Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1893-12-21
THE GRAY WOLF.

ILL N1lA OII.
Here is what was recounted TO Ms bv
the old Marquis d'Arville after dinner
at the house of the Baron des Ravels, |
Saint-Hubert.
we had started stag during the day. I
The marquis was the only one of the
guests who had not taken part in the
pursuit He never indulged in the chase /.
During the entire time of the repast we
had talked of little else than the massa-
ere of animals. Even the women inter-
ested themselves in the sanguinary and
often incredible tales, and the speakers
mimicked the attacks and the combats
between men and beasts, gesticulating
with their arms and conversing in ex-
cited tones.
NJ. dArville spoke well, with a GER
tain air of poetry, a trifle sonorous, but
full of effect He had often repeated
this history, therefore he spoke fluently,
not hesitating to find choice words in
which to depict his images.
"Messieurs," he said. Il have never
hunted, nor did my father. my grand
father or my great-grandfather This
last was the son of man who hunted
more than all of you. He died in 1864.
| will tell you how.
HE was named Jean, was married
and was the father of this child. who
was my great-grandfather, and he lived
with his younger brother, Francois
d d'Arville, in our chateau in the midst of
a forest in Lorraine. Francois d'Ar-
vile had remained bachelor through
love of the chase. These two hunted
from one years end to the other, with
out repose, without stop. without lassi-
tude. They loved nothing else, under
stood nothing else, talked of nothing
else, lived for nothing else than the
chase. This terrible, inexorable passion
possessed them to the heart, had invaded
them entirely, leaving no place for any.
thing else.
"They had prohibited any one from
interrupting them during the chase
for any purpose whatever. My great
grandfather was born while his father
was following fox, and Jean d'Arville,
instead of interrupting the run, swore
In the name of the saints, the rascal
might better have waited until after the
huntr
His brother Francois was even more
carried away by this passion than him
self. From the time he arose in the
morning he went to see the dogs, then
tho borcaS tha,, tho shot h;rjS ;D t1a -,
mediate vicinity of the chateau, up to the
time of leaving to start some larger
game. They were known throughout
the neighboring country as NJ. lie Mar
quis and NJ. lie Cadet. the mobiles of that
day not endeavoring like those of our
own time to establish a descending hier-
archy in titles; because the son of mar
quis is no more count, nor the son of a
viscount baron than the son Of gen
eral is colonel by birth; but the shah
by vanity of our day finds profit in this
arrangement. return to my ancestors
"They were, it appears, huge, long,
hairy, violent and vigorous. The young
er, even taller than the elder, had a
voice 80 strong that, according to a
legend of which he was the hero, all the
leaves of the forest trembled when he
shouted. And when they leaped into
the saddle to depart for the chase it was
superb spectacle to see these two
giants bestriding their great horses.
"Now, toward the depth of the win
ter of this year, 1864, the cold was exces.
sive and the wolves became ferocious
They attacked the belated country peo'
pie, wandered around the houses al
night, bowling from the setting to the
rising of tho sun, and depopulating the
stables.
"And soon weird rumor circulated
They talked of q colossal wolf, with
gray hair, almost white, who had eater
two children, devoured woman's arm
strangled all the watchdogs of I'll,
country, and who penetrated without
fear into the Enclosures to sniff undel
the doors. All the inhabitants declared
that they had heard his shuttle, and tha
it had made the flames Of the lamp
flicker. And soon panic ran through
all the province. Nobody dared go ou
after nightfall. The darkness seemed
to be haunted by images of the beast.
"The d'Arville brothers resolved t,
find this animal and kill it, and they ac
cordingly summoned all the gentlemen
of the country to grand chase. 1t wa
in vain. They hunted the forest owe
and searched the thickets, but did no
encounter it. They killed plenty o
wolves, but not this one. And eacl
night, after the chase, the animal. a
though to avenge itself, attacked SOM
traveller or devoured some cattle, alway
far from the place where they had beel
searching for it. At last one night i
penetrated the pig stable of the Chatea,
dArville and ate the two finest porkers
The two brothers were inflamed witt
anger, considering this attack as bra
vado from the monster, direct injury,
, defiance. They took all their stronI
} bloodhounds, accustomed to the pursui
Of redoubtable beasts, and entered tn
chase, their hearts provoked to fury.
From dawn until the hour when III
purple sun descended behind the great
bare trees, they beat the thickets with
out finding anything. Finally, bot
furious and desolate, and astonished tina
} all their skill had been bafiled by thi
2 wolf, they were walking their horse
along path bordered by bushes, whe
they were suddenly seized by sort q
mysterious fear.
, "'This beast Is not an ordinary one
~, "a.
: that he had human attributes
4 A