The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-17

HOtutnODDtTS HutS WElt. Dul jiiilt III
 number. At nights fire was built upon
 the snow to frighten off the wolves. The officer in charge of the fort was Captain Rasmussen. who gave mf an apparently hearty welcome.
 It was a gloomy environment in ssed. for the sun set at 2:30 o'clock an'l our oply light was the flame of a wha,e ell lamp. Our meals consisted of timed meats, salt relishes and cheese. The cof- fee was as black as the ace of spades.
 Captain Rasmussen could not speak a
 word of English. but he was studying
 French and had much bethumbed
 Franco-Norsk dictionary and by looking
 up the French equivalent for what he wished to say in his own tongue, he managed in a measure to make himself
 understood by me-
 After reading and re-reading the judge advocates letter he brought out some pamphlets and parchments which he showed me as he jabbered away like a parrot and shrugged his shoulders in real French style. From all his gibber- ish and gesticulation 1 inferred that it was against the rules for me to lodge in the fort. but by virtue of his friend ship for the sender of the missive he would make an exception and waive the rules. He was compelled to share his bed with me.
 The wolves were quite tardy in making their appearance and I spent my time
 in visiting on snow shoes during the day the camp of the woodchoppers and watching them at work and studying
 Norsk by night through the sole medium of that bethumbed dictionary. In the early. evening, which lasted from 3 to [ o'clock I would frequently visit the huts of the woodchoppers and I even essayed | to while away the time by often rocking l the cradle, for five of the men were mar ried and had families. In one of these 1 nuts I also kept my gun. as the captain
 for some reason which I was unable to | fathom would not permit me to retain it l in the fort.
 | Here l. hibernated for four days anu | nights and the moon of which I had hoped to reap advantage, was gone. But 1 all things come to him who waits, even | wolves, and one dark night about 3 o'clock heard the distinct music of the approaching pack. I had always slept with my clothes on. so as to be ready for action, and In a trice I was out of oed and scramblng without snow shoes across to the hut to get my gun. The sergeant took me with him in quite a detour. for it was evident that the wolves were going to give the fire a wide
 birth. and placed me behind a tree. l am almost ashamed to describe my feel ings. I was terrified at the thought of encountering a foe that I could not see
 until he was actually upon me and I was equally fearful of being shot by the sol
 diers in their eagerness to bring down
 the brutes; while added to this was the circumstance that I could not communi-
 cate with my associates, who spoke A foreign tongue It was an hour that l can never forget
 But the sergeant knew his business and after leaving me hugging that blessed tree he took his men some distance in
 the directions from which the wolves were coming and so deployed them that not only stood in no danger from a reckless shot, but that the fire from
 their guns would probably cause the
 brutes to circle widely from the spot where I was stationed.
 Closer and closer came the bowling pack. but could not see an inch beyond my nose and only judged of>the direc-
 ton of their vicinity by the guidance ( f
 the noise which they made.
 I shivered as I waited but soon a half dozen guns blazed out and banged away
 too, aiming in the direction toward
 which saw the fire going from those ahead of me. In an instant all was si-
 lence, save a faint scampering of clawed
 feet upon the frozen snow. and then
 
 cry imaginable-the wild whine of the fleeing pack.
 We did not stop that night to ascertain the result of the firing, but in the morn- ing at 9 o'clock, for 1t was not light be- fore that hour, I stole out of the fort and there lay the bloody bodies of four gaunt and cadaverous looking wolves. Which of us killed them I shall never know. It is the custom of Norway upon staying your first formidable brute to cut off its ears as present for your sweetheart. This custom I observed and Topped off a pair of ears which 1 pre- served for Miss Rogan, who Is now Mrs. Markell. I also cut off apair for the smuke pige. but as Mrs. Markell is averse to reading Sunday papers she will not see this unless take a paper horne
 on Monday. which thing I shall be care full not to do.
 But there is a most pathetic sequence to this episode. When the sun was fp tha SOldiarc 1oft l,o for t1 inc,