The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1904-12-21


sofa after an experience that gave
him all he wanted Of the woods and
more, too. For several hours he was
caught in a bear trap in Beltramf
County and surrounded by wolves that
threatened his life. His gray hairs
and shaken nerves are the result Of
that experience.
He went into the woods with party
OF lumbermen. One afternoon he went
to visit a bear trap set some distance
from camp. He followed a route diff
ferent from the usual one and In con-
sequence reached the trap before he
was aware Of it, In fact the first no.
tiee he had of It was click and a
snap and then an excruclating pain
Ia his leg as the traps jaws closed on
his right leg just above the ankle.
The teeth cut through the trousers.
legglns and two pairs of socks. and
bit into the flesh.
Staffler dropped his gun, and with
cry of pain knelt down to try to Dry
the jaws Of the trap open. Then he re-
membered that it rad taken two men
to set It, and that II gas too strong for
him. His efforts to free himself lncer-
ateG nis flesh. He thought of unfas-
tening the chain and dragging the tran
to camp, two miles distant, but when
he tried he found that it was impossi-
bic Not only was the trap TOO heavy
for him, but at every step its weight
brought the teeth deeper into the flesh
Of his leg.
Then he bethought himself Of his
rife, and fired several shots. hoping
the sound would reach the camp, but
The wind was blowing in the wrong
direction, and the effort failed. He
fought off a feeling of faintness that
came over him, for he feared that if |
he tainted he would freeze to death.
AS dusk drew on he fired several more
shots, as the wind had died away and
he had more hope that the sound
would reach camp. Then he was con-
fronted by a new terror.
He heard the pattering OF feet in the
woods, and the sound Of long,
mournful howl Then came answering
cries from other wolves drawing near
er in answer to the call Of the first
wolf. Soon the undcrbrush seemed
alive with them, and he could see
their eyes shining.
He struggled to a sitting position
and filed the chambers of his rifle
with cartridges. The wolves drew
nearer Suddenly about a dozen of
them trotted forth from the woods,
and he could see their dark forms
scurrying about as they made a detour
drawing nearer as they ran. They {
seemed to be planning a final approach.
Stafiier fired. The wolves scattered, j
but did not run away They sat down
Dn their launches and watched him.
Staffler fired again and again, but he ;
was nervous and frightened and shot
wildly. Ii
Every time he ceased the wolves be- |
gan to draw in on him, and Staffler be- I
ieyed that 1t was only a question of '
minutes before the wolves would be |
caring his body. He was almost
eady to turn the rife on himself when [
le heard human voice near at hand, {
md he sank back In faint AS his I
rlends from the camp came to his re-
ief the wolves scattered, and several 7
we're Killed. /
His companions made stretcher r
nd carried him back to camp, where n
hey dressed his wounds as best they c
ould When they got into the light h
f fba fro ono of fbo,,, ctorthd 4,
my Godw he exclaimed. "He's d
II
And he was right. stafiiers hair. h
lack that day, had turned almost
vhite.
His comrades explained that they
ad heard his shots shortly after dark, v
nd thought little of them at first be- el
eyeing that he had either found fl
ear in the trap and was despatching f,
/, or that he was shooting at other +
anne. When the shots continued they Sc
ecame alarmed, and made their way h
D the spot as rapidly as possible. 1t P
J their belief that they arrived in the S;
ick of time. L
When Staffler reached Duluth on his
Jay home he was supported by big ST
for he was unable to walk Il
lone His snow-whlte hair in con- al
.ast to his evident youth attracted "
luch attention, and so did his story. d
lie is now resting at home, and it viii W
e a long time before he will seek the al
-oods again.-New York Sun. st
W
The stranding OF the myrtle Purdy." a.
One of the most notable surfmen of le
le Atlantic coast Is Captain Albert H. al
[yers. keeper of the life-saving sta n,