The Opelousas courier., 1901-12-07

But what kept the wolves from COM
ing out?'
\ The boy explained that "her" mean
ing Rose, whose black eyes blinked
rapidly when the treasurer looked at
her-had made a kind Of spring catch
from dry ash wood and a leather
string, attached to which was a stone
for weight. The door of the shack,
OR small log shanty, was left ajar
about ten inches, so that q wolf,
"lion," or any other animal, approach
ing the empty structure, could put its
head in and look about the interior.
To all appearance the door was I'M
fastened, swinging free, and the wolf
or other wild beast was not alarmed
by anything that it saw either within
or without. To get the bones it had
but to walk In; yet when it did so, the
larger part of it's body pushed the
door back a 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
1t. The animal was thus entrap:ed,
hnd all SO quietly that it scarcely felt
any alarm at first.
How the girl had learned so cum
ming a stratagem was not explained;
perhaps from her Indian mother.
There vas very little to it of gear or
mechanism, and nothing whatever in
the way of metal; otherwise it would
have failed, since it is now almost i'm
possible to take these wolves in steel
traps, or even in log traps such as
white hunters sometimes construct.
Yet to this primitive device, con-
triyed 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 q little
low log house without windows, and
having q sod roof. When once the door
had swung 20 and latched behind the
wolf, it was a pris Dner.
By the time the boy had explained
1t, and told how the spying and light
were adjusted, the treasurer became
convinced Of his truthfr''leT,s. He
brought out his pute.tcn 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 a wolff" the treasurer asked.
"Her went up to look every morn
ing" said the boy.
"What did you do when you found
you had a wolff" the treasurer asked
the girl; but she only blinked half a
dozen times in q second, and 1t was
still the boy who replied for her that
she ran home to get Grandpa Hogan
to make a pill" for II.
The old man had been a wolf-huntef
in his day, and knew that to shoot a
wolf inside the shack would spoil oil
chance Of trapping another there. He
enclosed enough s%trychnine to kin a
wolf in q bit of tallow, the size of a
hens egg. This the children carried
to the shack and poked it through a
chink between the logs, and after they
had gone the VOLTS hunger soon did
the rest.
Toward evening the two small hunt.
ers were wont to return, and in 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 infirm 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 Foulkrods as long as they had
little Rose to trap for them and Gus
ter to do the talking.-Youth's Com
panion.