Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1895-12-19
A PIONEER WOLF HUNT.
The Dead Counted Up One Hundred and
Thirty-four when the Slaughter Was

| The Dead Counted Up One Hundred and
Thirty-four When the Slaughter Was
Over.
Away back in the fifty's, remember
we lived in a new country, but thinly
settled, where the wolves were a
menace to the safety, not only of the
| domestic animals. hut to the settlers
children. ! was Int lad then, fired
with all the ambition of inexperienced
youth, and longing for fame like an
old politician. The highest ambition
of my life was to kill wolf, and, ac-
cordingly, | often begged my father to
let me accompany him on one of his
hunting expeditions. At last one day,
to my delight he consented. There
was to be spiral hunt that night, and
l 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 COW
cred with smaller poles and brush so
as to make a safe and comforta BILE
resting place. Knowing the woods
like an old hunter | had no difficulty
in finding the place where l soon
scrambled into position, and with my
old flint-loc1 waited the coming ex-
citing events. The state had Just
passed bounty law, allowing five dol
lars 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 ad-
joining the house, and after rubbing
asafetida on their soles, separated,
and each taking different route, made
a circuit of the stand some three or
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 fear
of my safety. l 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
rife, 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 a murmur of ap-
proval brought forth the remark:
The gray-backs have struck our
trail at last"
Yes, and they are making a run for
u.s." calmly remarked NV father.
Presently we could see dark shadows
fitting hither and thither through the
bushes, gradually getting nearer and
more numerous. All were still as
death, but strictly on the alert. The dis
NAL howls and short, sharp snaps were
now heard on every hand, and suddenly
with bound one old dog bounded
right out in the open moonlight near
our scaffold. 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
one uttered 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
l1et rang out, there would be sudden |
scattering and then a closing of ranks, |
like well disciplined soldiers.
We kept up our slaughter till abouf |
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 eX
citement had been too much for me,
and Law and listened to the uproar |
all night long. At daylight the wolves /
dispersed to their lairs, 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
ravenous companions.
But what gave me, and, in fact, all |
of us, the greatest shock was when we
discovered that one of the trees which |
gnawed nearly in two during the |
night. Had they accomplished this
feat they would have precipitated us
into their midst, where we would have
beon 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 larrer trees on which to build
their scaffold next time.
Among the dead was wolf which
had young, and one of the hunters said
he knew just where the lair was, and
it would be 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 our guns the leader or guide
said: Now, boys, stand outside and
l will go in and throw out the young
ones" Accordingly in he went, and
in about 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 old
one at home!" A moment later he
came out with face and hands lacer-
ated and bleeding, but with knife in
his teeth; he was dragging after him
the carcass of 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 of
them for pets until they got big
enough to kill sheep, when we had to
destroy them and get the bounty on
their scalps, too.-N. o. Times-Demo-
crat.