The Forrest City times., 1898-11-25


 whence they came.
 Tn very severe winters, such as the one 1 mention, the cold drives everything south-wolyes from the bar ren grounds among the other animals. "Old Jerome Nalois had four children two sons and two daughters. The boys were the youngest at the time | am speaking of, being respectively nine | and seven years of age. The one you saw to-day, William. was the elder.
 William had had gun for over year, and was quite good shot and successful hunter. young as he was. Nearly every day he and his little | brother, Mark (the latter to carry the | bag and pick up the game) used to sally forth, and at night return both loaded with ptarmigan.
 Along the sea coast, on the west side ct the Mcisic, there is only a narrow | fringe of green wood, and back of this | barren grounds, studded with clumps of willows, stretched as far as the eye could reach, here and there few stunt ed poplar and pitchpine treel relieving the monotony of the dreary waste of country.
 | "The boys in hunting were led far aGeld by the focks of ptarmigans, and often they only reached home an hour CT two after dark, but no anxiety was every felt for their prolonged absence. l "One night-it was the 9th of Jan Lary, and intensely cold the boys | failed 10 come, even at the latest Lour I | ha1 | Their parents now became thoroughly alarmed. and waited and watched the long night through, firing guns at in- tervals thinking to guide their root steps homeward.
 l An hour before dawn Jerome and had made our preparations to go in search as soon as daylight would allow of us picking up their tracks. It was useless to leave before, as we might 20 in wrong direction, and, fortunately for us, the tracks were not drifted over. We therefore took up the trail from the very door. It was tedious work. how ever, following all the windings of the boys footsteps of the previous day. Still, it was likely to prove surest and | speediest in the end
 l We had thus been picking our way carefully for about three hours. or, in ether words, it was then about ten | Q clock when the trails led toward a narrow cluster of trees. Up to this we made haste and hurried through the opening beyond, both of us evidently Icing moved with the same impre ssion that the farther side would solve the mystery of the boys absence.
 And it did.
 "A couple of hundred yards out in the plain we saw a solitary poplar, con- siderably larger than the others there about. The first thing that drew our | attention to it were the two black ob- jects on its largest limbs. These ob- lects we speedily made out to be the missing children.
 But why were they there? And, casting our eyes about for the cause, it was at once made manifest by seeing three large, gaunt wolves sitting at the base of the tree, watching the forms above.
 | We both simultaneously looked at the priming of our rifles. and, although l | considerable for the mczzle- loading guns of those days, yet we had no op- tion but to try, as there was no other point of concealment between us and the tree but the place we were in.
 Jerome selected an immense gray fellow as his mark, and picko d out one of the others a pure white, with black ears and muzzle. We each took careful aim and fired together at the word three.
 | When the smoke cleared away from our guns we had the satisfaction of seeing both animals rolling and snapping their great jaws in the death agony, and the third disappearing in full retreat over distant knoll.
 ''Reloading our guns as we went, we hurried on with what speed we could toward the tree. the fathers heart in Jerome being stirred to its depths by the awful dread he felt at seeing those motionless figures. which made no per ceptible move at our firing or approach. | The younger boy, Mark, was the uppernost, and tied to the tree trunk with his brothers belt, and, better to secure his safety, his brother sat astride of limb lower down and clasped the | legs of Mark and the trunk of the pop | lar with the saHae embrace. l At first, as we sszet. up at the poor children, we thought they were both dead, but when I, the lighter man and the least overcome, ascended the tree, found the younger long since past all assistance, for his body was frozen hard. But Williams still gave out some | warmth, but quite overcome with the stupor that precedes death by exposure Ito excessive cold.
 Fortunately, before leaving the house, 1 had showed into my pocket | small flask of the very pnrest l Branch brandy. some of small quantity given to me by the cap tain of Jersey vessel that had vis- | tied the coast the previous summer. As I ,.Ft ,.o