The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-05-28
BESIEGED BY WOLVES.
A Lumber Prospector's Night of Wakeful-
ness in a Louisiana Pine Forest.

(F'rom the ST. Louis Globe Demo orat)
Hamburg, Ark, May 10-Adna Tomp-
kins, while looking for land for Hovey &
McCracken, lumber dealers of Muskegon,
Mich, had a startling encounter with
wolves. Mr.. Tompkins was in Calcasieu
parish, La, southwest of this place, and
one night recently encamped in the
pineries, which are vast in area, and the
very embodiment of solitude. The man
who was with him had gone to Lake
Charles, leaving Tompkins entirely
alone. Having had hard days work,
Tompkins cooked his supper, set the little
tent in order, and retired after shutdown
to enjoy good sleep during the night.
Before he could close his eyes, however,
he became conscious that there was some
living thing outside the tent. He got up,
and, taking his pistol In hand, crept to
the door or flap of the tent, and raising
it, peered out. Darkness had settled
down over the earth, and in the gloom he
was startled to see three pairs of eyes
gazing at him. He went outside, and at
once the eyes disappeared. But the dis
appearance was only temporary; for he
had just turned to reenter the tent when
he noticed that there was around him q
crescent of eyes which glowed like Goals
in the gloom, and which drew nearer and
nearer. He guessed that his visitors were
wolves, which animals are rather numer-
GUS in that section of Louisiana He was
conscious of strange feeling; not of fear
perhaps, but of loneliness and dread He
discharged his pistol three times in rapid
succession, aiming at pair of eyes each
time, and, as there was chorus of wells
and swapping of teeth, he had the salts
faction OF knowing that his unwelcome
visitors were minus at least two of the
original number.
But the staying of these two appeared
to render their companions frantic, and
the taste of blood, for, of course, the
bodies of the slain wolves were almost
Immediately devoured, made the suryiy-
ors more determined and aggressive. The
dark and lonesome pineries resounded
with unearthly bowls, and the wolves
marshalled for an attack, closing in on
the little tent and its solitary occupant
like besieging army investing fortified
city. The crescent of a few moments ago
had disappeared. In its place was COM
plete circe of fiery eyes. The wolves came
out of the tall grass, springing from the
shadow of the giant trees, and rushing
from the very heart of the woods.
Tompkins went in the tent, and, fasten-
ing the flap, lighted candle and reloaded
his pistol Then he seated himself on a
cracker box and tried to look the situation
square in the face. He was alone in a
perhaps forty wolves bowling around him
with the evident determination of pick
ing his bones. His only weapon of de-
Tense was six-shooter. 1t was only a
question of a few hours until the wolves
would make their way inside. His pre-
dicament was not only hazardous, but
every minute added to his danger Feel
ing that inaction at such time was al
most a crime, he grasped his revolver in
one hand and the candle in the other and
sailed forth. The wolves, which were
pressing closely around on every side, fell
back at the sight of the light, and their
movement gave Tompkins an idea
He noticed dead pine tree near the tent.
1t had once been forest monarch, but
its massive trunk and limbs now lay in
splinters on the ground, where stroke of
had thrown it. He gathered
a handful Of the broken limbs and ignit-
ed them with the candle; then he got an
axe from the tent and cut the larger limbs
and made circle around the tent, the
wolves meanwhile watching him, and
ever and anon swapping at his very heels.
But he kept on with his work, and when
the wolves came dangerously near he
kept them back with a brand from the
fire he had already started. When the
circle was finished he set it on fire, and in
a little while it was burning brightly,
and the wolves skunk back into the deeper
recesses of the woods
Tompkins says he kept up the fire until
daylight, while the wolves howled in the
pines With the coming of the day they
disappeared.