Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1895-08-31
a PIONEER WOLF HUNT.

menac to the safety, not only OF the
domestic animals, hut to the settlers
children. was but u lad then, fired
with all the ambition of inexperienced
youth. and longing for fame like an
old politician. The highest ambition
of nv life was To kill Il wolf, and, ac-
cordinrlv, | often begged my father to
let me accompany him on m of his
hunting expeditions. At last n day,
to my delight he consented. There
was to be a spiral hunt that night, and
| was permitted to go to the stand or
scaffold and wait the arrival of the
hunters,
This stand consisted of four poles.
firmly pinned To as many trees, about
fifteen feet from the ground, and cov-
cred with smaller poles and brush SO
as to make a safe and comfortable
resting place. Knowing the woods
like an old hunter | had no difficulty
in finding the place where | soon
scrambled into position, and with my
old fint.lock | waited the coming X
citing events, The state had just
passed a bounty law, allowing five dol
lars Il head for every wolf scalp that
was brought in, and therefore it
became profitable, as well as excellent
sport.
The old hunters stopped at the edge
of the forest, which was almost adj
joining the house, and after rubbing
asafetida on their soles, separated,
and each taking aditferent route, made
a circuit of the stand some three OF
four miles in extent, gradually draw
ing nearer to the center as they
walked. This occurred about the mid
die of the afternoon, and such was the
extent of their journey that all of
them did not arrive until nearly dark.
The first one to come in was my
father, impelled, no doubt, by a fear
of my safety. | was lying on the scat
fold, sound asleep, when he came, and
nearly fell to the ground when awak-
ened. Presently the others came in,
one at a time, till there were six of us.
Each hunter had one hundred rounds
of ammunition for his muzzle-loading
rifle, and sat down and told stories of
adventure till near ten o'clock before
we heard a sound of anything that
called for a passing thought. At last
sudden silence was observed, as if by
instinct, and then q murmur of APP
proval brought forth the remark:
The gray-baclis have struck our
trail at last"
'Yes, and they are making a run for
us" calmly remarked my father.
Presently we could see dark shadows
fitting hither and thithcr through the
bushes, gradually getting nearer and
more numerous. All were still as
death, but strictly on thealert, The dis
NAL bowls and short, sharp snaps we're
now heard on every hand, and suddenly
with IA bound one old dog bounded
right out in the open moonlight near
our scatfold. My father raised his
rifle, and the sharp report that followed
revealed the fact that at least one had
paid the penalty with his life. At the
sight of their dying comrade it seemed
as if fury was turned loose, and amid
the awful confusion that reigned no
ono uttered a word, but simply loaded
and fired as fast as they could, the shot
taking effect in nearly every instance.
They were now as thick as bees, and
as at rather long intervals my old mus.
ket rang out, there would be a sudden
scattering and then "A closing of ranks,
like well disciplined soldiers.
We kept up our slaughter till about
two o'clock in the morning, without
apparently diminishing the number,
and at last ceased for the lack of am
munition. The others lay down and
calmly slept till morning, but the cX-
citemcnt had been too much for me,
and ! lay and listened to the uproar
all night long. At daylight the wolves
dispersed to their l%airs, and we came
down to count the spoils of our victory.
There were the scalps of one hundred
and thirty-four wolves to tell the
story, besides many that had been
torn to pieces and devoured by their
rdVehouS companions.
But what gave me, and. in fact, all
Of us, the greatest shock was when we
discovered that one of the trees which
supported IN scaffold had been
gnawcd nearly in two during the
night. Had they accomplished this
feat they would have precipitated us
into their midst, where we would have
been on equal footing with themselves
but hopelessly in the minority. They
all said they had never seen such a
thing attempted before, and resolved
to take larger trees on which to build
their scatfold next time.
Among the dead was a wolf which
had young, and one of the hunters said
he knew just where the lair was, and
it would be a fitting climax to go and
take them alive. To this all readily
assented, and accordingly we set out
deeper into the forest. Presently we
came to an old hollow log and as we
set down IL guns the leader or guide
said: Now, boys, stand outside and
| will go in and throw out the young
ones Accordingly in he went, and
in about a minute the sounds of the
night seemed about to be repeated.
Look out, boys" came from the
depths of the log. I've found the ole
n at home!" A moment later he
came out with face and hands LAGER
ated and bleeding, but with a knife ir
his teeth; he was dragging after hin
the carcass of a dead void.
We then chopped a hole in the log
up near the den and made easy prison
ers OF the six young ones. These we
carried home alive, and raised some o.
them for pets until they got bis
enough to kill sheep, when we had t
destroy them and get the bounty or
their scalps, too.-N. 0. Times-Demo,
crat.
White Gloves.
White gloves are worn with the
smartest toilets for day wear Thos,
of kid stitched with black are NOR
dressy and stylish than the chamois
which are relegated almost entirely t,