The Opelousas courier., 1897-05-22

"1"AiJ setpieu 5iInber lands. have he
come very bold under the pressure o
hunger. A recent incident ijlnstrate
this fact very well:
A young Norwegian farmer. who hai
"bached' during the five years it re-
CURED to make good his title to hi
lnrm' built himself a substantial house
during that time, and then came t.
tne CONCLUSION that he had lived alon,
about long enough. So he induced
the blooming daughter Of his neares+
nelsnbor, q thriving farmer of thu
same nationality. to accept O hui
snare IN his farm and a whole Interest
IN his affections. The wedding ccre
nonY was to take place at the resi-
dence of the BRIDES parents, some five
miles from the farm OF the prospective
bridegroom. The guests assembled
the minister was present, and the only
thing lacking to a perfectly successful
wedding was the fact that the bride.
groom tarried.
Hour after hour passed, and he
came not; the young lady'sperplexity
passed into grief, then tears, aud
finally mysteries. The father, a lineal
descendant Of the Vikings. who had
set down his prospective son-in laws
non-appearance to bashfulness, be.
came enraged when it began to look
as if his daughter had been deserted.
Summoning his grown sons and q
posse OF the guests at the wedding
which had not materialized, they went
to the bridegroon's house, and found
it dark, locked up, and with a broad
trail OF skis, or Norwegian snowsloes,
leading straight into the woods, which
confirmed the fathers suspicious that
Olaf had turned traitor. He said
nothing, but fastening home, took
down his Winchester, and accompanied
by two of his sons, similarly armed,
set out for Aitkin in pursuit Of the
r%ecreant.
Ill would it have Jared with Olaf had
the old man caught him, but he did
not, and for a very good reason. Olaf
was having troubles enough of his
own about then, and no doubt would
have been thankful for the chance to
relate them to any one, having fallen
victim to a tailor. The tailor, after
the fashion OF his kind. had failed to
send home Olaf's Wedding garments as
he had promised. on the day before
that set for the wedding.
Olaf waited, "nursing his wrath to
keep it warm" till after dark, and
then DOMINIC his skis, started for
town. The distance acros country is
only @ little more than two miles, and
being an expert slli-walker, Olaf had
no donbt of his ability TO reach town,
get his garments, and return in ample
season to reach his brides residence in
time for the ceremony.
That he did not was 10 fault Of his,
for he reached town all right, found
his garments waiting for him, donned
them, and set out for home and happi.
ness at racing pace.
All would have been we'll if the
wolves lad not pnt in an appearance.
But they did, and o few Of them catch
ing sight of The prospective Benedict
fleeing over the snow, took after Linn
at once. This was on a clearing, and
Olaf had to strain every nerve to reach
the timber before the wolves could
reach him. Kicking off his skis, he
''ehinned" up a small tree, leaving tho
wolves Mt the foot of it. frantlcally
trying to- climb after him. About
every wolf in the township, hearing
the bowls of his brethren at the foot
of Olaf's perch, connected the sound
with the idea of a free lunch in prog
ress somewhere, and came at top
speed to take a hand.
On this perch poor Olaf remained
until the old Viking caane to his res
cue, at just about daylight the next
morsing. The old gentleman, who
had reached town with his wrath at
boiling point, heard that Olaf had
been there, found what his errand had
been, and promptly 'ssized up" the
situation correctlx. Beating up party
of expert skinner and rife shots, they
took Olaf's track, and finally came
hearing of the concert which
was being played OF the foot of the
tree for the benefit OF one very I'M
willing auditor. The rescners en-
deavored to creep up near enough to
secure enough wolf scalps to repay
Olaf for his tribulatIons, but the ever
suspicious brutes took the alarm, and
away with the loss OF but two OF
their number. Luckily, the night had
not been extremely cold, and Olaf
escape with some pretty severe frost
bites, The wedding came of the next
day.
S,ynd nv a Human RODe.