The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-09-28
THE BLOOD OF
HIS SIRES
bu G. B. LEWIS
Bp G. B. LEWIS
Cop,rioht, 1905. By r. B. Mcclure

wolf.
When night had come down there had
come with it from the crest Of the
mountains, from the black mouths OF
the passes, from the depths Of the dis
NAL canyons, a wind that cut like a
knife and shriveled like fire, and now
and then a gust had brought hail to
sting like bird shot. The wolf had gone
back to his lair and given up the hunt
for the night. There would be no game
afoot for him in such weather.
When morning came the weather had
softened bit, and there were snow
flakes flying about in wild confusion.
The wolf sat up at the mouth Of his
lair and whined and complained. AS
he felt the pangs Of hunger he howled
dlsmally. No beast Of prey can find
his game bllndfolded. Back In the cave
was mother wolf, with her two young,
softly growing to herself as she heard
the howls of the father.
By and by the wind ceased for mo,
ment, as II smothered By the falling
flakes, and then it came with noisy
complaint up the narrow valley and
around the rocky cliffs and big bowl
ders. The wolf ceased bowling. The
wind brought him taint-a scent he
stood on his hind legs and paved the
air and shifted and showed his fangs
A moment later he signaled for the
mother wolf to Join him. She also
reared up and sniffed at the air.
It surely was the scent Of game. It
was feeble and came from afar, but 1t
was worth investigation. With half
angry growl at each other, born Of hun
ger and greed, the wolves bounded
away down the wind The falling cur
tain OF snow limited their vision to
yards, but a VOLTS nose guides him
after he becomes blind Of old age.
1--WE will go out this morning" said
the leader Of the park patrol to his
men. I'VE will go north, east south
and west. The buffaloes will be lying
up In the thickets In such q storm as
this, and the wolves will be hungry to
find them"
They went In pairs, the strong and
hardy men who brave the seasons to
protect life in the great park set aside
for the nation away up where the wa
tiers Of the muddy Missouri are as cold
as the Arctic ocean and as clear as
glass.
The bu6aloes would have only one
enemy on such day-the big timber
wolf. The bear would wait for better
weather to search for his food. The
men turned their backs on each other,
leaned forward on their snowshoes and
In thirty seconds were hidden from
each others sight. They knew the
groves, the thickets, the spots which
the buffalo would seek for shelter, and
they skirted or passed through such
places with the stealthy tread Of
ghosts.
"Hark! It ts the snarl Of wolfw j..
The two men who had gone to the
north halted in their tracks with hand
to ear and listened. As the wind had
brought the scent to the wolf at the
door OF his lair 20 It also brought the
menacing snaris Of q beast OF prey to
the expectant patrollers.
Evolves, for sure!'
"And after buffalo! Straight ahead"
The wolves had followed the scent to
its source. A buffalo bull and three OF
four COWS, scattered some distance
from the main herd, were sheltered up
in small grove on the bank Of q creek.
The bull had come to his prime in the
wild and rugged park. BE was not a
stranger to the grunt Of the bear and
the snari Of the wolf. They had men
aced him many times, and many times
he had defied them, though It had new
er come to open attack. Both wolf and
bear appeared to have an intuition that
the buffalo was under mans protection
and that it would not do to 60 too far.
With the scent coming stronger at
every jump, the wolves at length broke
through the dead vines and stunted CO.
dars to find themselves upon their prey.
In front Of the thicket was an open
glade. They paused here for q mo-
msnt to plan the attack, and as they
planned they whined and snarled and
growled.> They did not want to have
anything to do with the bull The COWS
were not fighters, and their flesh was
more tender. II they became fright
ened at tho growing they would make
bolt tor It and separate.
The bull had caught sight Of hts enc
mics a. they broke cover. He never
had seen a timber wolf at such close
quarters. Something told him that they
were hungry and desperate and that
they would attack. He gave a shtvef
Of apprehension and almost started to
fee. Then the blood Of his sires came
surging through him. They had fought
the wolves of the prairie, the wolves OF
the timber, the lions Of the foothills.
Many bad been pulled down after q
long. hard battle, but not one had
ever turned tail and run away. With
q call to stand their ground and with
head and tail up and eyes beginning to