Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-25

A Cold Night I'm Montana, With q Pack
of MOlYea Thrown I'm.

A Cold Night in Montana, With q Pack
of Wolves Thrown I'm.
Col. Jim Struthers of Montana was in the
lobby of the Shoreham last night. The
colonel is a big man in the region to which
he is Indigenous. and Is a wholesale dealer
in cows. He began his occidental career
as an everyday cow puncher before the
far west had taken on the lustrous sheen
Of polish with which 1t now shlmmers. He
is the delight of listeners. He is profuse
and perhaps promiscuous In his urgency to
take something, but he talks much better
under these conditions. He told The Star
man a western-havored experience and
drew his text from wolves and antelope.
He said:
ut was in the winter of 1886. 1t was
that winter which distanced all other win
tiers this side Of Lieut.. Peary for blizzards
and unwarmth. 1t was so cold that We
had to boil the coffee pot on skates and
rake the fire with an ice pick. Everything
was 50 contracted with the intensity of the
coldly bitterness that it was impossible to
find ourselves when we got lost Then, /
was one OF party of sportsman hunters
encamped in the foothills of the Bull noun
tains in Montana, an independent range
" hich runs down between the Yellowstone
and Mdsselshell rivers. This territory in
the palmy days of game was the winter re-
sort for antelope. They herded here in
thousands, or in the local parlance they
punched. One morning / started out from
camp with Maj. Wiley King, who was rum
ming big COW concern not far off, to shoot
antelope. After riding over the hills and
far away, down through ravines and jun
giles of sage and greasewood, we hit EN-
We picketed the nags to the brush, got to
leeward of the game so they would not
scent US, and let her CO. We had thirty
two before the dear little things caught on
to what was up. Then they stampeded and
We followed after them as fast as hoof and
horse could hump it. After chasing the
bunch for several miles We bagged eight or
ten more. We then determined that one of
us should get back to camp and bring out a
conveyance for the game. 1t fell to Wi
ley's lot to go. l remained behind, and to
XIII time 1 began to snake the ca-casses of
those dropped on the run together. 1t was
brewing storm. The sky was filled with
threats / rode back to the pile of animals
killed at the first attack and got inside the
heap for shelter. Night came, but my
partner didn't. The angels were shedding
their plumage knee deep. Cold? Well you
J bet 1t was winter in the Bull mountains
1 did not have anything to strike blaze
with, and L stamped on my toes and
breathed on my fingers and hit my flask to
keep up circulation. The snow showed. 1
piled the carcasses around and above me-
At midnight / heard the bark of a wolf 1t
was long way off. / got up and listened,
and 1 heard two or three other barks
| found that the tones came from the cayote
or prairie wolf, the biggest bluff in the ami
NAL kingdom, and settled back to rest as
| best 1 could. A few minutes later / heard
another bark that had a more resonant and
business like ring to 1t. 1t was the voice of
the timber wolf. who had come out of the
| hills. The temperature seemed to affect my
| spinal column and sleep was driven from
my eyes. / had belt full of shells and
although l would have felt more comforta-
bic snugly in bed at home, / Just trembled
/ little bit. Onward the beasts came. They
were receiving recruits at every bark The
| hrst that set foot within my circle died 1t
was dark, and did not give my Winches-
| ter leave to talk till the eyes of the enemy
| showed up. The wolves were hungry, for il
was a bad winter. However, they were
afraid of the gun and explosives. and as
| soon as one of their comrades fell they
| turned their attention to him. This would
| give me chance to shove in some more
lead. Day began to break and the wolves
withdrew. 1 heard a gun in the distance,
answered 1t and my partner rode up. Wiley
| wolves.
mo. sir: the wolf isn't such a desperate
creature as fiction and the imagination of
sometime sports have made him. The
| prairie wolf will sneak around camp at
hlght ana steal scraps, but as to attacking
anybody, he isn't as hydrophobiacal as the
civilized cur. The timber wolf hasn't the
most courteous disposition in the west. but
| ne is cowardly, and good gun can stand
| Off whole menagerie of them. They come
out or the hill timber at night and go for
| a calf or a heifer. but they don't like man.
and will only touch him as a last resort
| Out in the west We roll ourselves nm in a
blankets right out on the prairie and sleep
the sleep OF the righteous, and no Little
Red riding Hood business breaks our rest
come on. boys. Whatn You have?''