The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1901-10-29

nut Wntl hCpt INC wolves from CONF
ing out?"
The boy explained that "her' mean
ing Rose. whose black eyes blinked
rapidly when the treasurer looked at
her-had made kind OF spring catch
from dry ash wood and leather
string. attached TO which was n stone
for weight. The door OF the shack.
or small log shanty. was left ajar
about ten inches. so that wolf,
lion" or any other animal. approach
ing the empty structure, could put It's
head i'm and look about the interior.
TO all appearance the door was un-
fastened. swinging free. and the wolf
or other wild beast was not alarmed
by anything that il saw either within
or without. To get the bones 1t had
but to walk in; yet when II did so, the
larger part OF its body pushed the
door back little farther. and the
ashen spring at the top, bending
slightly. released the weight attached
TO the spring. Then--as the creatures
body passed in-the door was pulled to
with just such sufficient force to latch
and all so quietly that it scarcely felt
any alarm at first.
How the girl had learned so cum
ming Il stratagem was not explained;
perhaps from her Indian mother.
There was very little to it of gear or
mechanism. and nothing whatever in
the way OF metal: otherwise it would
have failed. since 1t is now almost inn
possible to take these wolves i'm steel
traps. or even in log traps such as
white hunters sometimes construct
Yet to this primitive device. con-
trived by the hand OF an eleven-year-
old child, five large gray wolves had.
one after another fallen victims. Two,
indeed, had been entrapped at once,
the second having apparently pushed
into the shack with the first
The shack itself was simply little
low log house without windows, and
having Il sod roof. When once the door
had swung TO and latchcd behind the
wolf, it was n prisoner.
BY the time the boy had explained
1t, and told how the spring and weight
were adjusted, the treasurer became
convinced OF his truthfulness. He
brought out his punch and hammer,
and proceeded to make holes in the
ears OF the skins, as by law directed,
wild little Rose cycling his every move
ment with attention to details.
How did you know when you had
caught n wolf?' the treasurer asked.
Her went up to look every morn
ing" said the boy.
What did you do when you found
you had a wolf?' the treasurer asked
the girl; but she only blinked half n
dozen times in a second. and it was
still the boy who replied for her thar
she ran home 20 get Grandpa Hogan
to make Il pilp' for it,
The old man had been n wolf-huntcf
in his day, and knew that to shoot Il
wolf inside the shack would spoil all
chance OF trapping another there He
enclosed enough strychnine to kin a
wolf in n bit of tallow, the size of II
hens egg. This the children carried
to the shack and poked it through n
chink between the logs and after they
had gone the VOLTS hunger soon did
the rest
Toward evening the two small hunt
crs were wont to return, and i'm no
case had failed to find the wolf dead
They then opened the door, and at
taching a bit of rope TO the animals
hind legs, hauled it home in triumph
Although too lnfirm to go abroad in
the snow, the old man was able to
skin the wolves when brought to him.
The treasurer paid the children the
bounty money,-nineteen dollars in all.
and with an amused smile watched
them drive TO the store to buy grub
stuff" of which the forlorn family
was no doubt in need. 1t was likely
that they would be able to sell the
skins for as much more. however. and
the treasurer concluded that there was
no immediate cause for alarm concern
ing the Beulkrods as long as they had
little Rose to trap for them and Gus
ter to do the talking Youths Com
paniOn.