The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-11-07
HOW "cRopHoRN" HELD THE PASS.

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HOW "cRoPHoRN" HELD THE PASS.
Nobody knows "Crophorn's" ex-
act age, but she certainly is too vener-
able to be of no use on dairy farm,
and her breed is as uncertain as her
years; but any suggestion that she
be transformed into beef always meets
with a decided negative from Tom
Ottway.
"She's the mascot of the herd," Is
all her owner usually will say in ex-
planation of her privileges; but some
times, when in more communicative
mood, he will tell how she lost her right
horn and earned her present name.
1t was nearly dozen years ago,
and Crophorn was then known as
Dapple. Late in one of the hard
est winters the peninsula of Northern
Michigan has ever known she proud
ly stood guard over spindle-legged
calf only few days old.
Tom Ottway was not yet married,
and had recently bought the valley
farm, on which only four fields were
fully cleared. His widowed mother
kept house for him, but had been alb
sent for more than fortnight, visit
ing sister in Canada. She had ex-
pected to be away not more than
week, but was detained by severe
February storm. The back country
then could be reached only by stage
or in private conveyances.
Tom was very busy while she was
gone. In addition to feeding the six
teen head of cattle, the pigs, poultry
and three horses, and getting his own
meals, he spent every spare moment
In telling trees in the south slashing.
He wished to clear at least five acres
before the sap started, so as to burn
the tract over early in the summer.
As the result of his hard work,
Tom ordinarily elept we'll, bat of late
his nights had been disturbed by the
presence of wolves. There were
many big gray ones about, but while
game was abundant they caused him
little anxiety. Now, however, the
deep snow had lessened their ordinary
supply of food, and they were drawing
nearer and nearer to the settled conn-
try. Tom had no neighbors within
three miles, and his clearing was one
of the most exposed in the county.
For nearly week he had heard
pack in full cry not far from the open
fields, and then, as their tracks show
ed, they had made dash at the cat
tie yard. The high log fence had re-
PEELED them, although in one place
they had made repeated efforts to
jump over.
This yard was rooted over at the
west end, and the shed thus formed
was boarded up, except for a narrow
gate next to the barn. A strawstack
near the centre afforded additional
shelter, the sides having been eaten
away by the young stock till they
could burrow practically out of sight.
Here they gathered to sleep at night,
although the shed was usually open.
The small barn was a strong but
temporary structure, only large
enough to shelter the horses and farm
implements. The combined pigpen
aud henhouse was of logs, built as a
leanto, on the south side of the barn.
On the day following the first ac-
tual visit of the wolves, "sou' west
err gathered itself together some
where over Lake Michigan, and came
shrieking across water, field and for
est, bringing eighteen inches more
of snow This fresh snow was rath-
er heavy, but not damp enough to
prevent it from drifting in hard wind
rows. The backwoods roads were
thus rendered again impossible.
Tom heard the hunting cry of the
pack even above the bowling of the
storm; and in going to the slashirg,
he found skull and thigh bones where
a belated deer had been pulled down
and devoured. Most of its surviving
companions had gone far to the south
ward long before.
When he started for the house at
sunset he saw two wolves sitting on
their launches on knoll thirty or
forty rods away, watching him. He
pointed his ax-he1ve at them, like
a gun, and they skunk off into the
timber; but when he reached the
barn, he discovered that FIVE lean
creatures had followed him to the linn
its of the underbrush.
Tom made every thing snug for the
night before attending to his own
wants. The cattle were little un-
easy; they had already detected the
presence ofthe pack. The stout fence
seemed impregnable, but there was a
great drift at the southeast corner
that ran up to within a yard of the
topmost log. The young man re.
gretted that he had not taken the
|'time to dig it away that afternoon,
and resolved to come out after supper
and cut trench next to the fence.
Darkness came on while the meal
was being prepared, and as he was
eating, he heard howl just below
the barn. Going to window, he
saw a succession of dim forms sour.
rying across the snow round the end
of the cattle yard. Hastily securing
his repeating rife and cartridge belt
he hurried across to the yard, where
he hung a lighted lantern on the in.
| eide oevt to the harm He t1,e,, climb