.
Suddenly / heard some one shout
and the next moment saw three men
standing at the side of the trail several
rods head. Before realized this the
steers dashed past the men and then I
heard rifles crack number OF times
and / noticed that the wolves stopped
bowling at the heels of the steers.
Pretty soon the steers slakenod their
%cll 10 ~