The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1894-05-04
TOMS ROBBER.

Trapper Tom lived alone in a dugout In
the Black HILLS.
Tom had a lard time of it, for some one
or something was forever stealing his
things. First he lost his hat, then a boot,
then Il piece OF bacon. This was followed
by the disappearance of his washing ba-
sin, and there was a robbery from his
traps.
1t was perplexing in the extreme, for if
he went away even for a couple of days
and left his door open, which, by the way,
he could not avoid, having no means of
securing it ON the outside, something was
quite sure to vanish.
Tom was not a capitalist, but in sum.
mer he earned a living by digging cellars
for new settlers and in winter by trap
ping. Neither was Toms house a work of
art. He had literally dug it on the top Of
a knoll and rooted it with sods, SO that
from the outside it had very much the APP
pearance of a large mole hill. The knoll
which Tom had selected for his home was
bounded or one side by a lake and on the
other side by a poplar grove which abound
ed in rabbits.
In the winter Trapper Tom, as he was
Familiarity called, trusted almost entirely
to this grove to supply him with food. He
always kept several gin traps in the rabbit
runs among the red willows which grew
in profusion around the outskirts of the
heavier timber.
One evening at unset Tom arranged his
traps and as usual went directly to bed,
for he could not afford to burn much oil.
He had been sleeping for several hours
when he was suddenly awakened by a sue
cession of loud cries from the direction of
the poplar grove. Believing that he must
have caught Il fox in one of his rabbit
traps, Tom sprang out of bed, put on his
pants, coat and boots, seized his spade,
which was the best weapon he possessed,
and started for the grove.
The moon was shining brightly, and the
light was good, for the white poplars were
not very tall, but even if this had not been
the case Tom would have experienced very
little difficulty in locating the cries on &C
count of the p-rsistency with which the
animal kept the.l up. Before he had ad-
vanced so yard through the deep snow
he found himself face to face with a shay
gy coated animal.
At the trappel s approach the unfortu-
nate creature turned toward him, bristling
with rage, and revealing quite plainly
the broad bands of brown with which ma
ture has decked the sides of the wary and
troublesome wolverine. The animal was
caught by one of its hind feet in a steel
trap, which in turn was secured by a chain
to a small log, in no way adequate to hold
SO large an animal. Fortunately, how
ever, the chain was fastened to the mid
die of the log, and this, owing to the num-
Der of small trees, made the escape of the
wolverine almost impossible.
Had Trapper Tom been armed with a
gun, there would nave been little merit or
little difficulty in winning the battle, but
as his only weapon was a spade he realized
that the conflict would not by any means
be one sided. Nevertheless Tom was no
coward, and he began circiling round the
animal, watching for an opportunity to
close with it. AS he walked round and
round he noticed that the wolverine also
kept turning, SO he concluded to keep it
up till the animal had twisted the chain
into a knot.
AS Tom kept circling and the animal
kept turning the chain kept getting short
er, until the animals leg was drawn close
to the log. This was the desired opportu-
nifty, and Tom rushed in and dealt his cap
tive a violent blow with the blade of the
spade.
In attempting to avoid a second attack,
however, the wounded animal sprang
back and pulled the steel spring of the
trap SO violently against the log that the
jaws flew open and set it free.
Instead of running away, the half stun
ned and maddened wolverine glared for one
moment at its assailant and then sprang
open mouthed at his throat.
Tom leaped behind a friendly poplar
just in time to avoid the attack, and as
the animal passed he dealt it a second
blow, this time on the back, but in doing
so he lost his balance and stumbled for
ward into the deep snow.
Before he could regain his feet the ami
NAL was upon him, and he found himself
engaged in a hand to hand struggle with
the savage creature. 1t seized his heav-
lily coated arm in its teeth and commenced
striking at him with it's muscular hind
legs, which, being armed with heavy claws,
would have inflicted terrible wounds had
they been able to get in their work.
With his free hand Trapper Tom grip
ped the animal by the throat and COM
pressed its windpipe until it released his
ARM. Then he thrust it over upon it's
back into the loosened snow and with both
hands tried to strangle it. In this he
might have been successful had not the
struggling animal just at the supreme mo-
ment struck him squarely in the chest.
The blow staggered Tom and caused
him to relax his hold, when the animal,
finding itself nee more free, sprang to it's
feet and prepared to renew the attack.
The young man grabbed the spade,
which lay beside him, and quickly scram-
bled to his feet. Then for one moment
man and beast stood confronting each 9th
er, silent, watchful and desperate.
But the wolverine was nearly disabled.
Its hind limbs appeared to be half para
lyzed, and it was soon evident to Tom that
so far he had had much the best of the
fight. Without waiting for attack, there
fore, he lifted his spade and stepped for
ward to deliver the blow of mercy. just
as the spade fell, however, the animal
threw itself forward and instead of receiv-
ing the blow upon the head received it
upon it's back.
Before Trapper Tom could recover his