The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-11-12

that no danger lurked near, he made a pc
culiar whiStling sound and marched forward
confidently. Responding to his signal, such
a procession as / can never hope to have
the good fortune to see again came proudly
in his wake, a herd of thirty elk, stately
bulls, sleek cows and glossy calves. All Of
the bulls were large and splendidly antlered,
but none of them approached in majestic
proportion or mein the noble leader of the
herd.
AN UNEXPECTED DIVERSION.
For a moment every one of us gazed
spellbound on the grand spectacle, and then
the brute instinct in us asserted itself and
every mans rifle went to his shoulder. But
before one of US could fire there broke upon
the scene something that gave quite an
other aspect TO it, and mechanically every
mans gun was lowered. An immense white
wolf dashed through the fringe of bushes
through which the elk had just made their
way, and with a frightfuliyel sprang upon
a calf that stood by the side of it's mother
while the latter was quenching her thirst
at the creek. The. calf. bleating pitifully.
went down beneath the leap of it's blood
thirsty foe, and instantly the VOLTS fangs
were at its throat and the next instant the
whole pack came rushing and yelping like
demons In upon the startled herd. That
TINS was the pack we were pursu-
ing there could be no doubt. Chased
ranches, they hadG struck the trail of the
elk and had crept upon them in that quiet
vale. There were twelve in the pack. not
fone of them less than five feet in length.
True to their kind, they all bounced upon
the calf that the first wolf had killed, and
the gnashing, snarling and swapping of
their great jaws as they fought for a NOR
sci OF the meat was enough to frighten an
Indian from the spot. Before we had time
to think what it would be best for us TO
do TO make our attack on the wolves most
effective, a movement among the bull elks
caused us to postpone consideration of the
attack.
AT tho fret opolo,obt 80 A. x-1xo. A.
elk stood as if paralyzed with fright or as
constituent, but before the ravenous pack
could strip the meat from the bones of the,
calf the bull elks separated from the cows
and Joined each other in a group. There
were nine of them. For a moment they
tossed their great antlered heads in the air,
paved the GROUND and made everything
tremble with their loud believing. Then
they formed in a circle about the swapping
and snarling wolves, their b~ristling cheveux
de frise of horns turned toward them. The
wolves, intent on tearing and gorging their
prey, had not noticed the action of the elks,
and not unit they had left nothing but the
skeleton OF the calf and turned to look for
another victim did they discover the threat
ening circle of terrible heads that confronted
them. The seriousness of the situation was
understood by them at once. as we could
plainly see. Their fear was terrible TO wit
ness. With cleaning fangs, blood-red jaws
wide open and eyes blazing like Goals of fire,
they attacked the elks with a ferocity that
few things could have stood firm against,
but they only hurled themselves upon the
SndTp ana TuBBc IEOHlS VI the lOA eTcu ant
lers. TO be cast back within the circle howl
ing with the pain of wounds the well-thrust
horns inflicted.
THE FINAL STRUGGLE.
with the repulse of this assault of the
wolves the elks stepped forward a pace or
two, reducing the limits of the bloody circle.
For a moment the wolves huddled together
in the center. uttering fierce cries. and then
they sprang TO the attack again. Again they
Were met by the terrible antler thrusts. and
three of the white demons fell to the ground
disemboweled. The avenging bulls again re-
duced the circle by a pace or two, and the
remaining wolves were huddled in a space
that left them little room for action. They
leaped against the elk again. 10 be hurled
back torn and bleeding. Now the elks
closed in the circle upon their foes and
waited for no further attacks. With hoofs
and horns they beat, and gored, and ripped,
and tramped the yelping, bowling, swapping,
snarling wolves that struggled in the bloody
ring from which there was no escape, until
at last there was nothing left but fiattened
carcasses of all that savage pack. Their
enemies annihilated. the bull elks, believing
triumphantly, mingled with the herd again,
and for a time there was great snorting
and awning of dirt by the entire herd. That
phalanx OF bull elks had in a short time
accomplished what We had been striving to